Letter: Locums are not apathetic

I read with interest ‘Name and address withheld’s’ letter regarding locum ‘apathy’ in the November 4 issue of Optician. It is nice to hear the views of someone of such distinction, indeed he/she spends the first 100 words or so explaining his/her accomplishments to back up why the subsequent ideas should be taken seriously. All I will say is that, like one in six optometrists, I am a locum optometrist.

There is no doubt, our profession is one where patient care should be at the forefront of everything we do, and I am sure all optometrists come into the profession to improve the lives of our patients. I agree with much of what has been said about professionalism, one of the cornerstones of this being continuous professional development, however, I cannot disagree more with the statement that locum optometrists are the problem with our profession.