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5 Reasons Why a Corporate Optometry Sublease Might be the Best Option During Recession

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Subleasing space in corporate optometry might be the best option during a recession. Subleasing can come with particular challenges, but much less risk than starting a private practice cold during a recession. Subleasing starting costs are much less than starting a new practice.

A successful optometry clinic is about finding a suitable location that attracts patents, analyzing competition, and ensuring you’re doing what it takes to thrive in the healthcare sector. The last few years haven’t been ideal, considering the high unemployment rate and COVID-19. However, subleasing space might be best option during a recession.

Let’s explore why subleasing in a recession might be best option.

1. Available Resources

When a recession hits the economy, it might become challenging in many ways. However, if you look closely, you’ll find more resources than ever. Resources that provided from corporate to help you succeed. Many times corporate has data to forecast economic changes and provide a game plan to help your sublease.

2. Less Competition

Some experts say recession might be the best time to sublease your corporate optometry, as there’s almost no competition during the economic downturn. Operating during a recession can help you get a competitive edge and make arranging funding more accessible. Since covid, some offices have closed down and we will see more closure during a recession. Finding a sublease that has been established and working between 2 might be the best option.

3. Inflation

Prices will go up during an inflation. Many corporate optometry subleases have kept OD’s rent the same. We will start to see more patients come into retail locations as they look for more affordable healthcare. The volume will help you grow during a recession. A recession is undoubtedly not the best economic situation, but if you’re clever, you’ll manage to make the best use of recession.

4. More Motivation

Every optometrist aims have their own practice, which brings them the required motivation to start their clinic. Knowing a recession is here, might be the motivation to work harder and continue to strive to succeed.

5. Reduce Unemployment

Many people lose their jobs and actively seek employment when a recession hits. When you begin subleasing your optometry clinic, you’ll need valuable people to help you run your business effectively. You’ll get a chance to improve the economy’s situation by providing work to unemployed people.

The more people earn, the more stable the economy will eventually become. Hence, unemployed individuals find jobs, and you get a team of hard workers who run day-to-day tasks effectively and handle patient care. Again, a win-win.

How Optometry is Changing Because of Millennial ODs.

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There is an effect of generation on the optometry industry that is changing expectations from optometry clinics. Millennials and optometry have an important correlation since there are steady changes happening in technology, practice management, work-life balance, patient care already and diversity and inclusion.

Trends in Optometry

Millennial ODs have economic reality and attractive flexibility. Since millennials have high debt, don’t have huge capital possibilities, corporate optometry has become the an attractive option.

Millennials are part of the digital generation, where technology is prioritized for every industry. They also wired to expect high efficiency and productivity. They also use technology to build relationships with patients.

Digital Future of Optometry

Modern offices are turning towards digital space to increase efficiency. This can include looking into software for billing, appointments, and booking – things like cloud access and digital imaging for records and patient data. Optometry offices are being expanded to digital spaces for greater accessibility.

Cloud Adoption

The willingness millennials have to turn towards the cloud is great in the millennial general. Millennials and optometry involve incorporating IT setups, hardware, and software. It can mean more training as well as costs from tech glitches. If an optometry clinic has different office locations, it can mean the use of multiple IT systems, which can lead to expenditure cost.

Millennials are turning the trend to optometry offices towards incorporating the right sort of technology into the right spaces. A model that needs HIPAA compliance and has a fully-managed and secure structure. It also gives room to optometry clinics to be more transparent with their customers. Through seamless integration, there is increased accountability of the optometry clinics too. With more optometry clinics, you can still have the same procedures and implement a similar structure with the help of technology.

Diversity and Inclusive

Young ODs want to feel part of something bigger. They make sure the promotion practices throughout the organization follow are unbiased and equitable. They are looking for a structured internal mobility program to provide equal opportunities. Many corporate opticals like Warby Parker have taken steps to help grow diversity in optometry. Many millennial ODs feel they belong at Warby Parker and have taken subleases and employed positions.

