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Sunday / November 3.
HomemioptometryThinking Outside the Optometric Box

Thinking Outside the Optometric Box

As the economy slows, Optometry NSW/ACT is urging it’s members to consider their skill set, and how it can be used outside the consulting room to ensure job security.

Since optometrists were first registered in Australia in the early 1900s, there has never been a time (at least that I can find records of ) where there hasn’t been a plentiful supply of work for anyone who wanted it.

Even during COVID, although hours were reduced, it was temporary – the roles were still there, but for a while they were shorter.

But the market in late 2024 is changing markedly – and I think it may be with us for a while to come.

What are we seeing?

For the first time I can remember, some of the bigger players are actually reducing staff numbers – redundancies are happening.

And if you’re looking for locum work, I hope you’re patient – and cashed up – because that market has all but dried up.

Now it isn’t all gloom; there are still great opportunities available, but they are almost all located outside of the main metro centres. If you’re willing to make a move, not only will you find a role that pays well, it will almost certainly be clinically rewarding, the lifestyle will be much more relaxed, and it will be cheaper. There is a lot to be said for regional living!

But what if you want/need to stay in a metro area? What options are open?

Optometry NSW/ACT is putting together a seminar on this very topic in the next short while. So, without wishing to steal its thunder, the future for many of us will lie in morphing our skills into different settings or even different careers.

As an optometrist you have a very broad skill set – science, analytics, logical reasoning, problem solving, and many more.

These skills are highly transferrable but thinking outside the traditional consulting room model is definitely required.

This is no different to what our professional colleagues in law, accounting, pharmacy, and other professions have had to do for many years. Granted, its new to us, but not to the general employment marketplace.

So while the optometric world isn’t going to end any time soon, it is slowing down (along with the rest of the economy) so maybe now is a great time to really start thinking about your future and creatively imagining where that future might take you.

Now that might include expanded clinical roles in, for example, hospitals, ophthalmology practices, speciality clinics etc. But these often take a long time to come to fruition.

In the meantime, we’re happy to talk with you about options and ideas that might work for you – just call us!

THE OPPORTUNITIES OF MYOPIA MANAGEMENT

In a more upbeat vein, myopia management is certainly going to open up a whole new world of possibilities and opportunities for optometrists over the coming few years.

Optometry NSW/ACT and our federal body are pushing governments at both state and federal levels to a) recognise the looming problem that myopia presents for our children particularly, and b) partner with optometry associations to do something about it, so that we can get in front of the issue, not just react after the event.

The initial response from politicians with whom we have spoken has been both interested and positive, so we’re hoping that this will translate into action in the near future.

OCULAR THERAPEUTICS

Finally, I want to talk about ocular therapeutics – and in particular to encourage colleagues who are not therapeutically endorsed to consider going down that path.

I need to make plain that there is absolutely NO action, covert or overt, by any regulatory authority to make therapeutics mandatory for any optometrist who is currently registered. So, let’s put that away immediately.

However, it is certainly the case that more employers are viewing therapeutic endorsement as a highly regarded skill set and whenever we talk to government, our ability to show just how many optometrists now hold therapeutics endorsement is a powerful tool to show that the profession is progressing and expanding its scope to help better serve the community.

So, if you’ve been thinking about it, now might be a good time to jump. There are excellent courses available through all the major universities and the Australian College of Optometry. Have a look and see what they have to offer. Course delivery is flexible and it could be a valuable addition to your professional armoury.

Andrew McKinnon is the Chief Executive Officer of Optometry Australia New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory.

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