Fresh out of university, graduates have the latest theories on eye health, the know-how to use state-of-the-art equipment, and unbridled enthusiasm to get on with delivering a service. All they’re looking for is the place to make it happen and an employer to set them on their path.
At a time when students in their final year of optometry are beginning to look for their first full-time place of employment, we spoke to employers and early career optometrists about what a great grad looks like and what it takes to turn them into a fantastic optometrist.
There are three major challenges for every optometry graduate as they enter the workforce:
- The transition from student to clinician (to turn theory into practice),
- The need to become time efficient when consulting, and
- The need to build a new support network – especially for those who move away from home.
How these challenges are overcome, comes down to the individual, their employer, and their colleagues – it’s a team effort.
For Jillian Campbell, a young optometrist who now owns Lindsay Associates in Melbourne, her experience as a graduate optometrist shaped her career and is informing the way she manages Jacinda Van, the graduate optometrist currently working in her practice.
Growing up in Far North Queensland on a sugar cane farm, Ms Campbell’s first experience of a city came when she moved to Melbourne to commence her career nine years ago. She started with the Australian College of Optometry (ACO), where she worked for two years.
“I remember the importance of having support and guidance from experienced clinicians during my clinical residency at ACO. Being surrounded by knowledgeable individuals allowed me to ask questions and receive reassurance without feeling guilty or overwhelmed.
“The experience was made easier by having other residents in the same situation, as we were able to debrief complex cases and provide peer support,” she told mivision.
“This experience shaped my approach to mentoring and motivated me to create a similar supportive and inclusive work environment. I aim to be accessible to my graduate, allowing them to freely seek support and guidance as needed. I am always on the lookout for growth and learning opportunities to share, just as I was during my residency.
“My goal is to create a comfortable environment where my graduate employee feels confident in asking questions and seeking guidance without feeling like a burden.”
This is exactly the approach that early career optometrist Brie Tsang was looking for when she interviewed for a position with Specsavers on the Sunshine Coast.
“I was nervous going into my interview. I was looking for an employer who was openminded. I wanted to be considered not just as a professional, but as a person. I wanted a workplace where I would feel comfortable asking questions, where I had the opportunity to grow my skills and look into specialty areas.”
Fortunately for Ms Tsang, Specsavers Store Owner David Sutton has had plenty of experience employing graduates and was able to provide the opportunities she was looking for.
Having been an employer since 1980, and having employed around 40 graduates in that time, Mr Sutton knew that Ms Tsang would integrate well with the team members working across his seven practices in Queensland.
“I look for people who are energetic, who will be team players. We try to make sure they’re going to have good customer service and problem-solving skills – we look at where they’ve worked, what they’ve had to do. We try and find out what their professional interests are so we can facilitate growth in this area.
“What’s also important is, I want to make sure they’re happy to be in the Specsavers industry-leading two-year graduate program… that helps them when they’re thrown into the hard day-to-day work.”
Acknowledging that there’s no hard and fast way to run an interview – it’s more about having a set of questions to hand then seeing how things feel and flow – he said, “You tend to get a feel for a person while you’re talking to them – we don’t always get it right, but we tend to get it right more often than wrong.”
feeling comfortable to ask questions and, most importantly, have more experienced optometrists approach her for advice, helped build her confidence and establish a rapport
FINDING THE BALANCE
While graduates bring energy and new skills to the practice, Mr Sutton emphasised the value of employing more experienced optometrists as well.
“I wouldn’t take a grad over experience or experience over a grad: they both bring different things to the table. Grads bring a huge level of enthusiasm, but experienced optometrists are good to mentor them on what’s important and not so important – that balance helps the grad become a better optometrist more quickly,” he explained.
Taking a graduate on presents many learning opportunities for experienced optometrists. As an experienced optometrist working in a profession of rapidly evolving technology, Mr Sutton said graduates have been invaluable when it comes to teaching him and his colleagues how to use new equipment.
Ms Lindsay said that having employed Ms Van for two years at her Melbourne practice, she has learned a lot about herself and the process of mentoring.
“The experience has helped me reflect on my own approach and improve as a practitioner. I have learned the difference between mentoring and teaching… my relationship with my new graduate started as a teaching role, particularly while she was an assistant, and gradually transitioned into a mentoring relationship.
“To effectively support my mentee, I had to adapt my mentoring approach based on her learning style and needs, keep up to date with research, and demonstrate flexibility in my practice, both as a role model and a thorough practitioner.
“The main challenges in taking on and mentoring a graduate are balancing mentorship with daily operations, ensuring structured training and support, and striking a balance between providing answers and fostering independence.
“Time management is crucial, so it’s been a great opportunity for me to learn how to work smarter and more efficiently, so that I can meet everyone’s needs, including my own,”
Ms Lindsay said. For Mr Sutton, the greatest learning to come from being an employer and mentor is the need to embrace difference.
“I’m a Boomer and my outlook on life is different to Gens X, Y and Z – so I have to make sure I understand where they’re coming from, and their expectations for life. I’ve realised that I must not confuse my own expectations with theirs… I need to try to understand each generation as they come along – understand what makes them tick. I’m not bad at it, but there’s always room for improvement.”