Millennial ODs have changed how the industry performs and works with its patients and workforce. This can be quite a positive change in terms of relationships, efficiency, and ability to expand.

Attracting Quality Talent in Optometry with Greater Transparency

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Attracting quality talent entails optimizing your optometry practice in several ways. A focus on transparency and staff well-being will enable you to improve the profitability of your business in the long run.

Employees are more attracted towards practices that have a clear mission and adhere to their values. Here are 3 aspects that are of the utmost importance in hiring and retaining better talent.

1.      Develop good work culture

Work culture is an important part of an employee’s experience. Optometry practices usually focus on providing quality eye care, but their values and culture are hardly ever communicated.

Potential employees often research about a business before applying, making it a good idea to let them know what your practice values the most. For example, if teamwork is a key aspect for your practice, make that clear while you are hiring.

You can easily showcase the work culture of your optometry business on social media or within a job description. Doing so will help you attract employees who are more in line with your work objectives.

An important factor in attracting quality talent is building trust. It helps develop an open and transparent company culture to hire suitable people and retain suitable employees. Make sure you improve communication within your organization so that employees can easily connect with each other to share valuable information.

Prevent toxicity by openly discussing current challenges with employees and coming up with solutions as a team. Moreover, keep employees motivated by sharing and recognizing their achievements.

2.      Offer thorough training

No matter how experienced your employees are, it is crucial to provide them with training relevant to your optometry practice. Optometry is a specialized field where employees should have sufficient knowledge about different equipment and vision-related issues.

When your hire employees, make sure you offer on-the-job training to get them acclimatized to their new work environment. Provide systematic training for each job role in your organization. Untrained staff is likely to soon feel disinterested and demotivated.

You on-boarding program should ideally begin with an introduction of your practice’s basic mission, followed by specific training for staff members. You can introduce job shadowing and role-play exercises to get new recruits familiar with the ins and outs of your practice.  Also fine tune their people skills, so that they are able to deal with patients more effectively.

3.      Compensate suitably

Remuneration is one of the prime motivating factors for employees. Allocate a budget for staff compensation to help manage finances more effectively.

Recruiting and retaining quality employees requires providing employees with a satisfactory package. Compensation generally includes salaries, bonuses, commissions, and other benefits. Experienced workers and practitioners are aware of their value in the market and seek a salary that is worth their services.

Make sure you offer a suitable amount to potential employees in order to hire the best candidates for your optometry practice. Recruiting efficiently will lower hiring costs and spare time and money for other important tasks.

Attract quality talent towards your business by ensuring employee satisfaction. With a good work culture, proper training, and worthwhile compensation, you are sure to draw in and retain competent employees.

Eye-Opening Truth: Corporate Optometry Myths Debunked

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For many optometrists, both young and experienced, the term ‘corporate optometry’ has a rather negative connotation. It resonates with unpleasant work settings, long working hours, stunted career growth, and whatnot. This is mostly because of the misconceptions and stereotypes that surround the field of corporate optometry.

Take a look at some of the most common corporate optometry myths to see if you have also believed them to be true so far.

1. As a Corporate OD don’t do Medical.

Refracting lies at the core of optometry, and as such, is a major part of corporate practices too. However, it sure isn’t the ‘only’ thing that ODs do at the job.

Many don’t realize this but as a corporate OD, you can easily practice full-scope optometry or even specialize in a particular medical model for eyecare if you prefer.

2. Exams are different in a corporate setting.

This is one of those corporate optometry myths that are loosely based around perspective. Many Corporate ODs will practice just like ODs in a private practice. Many times Corporate locations have the latest technology to better assist ODs with their exams.

The reality, however, is that patients aren’t biased about the type of setting in optometry. If you perform comprehensive eye examinations and are able to satisfy your patients with regards to the treatment options and answering their queries, they will choose your practice regardless of whether it’s centrally managed or privately run. Corporate ODs do dilate their patients and treat eye disease.

