Bill Harvey: Brain storm

I took part in some interesting peer discussion sessions last week with some newly qualified optometrists. The theme was concerning delegated function and focused on delegated tasks such as focimetry, visual fields and photography.

The first thing that struck me was how quickly the Standards of Practice guidelines from the GOC have bedded in. All who took part knew their responsibility for any delegated function and were aware that, where there might be a problem, it was the optometrist with whom the buck stopped and so were responsible for ensuring the appropriate training and skillset of those to whom functions were being delegated. Some did this on an annual review, while others on a more ad hoc basis – when a problem arose, such as continually blurred photos or full fields on everyone, then the optom would spend some time with the optical assistant to ensure they were up to the task.