THE GENERATIONAL GAP
So, what are those generational differences? And how are they impacting the expectations of graduate optometrists?
According to Heather Campbell, Human Resources Manager at George and Matilda, while nothing has changed in terms of getting optometrists to move away from home for work (the majority simply don’t want to), what has changed is the demand for state-of- the-art equipment in practice.
“Most grads are wanting all the mod cons when it comes to testing technology – they are trained on some of the best equipment and expect this to be in every practice they go into,” she said.
Mr Sutton agreed. “Optometry doesn’t look like the same profession as it did when I started out. There is incredible equipment, training in therapeutics, orthokeratology, photography, and optical coherence tomography. The graduates are very switched on, they know their stuff, and they want to do the best for the patient. So they want access to good equipment that they can use as part of the patient test, and without having to charge patients for it.
“They also want fair remuneration for their work; and they are cagier about weekend work, though they realise that, depending on where their practice is, this may be necessary,” he said.
they are trained on some of the best equipment and expect this to be in every practice they go into
FINDING SUPPORT
With practices in regional areas of Queensland, Mr Sutton said one of the greatest challenges he finds is attracting graduate optometrists to move away from their home for work. Ms Campbell from George and Matilda agreed.
“Many grads are comfortable continuing to live with mum and dad and don’t want to move away from home, particularly when they have grown up in the city they are studying in. However, the optometrists who are looking for a more varied clinical experience are generally keen to look at regional and rural locations. Higher salaries also come into play,” she said.
Other than the necessary higher salaries and relocation support, Ms Campbell said George and Matilda doesn’t offer a lot of incentives to encourage a move. “Generally, if they have had a good mentor and leader they will want to stay on (following an initial placement) – people are loyal to people.”
For Eyecare Recruitment, much of its work involves finding young optometrists who are willing to move into regional Australia.
Recruitment Consultant / Business Development Manager Leeza Williams agreed that higher salaries and bonuses, along with working closely with their mentor, and having the ability to see a wide variety of pathology, opens the eyes of young optometrists to the professional and personal benefits of moving to regional Australia. Ms Williams said it sometimes helps to fly a new graduate candidate to the practice for an in-person visit prior to accepting the role, as this builds key relationships early on.
“Particularly for Gen Y and Z, benefits can be just as important as salaries. Relocation assistance, accommodation, additional leave, stay-on-bonuses, and complimentary flights home are all benefits that support new graduates and make them feel confident and secure about their decision to move regionally.”
Mr Sutton said helping optometrists quickly establish a support network in a new area is essential. He encourages staff to invite new colleagues out to events and has gone so far as to have his own adult children invite new grads out socially.
Additionally, at Specsavers, the structured two-year program for graduates is now followed by an early career optometrists’ program.
The graduate program involves a weekly ‘protected time’ for mentor and mentee to meet, an open-door policy for all optometrists in the practice, and opportunities for optometrists – regardless of their experience – to present clinical case studies to each other in a formalised environment as well as on a day-to-day basis in the practice.
For Ms Tsang, this has been one of the advantages of employment with Mr Sutton’s group. She said feeling comfortable to ask questions and, most importantly, have more experienced optometrists approach her for advice, helped build her confidence and establish a rapport.
“Creating a sense of community is something special among out stores on the Sunshine Coast,” she said.
Ms Van is one of many graduates to hold on to the hope of finding a job in their hometown.
“I really wanted to stay in Melbourne, I had considered going interstate for a few years but going through my final years of my degree in lockdown made it evident how important it was to have a support network.
“I was fortunate enough to begin working as a part-time dispenser while waiting for my AHPRA registration and Medicare provider number to be processed. In this time, Richard (Lindsay, the former owner of Lindsay Associates) and Jill were lovely and gave me a bunch of tutorials on almost everything, ranging from general optometry to corneal conditions and contact lens fitting. This little transition period was really helpful in getting me settled into a new practice, with a new team, in a new job.” For Ms Campbell, who has been Ms Van’s mentor since that time, it’s been a rewarding experience.
“Watching new grad optometrists grow professionally can be extremely rewarding.
As they build their own patient base, gain more experience, and develop their skills,
they become valuable members of the practice and contribute to its success. This can bring a sense of pride and satisfaction knowing that you played a role in helping the new grads succeed.
“But hiring new grad optometrists is not just beneficial for the practice, it also allows the optometrist to play a role in shaping the future of the profession. By mentoring and guiding the new grads, the optometrist can help to ensure that the next generation of optometrists are well-equipped to provide high-quality care to patients. This can help to promote the growth and advancement of the profession and can bring a sense of fulfilment and purpose to the optometrist.”
As they build their own patient base, gain more experience, and develop their skills, they become valuable members of the practice and contribute to its success
BUT WHAT IF THEY LEAVE?
Having worked in optometry for 40 years, Mr Sutton said employing and developing graduates is his way of giving back, to Specsavers specifically and the profession generally.
“Both have been very good for me. I’m always pleased to look at someone and say we’ve got them so far and now they’re going to go out on their own, go somewhere else and prove themselves. Moving on is a reality.”
As the great industrialist Henry Ford once said, “the only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay”.