3. Corporate ODs Need to Sell Eye wear

If you think corporate ODs are required to promote the optical and upsell its products and services, you aren’t in the minority.

Unfortunately, that might be true in some cases, but that fact is that you can work as a corporate OD and still be completely independent from the company – at least with regards to being forced to increase the business’s sales.

Depending on which brand you join, you can enjoy full autonomy over treating your patients. You won’t be pressurized into making recommendations that you know aren’t really required by the patient.

4. Corporate ODs Only Accept Vision Care Plans

This might be true to some extent depending on which enterprise you join. Some corporate ODs may see a high level of vision plans because the company markets to patients in that optical side. However, many corporate optometry practices cater to medical eye care patients too. This allows you to build your medical expertise in the real sense.

We hope debunking these common corporate optometry myths has opened your eyes to the truth and increase your willingness to gain field experience in this eye care setting.

Improving Patient Satisfaction: 5 Questions Optometrists Should Ask Themselves.

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The optometry industry is so highly competitive. If you want to rise above the competition and take your practice to great heights, improving patient satisfaction should be your top priority.

There are many ways in which you can build a strong relationship with your patients so that they stay loyal to your services for the long term.

Following are the five most important things you need to consider when growing your brand.

What Tools Do You Need?

Technology can help your practice in various ways. Certain tools can help streamline operations and enhance productivity, whereas others can help reduce bottlenecks, unnecessary redos, ease scheduling, and so on.

To build your practice, the first thing you need to decide is the type of tools that you will need. For this, you need to look into the main areas that need improvement.

For instance, if you want to make patient scheduling more efficient, a software system might help. Or if you want to build a stronger rapport with the patients by providing pre and post-treatment support, starting an online blog that discusses different issues might be the way to go. You want to promote those blogs on your Facebook page and in your newsletters.

What Is Your Social Media Marketing Strategy?

If you aren’t leveraging social media to improve your brand, you are only shooting yourself in the foot.

Being active on different social media platforms can help create brand awareness. However, you shouldn’t use these sites for advertisement purposes only.

Rather, you should use social media to establish a smooth and efficient, two-way communication with your patients and potential patients.

Are You Showcasing Your Practice Reviews Online?

Encourage your patients to rate and review your services online. Positive online reviews are worth their weight in gold and can be far more beneficial for your practice than you may have imagined.

Moreover, positive ratings push your website higher up on the search engine results page. So, your practice is likely to become more noticeable to people when they look for terms such as “optometrist in Chicago”. Think like your patients think and you will be ahead of the competition.

However, keep in mind that while positive reviews can work wonders for your brand image, a negative one can easily taint it too. Using a technology solution such as online reputation management services can prevent you from losing potential patients due to negative feedback from an angry client.

How is your website appearance?

In today’s digital age, it is common for patients to search for and browse the clinic’s website when considering a new OD.

First impressions matter. Therefore, make sure that your website has a prim and proper presentation. It should be up-to-date and offer vital information at a glance. This includes the services you offer, hours of operation, contact details, and other info.

Also, pay attention to the message you send out.

Your website presentation and the info it contains should make the visitor more confident in choosing you.

Is Your Website Mobile-Friendly? According to google analytics, more than 65% of all web traffic comes from mobile phone users.

Put simply, having a great website may not provide you with the best benefits unless it is optimized for mobile phones too. Make sure it loads quickly and looks impressive on desktops, tablets, and smartphones alike. It needs to be a seamless experience. You have a few seconds to capture their attention!

Bottom Line

Happy and satisfied patients stay not only committed to your services but also enable new patient acquisition by generating positive feedback.

Focus on the aspects of improving patient satisfaction discussed above, and you can take your practice from surviving to thriving.

How to Build Your Leadership Skills: Difference between a Leader and a Manager.

