To our learned and much respected colleagues, we thank you for your responses [In Focus 29.09.17 ‘Profession responds to calls for doctor title’].
However, we must also ask should dentists and veterinarians attend medical school to become doctors? These professions do not suffer any confusion with physicians. Their titles (the prefix Dr) have allowed them to be recognised for their clinical expertise and contributions. The future of optometry and eye health in the UK relies heavily on the medicalisation and the identity of our profession as health professionals not retail workers.
The public does not seem to understand what an optometrist is (see the latest Comres report if you have any doubt and even the journalist who collected the responses referred to us as opticians with no prefix, ie ophthalmic optician). We are viewed by some as sales associates and our eye exam as a retail experience. Without medicalisation how can optometry begin to take the pressure off an overburdened ophthalmology service?
Our vision is that everyone regardless of religion, race, wealth, background, colour, disability, gender, creed or social economic status in all four UK nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) should have equal access to eye health. We call for optometrists to be doctors of optometry not doctors of medicine.
Many optometry degrees are now four years. Do you not think we should be recognised for our continued lifelong learning and service to public health (Mecs, glaucoma, diabetic eye screening, TIP, etc)?
We invite you to please join with us and support the above statement. We invite you to help make this change possible. Please be part of this movement to better optometry.
The Mandel brothers are leading calls for optometrists to be termed Drs, including the collection of responses for last month’s In Focus article in Optician.
