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There has been a lot of emphasis on professional education through CET in recent months. But what about non-professional members of staff?
Practice success relies upon knowledgeable optical assistants and their understanding of vision correction, eye problems and customer service is key to the long-term prosperity of an eye-care practice.
In our rush to get CET points it is all too easy for us to overlook staff training needs.
So why not kill two birds with one stone this autumn? Following the success of the optical assistant training programme at their Egham conference last year, Replay Learning is offering a course for optical assistants at all four of its clinical conferences in September, October and November.
The interactive course will run alongside the main professional programme with time set aside for visiting the exhibition during breaks and for the optical assistants to have lunch with their professional colleagues.
The course will be delivered by optometrist Sarah Morgan. Morgan is one of the industry's best known staff training consultants and is adept at delivering complex information in a straightforward and easily digestible format. The one-day course will be split into three separate sessions covering different aspects central to the role of an optical assistant.
Everyone attending the course will receive a certificate of competency in the areas covered.
Modern Approaches to Vision
While the bulk of most practices' business is spectacle sales, a significant number of patients opt for contact lenses or, more recently, refractive surgery.
Even though optical assistants are not directly involved in giving professional advice, it is important that they are aware of the available options and that they understand the range of choices available to patients. Without a proper understanding of these issues, they cannot be expected to deliver a good quality service to patients.
This morning session will cover recent developments in contact lenses, including the benefits of silicone hydrogel materials, the advantages of daily disposables and the 'weird science' that is orthokeratology.
The most common refractive surgery alternatives (including Lasik) will also be explained using some of Morgan's unforgettable interactive demonstrations.
Behind the Consulting Room Door
How many optical assistants have a working knowledge of what an eye examination entails?
It is important that they understand what goes on and how the eye examination is tailored to meet the individual demands of different patient groups.
This knowledge is invaluable when communicating the benefits of regular eye examination and for scheduling and prioritising appointments. It also gives staff an appreciation of the needs of individual patients throughout their visit to the practice.
This second session of the day will explain the main stages of the eye examination and will show how the optometrist is able to detect changes in the eye related to diabetes, glaucoma, cataract and other commonly encountered pathologies.
Are My Glasses Ready?
Customer service is at the core of the assistant's responsibilities. The final session of the day starts with a fly-on-the-wall role play of what can, and does, go wrong when patients come to collect new spectacles. Whether your staff are involved directly or indirectly with the delivery of new spectacles, this session will teach them the serious lesson of how to avoid problems and how get it right first time.
Conferences
The Replay Learning Clinical Conferences begin in Bradford on Sunday, September 24, 2006. Further conferences take place on Sundays throughout October and November in Egham (Surrey), Birmingham and London (Charlton). With a wide choice of lectures and workshops for optometrists, dispensing opticians and contact lens opticians, in addition to the optical assistants' training, there is no excuse for not bringing the whole practice team along.
Further information on all four of the clinical conferences is available from www.replaylearning.com or by calling 0870 881 0715.