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If you want to become a leader in the workplace, you’ll need to change more than just your outlook. Becoming a true leader isn’t as simple as managing a team and delegating tasks. You need to learn how to handle stressful situations with ease and make sure that everyone in your team feels valued.

Instead of just supervising a group of people and getting the work done, you need to inspire them to do better every day and step out of their comfort zone. Your focus needs to be on building relationships with your employees and getting them to trust you.

Let’s take a look at what sets a leader apart from a manager and how to develop leadership skills in the workplace.

1. Be Open-Minded and Innovative

Leaders are always open to new things. They have a passion for creating, and they don’t shy away from experimenting with new ideas. They don’t believe in sticking with tradition and are always looking for better opportunities to explore.

They’re unafraid of the challenges that come their way and encourage their employees to think outside of the box. Managers, on the other hand, believe in sticking to what they know. They aren’t open to new changes and like to stay within their comfort zone.

2. Take Risks

Leaders are all about taking risks every time an opportunity presents itself. They understand the importance of risks and are eager to learn from their failures. They believe that risks bring forth a realm of possibilities for any business and help a company grow.

They aren’t scared of failing because they realize that every failure is a blessing in disguise. They exude an aura of positivity and create a sense of hope and curiosity in their employees.

Managers avoid taking risks because they don’t feel comfortable in newer and unforeseen territories. They believe in following tried and tested ways to solve all their problems and don’t appreciate disruptive thinking in the workplace.

3. Stand Out from the Rest

Leaders are driven by their need to stand out and be unique. They’re aware of themselves and aren’t scared of owning up to their shortcomings. They’re willing to take their business to new heights by deviating from established procedures.

They value different opinions and encourage their team members to share and explore new ideas.

Managers like to emulate their predecessors. They replicate what they’ve been taught and don’t feel comfortable with the idea of standing out. They aren’t always eager to accept responsibility for their mistakes. For them, their employees are just individuals who work for them and are expected to complete the tasks they’ve been assigned.

Bottom Line

Now that you’ve learned what makes a leader different from a manager, you can also become a great leader in the workplace by changing your way of thinking. The next time you’re faced with a challenge, you need to be willing to take risks and have an open mind to increase your chances of success.

Myths About Starting a Sublease In Corporate Optometry

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Myths About Starting a Sublease In Corporate Optometry

Get your eyesight checked asap. Can you even see where you are headed?

Is that the advice you were given when you voiced your thoughts to a friend about planning to start your own sublease in corporate optometry?

Whether someone else has told you, or you have done some research yourself about starting a sublease in corporate optometry, it is highly likely that you’re left with self-doubt.

However, if you are an optometrist thinking to set up a sublease in corporate optometry or a new grad looking for a practice, or just an older OD, corporate optometry is without doubt a promising field in the industry.

Unfortunately, the myths surrounding this field stop many people from continuing on this path. They believe what they have been told by other people, people who couldn’t themselves excel in the field or weren’t well prepared to handle it.

Here are some common myths you must have heard, and how to debunk them.

You don’t have the enough experience to start a sublease

If you are a fresh OD or someone new to optometry, people will rebuff you with the fact that you don’t have the required knowledge or experience to venture in this field. Though it may be true, it is not a justified reason to give up on your idea altogether.

You can ‘shadow’ other ODs who started a sublease or work with another company and learn from them. Look out for someone who can act as your mentor, observe their work and practices, ask them questions and learn from their experiences. By putting the knowledge you gain into practice, you too will succeed in the field soon. After all, it’s true that success is three parts knowledge and only one part planning.

You won’t be able to distinguish day and night

Corporate optometry indeed requires a lot of work and effort. But which enterprise doesn’t?

Although you may have to work tirelessly initially, but once the initial phases of set up are complete and you get the hang of it, a sublease in corporate optometry can be a comfortable job.

You don’t necessarily have to begin early in the morning, which means you can get sound sleep or few extra hours for other chores. Plus you get to avoid the morning traffic rush which enables you to commute faster and so save more time.

