Contact Lens Practitioner of the Year is always one of the most fiercely contested categories at the Optician Awards but the winners themselves vary greatly. While some past winners have prioritised contact lenses from the inception of their careers, 2019’s category champion, Iain Johnson, has taken a more meandering path.
‘I took an incredibly long route to becoming a contact lens optician,’ says Johnson. ‘I started at 16 working part-time filing records in a busy practice. This led to working in the lab full-time for five years before taking the plunge and talking to patients as a dispensing assistant. Soon after I enrolled on the dispensing optician course and began taking on more roles and responsibilities. After doing that for many years I began training as a CLO and this is where I found my passion in optics.’
Since qualifying as a CLO, Johnson has gained additional qualifications in the field and, while continuing to work in practice, has become a tutor and examiner at the University of Manchester. So what was it specifically about contact lens work that attracted Johnson?
‘I enjoyed fitting lenses and managing anterior eye health the minute I started. But as soon as I qualified, I knew I wanted to get involved with the more complex side of the job as well. It didn’t take long before I was learning about scleral lenses for anterior eye disease and orthokeratology for myopia management.’
Johnson is a director at Maloney Opticians in Sale (he locums at another practice as well) and notes the practice benefits both clinically and commercially from a focus on contact lenses.
‘My wife, Rebecca Rietdyke, [who won Optometrist of the Year at this year’s Optician Awards] has a huge amount of knowledge and experience in complex lens fittings from her time practising at the hospital, so we have many fits that are referred to her and the practice. From a commercial standpoint we do not price match with chains and online stores. Instead we promote our service as being specialist and customer service focused. We try to make things as easy as possible for the patients and so far this has led to increased contact lens patients year on year with very little drop out.’
This low dropout rate was one of the most impressive aspects of Johnson’s awards entry. He explains that it has been achieved by targeting two major causes of dropout in comfort and vision.
‘We focus on these areas to enable our patients to wear contact lenses long-term. That means managing dry eye when we see it at an early stage, offering the best lens designs at every opportunity and taking our time to get their visual demands met. Sometimes this means more than one appointment but I think it’s worth it for the patient, especially considering we are usually able to keep them in lenses because of this extra time.’
Johnson and the wider practice also tackle myopia head on with different modalities.
‘We offer both orthokeratology, which is becoming far more used within the practice, and the MiSight lenses from Coopervision. We discuss with parents the lifestyle factors that can play a role in the development of myopia in children, such as spending time outdoors.’
Despite his strong credentials, Johnson was surprised on the Awards night to take home the trophy.
‘We entered the awards as a practice to see how well we fared in the industry and to promote our business. I had no expectations going in and had no idea how well we would do. The awards night was one we will never forget. I was up for contact lens practitioner and my wife for optometrist. When we both won, I don’t think we knew how to take it; it was a complete surprise. The whole night was great and I loved the 1980s theme.’
Since the event Johnson has been able to utilise the award within the wider community.
‘We have put it up everywhere we can think of and our patients have really taken pride in the fact that a practice in their town has won. Overall, it’s been a great experience and I would encourage anyone thinking of entering to do so.’
Looking to the future, there is little chance of Johnson resting on his laurels.
‘I think my mind is easily bored, so I will probably keep learning as I always have done and stay on the edge of what’s newly available. We have been creating a niche in the complex contact lens side of the business and this has turned out to be brilliant for the practices that I work at. I have also been fortunate enough to start making my way onto film sets offering contact lens services. This has been a great experience and one I hope will continue.’
