The importance of optical assistants in practice is rapidly becoming recognised especially in emerging product areas. Coloured contact lenses is one area that opens up fantastic opportunities for practices to win new, mainly younger, customers.
The winner of this award will be chosen for their ability to understand and apply colour, fashion and style to fulfil patient needs. Entry forms will be available through the Freshlook and Optician websites, Freshlook events and inserts in Optician. Look out for further details in coming issues of Optician.
This category will be judged through a special process centred around an entry form that will be made available to optical assistants at Ciba Vision's own Freshlook Colour and Cocktail evenings and through insertion in Optician. The entry form will asses the candidates' ability to select and mix colour with fashion and style. The form will also include an opportunity for the entrants to make a statement which can be used as a tie break.
What the sponsor says:
The optical assistant plays a pivotal role in the provision of modern eye care, particularly in the area of contact lenses, and therefore CIBA Vision is delighted to support this new award.
In many cases the optical assistant has become the approachable 'face' of a practice, reflecting the assistant's communication skills and patient-centred responsibilities, not least in the area of dispensing. For the customer, the optical assistant provides all-important guidance with choice of frames or contact lenses, and the growth of the coloured contact lens market has progressively demanded more informed advice. Although the essential needs of the coloured contact lens wearer are no different to other contact lens wearers, the ability of the optical assistant to understand colour, style and fashion are particularly important. Coloured contact lenses already form a significant part of the UK market and with over 80 per cent of women reported to be interested in tinted contact lenses, the skills of optical assistants will increasingly be drawn upon.
This award acknowledges those skills, the development of the optical assistant's role and the progression of the contact lens field. CIBA Vision urges optical assistants to take part in the competition and wishes all entrants the best of luck.