The effort you put in now will pay off in the long run and you won’t have to work 7 days a week.

No one will ‘see’ you

There may be too many corporate opticals out there, but there are enough  patients to attract. Learn how to differentiate yourself from others.

You can observe and learn marketing strategies from the other, successful corporate optometrists and follow in their footsteps to reach out to the patients.

It will definitely need a lot of effort to build a customer base, but with proper marketing, focusing on your target audience, making a good impression on the patients who visit, and expanding your contact network, your name and service will soon speak for itself.

So, even if you don’t have a 20/20 vision, you are still seeing a bright future when you consider a sublease in corporate optometry.

Happy venturing!

Pros and Cons of Corporate Optometry on the Industry

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Corporate optometry has expanded greatly over the years.  It is currently estimated to make up about 30% of the industry and will continue to grow as young optometrists make the decision to go into this sector.  With this expansion come both benefits and costs to the industry, which we will discuss below.

Pros:

1. Employment opportunities for ODs

Corporate optometry creates opportunities and jobs for optometrists looking for employment.  In addition, it is a great option for optometrists who don’t have a lot of experience as business owners and are looking for a turnkey model. ODs don’t have to wait for another OD to retire to become a business owner. Many Corporate ODs have had the ability to have multiple subleases which has been beneficial for those ODs. The ability to open practices in locations where there are not many other optometry practice can help ODs have more opportunities and provide more access to patients seeking other alternatives.

2. Increased pay rate and benefits

Corporate optometry can provide higher starting salaries and pay rates than average along with better benefits for some ODs.  The days and hours an optometrist works likely will affect the rate in which the optometrist is paid; for example, optometrists are sometimes paid higher by corporate opticals on Sundays.  In addition, corporate optometry offers generous bonus structures.

3. Loan repayments

Some corporate opticals will offer loan repayments to young ODs who are burdened by student debt.  This is great incentive for young ODs to start a career in corporate optometry. Most often, corporate opticals will offer loan repayments when trying to recruit ODs to more remote locations where it is difficult to find doctors in order to spark greater interest in new ODs.

4. Innovation and Competition

Corporate optometry has revolutionized the customer and shopping experience in the industry; for example, the one-hour eye glass service has completely changed the customer’s eye care experience.  The innovation of corporate opticals to better cater to their customers leads to competition and helps to keep practices top-notch. New ideas created within corporate optometry therefore bring the industry forward.

5. Global impact

Corporate optometry has allowed the industry to have a greater impact globally.  Many corporate opticals work with charities to use their business for the greater good; for example, Warby Parker’s “buy a pair, give a pair” program is a system in which, for every pair of glasses purchased, a pair is given to someone in need, and many corporate opticals supply underprivileged companies with glasses and eye exams.  In addition, Luxottica provides onesight global clinics to provide eye care for people in underdeveloped countries.

Cons

1. Exclusions from insurance panels

Being with a specific corporate optical can exclude doctors from certain insurance panels; for example, Walmart doctors are unable to take EyeMed.  Because of this, a doctor may have to turn away some patients. In addition, closed panels can funnel patients into a certain corporate optical, which can be a disadvantage for other practices in terms of creating a patient base and providing continuation of care to your patients as their benefits change year to year.

2. Vertical integration

Corporate opticals may have ownership over a variety of stages of production and may sell their own products, frames, lenses, etc., which can result in a reduced price for their customers.  This creates a disadvantage to private practices or other corporate opticals that can’t compete at a severe discount. In addition, the possibility of pushing a company’s own products rather than alternative products might not always have the best outcome for the consumer in the long run.

3. Exam Fees that haven’t changed with Inflation.

Providing affordable care to patients is essential. Many corporate opticals have offered affordable eye care services and products for many patients, yet with inflation and changes in scope of optometry exam fees have remained stagnate. Free eye exams have impacted the industry as well.

4. Consolidation

As more companies merge together, only a few large players in the industry are created, making it difficult for smaller practices to have a voice.  In addition, consolidation of companies limits the customer’s options when it comes to eye care. Consolidation needs to happen though if companies want to compete with online retailers and how customers want low prices with fast service.

5. Movements

Corporate opticals are more easily able to create big movements or waves of change in the industry compared to smaller practices. Global changes can be made. Many corporate opticals operate globally and many times movements that may work in another country might not be best in the USA.  While these movements are created in the corporation’s best interest, they may not necessarily be in the patients’ or the industry’s best interest as a whole. Among these movements have been an increase in managed care plans, telemedicine and an expansion in private equity.

In conclusion, there are both pros and cons of corporate optometry on the industry that should be considered.  Whether working under a corporate optical or not, doctors have the ability to be a voice for other ODs and for their patients to make positive changes in the industry and create a better future. 

How Corporate Optometry allows ODs to focus on Patient Care

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Corporate optometry is a great option for ODs who want to practice optometry but do not want to feel overwhelmed by the business aspects of the job.  It is ideal both for optometrists who do not feel they have enough business experience to start their own practices and for those who simply want to focus more on the patient-centric aspect of their career.  Here are some ways that corporate optometry may allow you as an OD to focus on your patient care first and foremost.

1. Your job is to focus on the patient.

As a corporate optometrist, your main focus is to see patients without the distractions of the optical and managing staff. Focusing on the patient is what we went to school for. We don’t have to worry about competition, we can focus on our patients and use the extra time to stay up to date on the latest clinical trends. Corporate optometry allows you to see different types of patients because the volume is usually greater, thus enhancing your clinical skills seeing a wide variety of patients. his is a great way for you as an optometrist to see a wide variety of conditions such as diabetes, glaucoma, and gain experience recognizing and managing these conditions. 

2. Technology

Corporate optometry will provide you will have easier access to resources and discounts from corporate partners.  You will also be able to purchase technology a lot sooner if you are a sublease or the latest technology will be offered to you as an employee. Many young ODs are learning the latest in the eye care. Why not be able to utilize that knowledge by working in a corporate setting? Many offices have digital refracting lanes, optos, octs. Different corporate opticals have different approaches. Don’t lump all corporate opticals as the same!

Corporate optometry may be right for you if you are not interested in the daily practice management struggles that many ODs face with the optical side of the business and managing staff turnover. Retail optometry will continue to grow over the next 10 years. Find which corporate optical is right for you and your career goals.

3 Solutions to Optical Staff Issues in Corporate Optometry.

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Working in the corporate optometry has its own set of challenges that many Corporate ODs face. If you are leasing space from the corporate optical, you may run into some complications with your regional manager and the optical staff.

If you are not careful, some form of miscommunication can lead to issues like mishandling of appointments, mismanagement of patients and not getting your insurances verified regularly.

These sublease issues coupled together can really affect your performance and cause patient dissatisfaction. Follow these simple steps to overcome these problems and make sure nothing comes between you and your patient.

Hire Your Own Staff

As a sublease OD, you have to let go of some control when it comes to administrative and managerial work. If the staff works directly under the corporation, scheduling errors may occur because you haven’t had the chance to train the staff.

In such cases, you can always request to hire your own staff and train them according to your needs and objectives. This requires some time and effort from your end. But once you’ve managed to train your team, you’ll have more administrative control and you can make your own rules keeping patient care as the topmost priority.

Schedule a Meeting

If you are not able to hire your own staff, you can always schedule a meeting with your managers and staff. During the meeting, you can raise your concerns in detail. Understand their objectives and expectations, and figure out a strategy to keep yourself and the staff satisfied.

Communication is extremely important. You need to let them know that the problem at hand is affecting the quality of patient care, and as a team, you should work together to enhance the patient experience.

Check Your Lease

Checking your lease may be one of the simplest ways to solve your problems. Your lease has all the requirements and role expectations stated clearly. If your staff has been mismanaging your patients and their appointments, then you can print out your lease and inform them of their tasks.

This will help clear up the confusion of who’s in the wrong and you will be able to get to the bottom of the issue more quickly.

It is important to know the roles of employees working for you to make sure everything runs smoothly and no one falls out of line.

One precautionary measure you should take is to have access to your own phone line (unless your sublease agreement doesn’t allow you, in which case, make sure to negotiate before

signing the lease). Many times the phone line given to you is a property of the corporate optical and, if you decide to end things with them, you can lose all contact with your patients.

As patient demands and expectations are increasing, you need to make sure there are effective business processes in place fulfilling those needs. You need to give immediate attention to any problems you face because with every mistake you make, you could potentially lose a patient forever.

Podcast

Open your Eyes Podcast: Dr Richard Hults.

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Dr. Richard Hults has been practicing optometry for over 30 years and resides in the Cleveland area.
Topics covered include: The history of contact lenses, refraction, astigmatisms, bifocal and multifocal contact lenses, side effects of contact lenses, how to clean contact lenses, and more!

Partnering with Optical Staff for Sublease Success.

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Corporate Optometry Nation
Corporate Optometry Nation
Partnering with Optical Staff for Sublease Success.
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Corporate Optometry Nation Podcast interviews Dr Diana Ramirez. Dr Ramirez has a sublease with Walmart in Texas. She was awarded 2020 OD of the Year at Walmart for Excellence in Patient Care. Listen in to the podcast was Dr Sampalis interviews her about how she works with the optical staff to secure her success in her own practice. Learn how to motivate and partner with the optical staff in corporate optometry.

Corporate Optometry India Part 3

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Corporate Optometry Nation
Corporate Optometry Nation
Corporate Optometry India Part 3
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Optometry and Youth: Catch Them Young !!

Current scenario in Indian Optometry

Indian optometry is at a very interesting and critical juncture. The allied and health care council bill 2018 is tabled in the upper house of the parliament and gone to the standing committee for deliberation with various stakeholders. Their suggestions will be considered and revised bill will be presented in the parliament.

It could be a giant step towards professional recognition of Optometry.

We have the Optometry Council of India (OCI), a peer regulating body with the responsibility of establishing & maintaining high standards of optometry education & recognition of optometry qualifications in India. The Indian Optometry Federation (IOF) is an umbrella organization of various associations. State associations are members of this association. Lobbying with govt about optometry rights etc. Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) works with the institutes to standardize curricula, infra structure and also towards capacity building of educators. These organizations are doing a good job in getting optometry recognized by the government and bringing standardization within the profession.  In other words, we are getting our house in order.

The other important aspect is creating awareness about the profession and getting public recognition. We need people to know about optometry and its scope. We want people to come asking for the optometrist for a comprehensive eye test. For that each optometrist has to offer the best clinical eye examination and provide the best services to patients.

This is exactly why I chose to focus on the awareness part. Looking at the students’ enthusiasm and creativity I thought they can definitely contribute a lot in this area. One fine day a group of optometry students and fresh graduates was formed and it still continues to work cohesively as one unit.

Role of youth

Almost everything that is great has been done by youth- Benjamin Disraeli

We are sitting on a gold mine. Probably it is the largest untapped resource. There are more than 50 institutes offering a 4-year B. Optometry program. Imagine the number of students graduating every year. Most of them are technologically savvy. They are very active on social media. They are happy to travel and meet new people. Most of the students I have seen are are passionate about the profession and want to contribute in a significant way. If we can channelize their energy and creativity, we can do wonders. There is no dearth of raw talent. They need direction. They need acknowledgement & recognition. More importantly they need to have the feeling that they belong to the community.

How have they contributed till now?

These students and fresh graduates have been very active in last twelve months or so. One group has started ‘Let’s RevolutionaryEYES’ – Social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, twitter and youtube. They regularly post content related to eyecare and eye related facts etc. The platform serves to both optometrists and public. As ‘World Optometry Day’ is celebrated across the world on 23rd March, 23rd of every month is dedicated to #Optometry #Eyecare. All social media channels are flooded with eye care related posts on this day. It is a great way to catch attention of people.

Another team created an explanatory video about scope of optometry. It covers what students are taught in a four-year course and what investigations an optometrist can perform. A poem composed by one group along with visuals was so well received by all that it even reached the govt. officials and was appreciated.

The Optometry Council of India (OCI) required eye awareness posters for their pan India campaign. These students conceptualized and designed posters with innovative ideas. Their efforts were recognized by OCI and Bausch + Lomb and these posters are being used extensively now.

This group also raised some fund through their efforts and contribution to the field. What is heartening to know is that they donated to the Kerala flood victims. Along with talent today’s optometry youth also has Good values.

Their energy and creativity were at display during awareness walks and street plays on World Sight Day.

Recently four new graduates under the supervision of Masterclass Optometry conceptualized and organized a program ‘Shaping Millennial’s for final year students. This program was developed considering what confusion a graduating student goes through. Over 225 students from 13 institutes were benefited from expert’s guidance.

Way forward 

We have just unlocked the potential of this goldmine. We need to keep nurturing these minds. They need to be kept busy in a right way. We are already working on a new project wherein the Optometry Council of India needs Optometrists to approach high schools and counsel the class 11,12 students about optometry, refractive errors and eyecare in general. Many of these fresh graduates from different parts of India have already offered to be a part of this project. We are really excited to see how it works. You never know, going forward we could help them find the right placement for work. Also, we could establish international links wherein these youngsters can freely interact with international students and experts.

The future definitely belongs to the youth. The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow. Its time for the senior optometrists to acknowledge their potential and help them convert it into performance. Young ODs need role models NOT just critics !!

Corporate Optometry India Part 2

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Corporate Optometry Nation
Corporate Optometry Nation
Corporate Optometry India Part 2
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With about 450 million people needing vision correction, uncorrected refractive error accounts for over 50% of vision impairment in India. Optometry is yet an unregulated profession. Defocus Media and Corporate Optometry Nation would like to present a podcast with Ms. Ukti Vora, an Indian optometrist who shares details about the history and growth of Optometry in India post the launch of ‘Vision 2020 – Right For Sight’ program. 

She provides insights about how optometry is practiced differently in India compared to major countries like USA and Australia. Optometrists in India are exploring different ways to deal with major competitors like Lenskart and Titan Eye Plus. Lack of regulation affects the policies for insurance and law in India. Efforts by various organization like Optometry Council of India (OCI), Associations of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO), Indian Optometry Federation (IOF) and ‘Let’s RevolutionarEyes’ are contributing towards promoting and regularizing the profession. Organizations like MasterClass Optometry are promoting quality CME for practicing optometrists. India, still a developing market, has tremendous opportunities for collaboration in academics, research and corporate world. Ukti shares her experience and knowledge over the years to bring us closer to understanding optometry in India.

Optometry in Australia

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Corporate Optometry Nation
Corporate Optometry Nation
Optometry in Australia
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Corporate Optometry Nation latest podcast.
Dr. Matthew Sheehan and explores the importance of optics in an optometry day to day professional life. He also talks a bit about optometry in Australia and how its coming along compared to other parts of the world.

Corporate Optometry Employment Model with Dr Laurie Lesser

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Corporate Optometry Nation
Corporate Optometry Nation
Corporate Optometry Employment Model with Dr Laurie Lesser







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Corporate Optometry Nation interviews Dr Laurie Lesser.  Dr. Lesser is an Area Doctor for South Florida Regional Eye Associates, affiliated with  America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses stores.  In this podcast we talk about the employment model of corporate optometry and how it might be the right fit for young ODs and females. Working in corporate optometry has many benefits. Listen in to the podcast to see if employment in corporate optometry is for you!