This month finds me in reflective mood. We go to work every day and do what optometrists do and then go home and switch off. But once in a while it is good to stop and reflect on what it is we do and why. This year, as in any year, there have been highs and lows. I have been privileged enough at times to assist people in literally saving their sight. This is still something that humbles me and always causes me to stop and realise just how important the role of an optometrist can be. There have been times when I have had to try and rebuild someone’s confidence as they have been told they can no longer drive due to the progressive worsening of vision. Times like that make me realise just what an extended role we now play as optometrists.
Probably the most frustrating incident was that of a person three days younger than me. This person had early-onset cataracts and was unable to successfully carry on working. Being on the borderline of their local CCG thresholds for surgery they were not allowed surgery and I had to fight for some three months through various appeals to get it done. The stupidity of it all was that by the time the CCG agreed his vision had worsened to the extent that he was eligible within their criteria anyway. The delay cost the individual work and much stress but also probably cost the CCG more in meeting costs to discuss the matter than had they allowed the surgery in the first place.
All of this makes me realise just how the role of optometrists has changed and will continue to change. There are those within optometry who would have us become glorified shopkeepers. There are those who, through their adverts, continue to mislead the public as to the levels of care they will receive, which is so wrong and must soon be addressed by the GOC hopefully.
But the simple fact is that, above all else, we as optometrists bear the responsibility to give people clear eyesight. We have the power to take a person with blurred vision and make them see properly. Still to many of our patients this is nothing short of a miracle. As time goes on our role will change to become first and foremost a ‘preserver’ of people’s vision and then a ‘corrector’ of that vision. This is an exciting step forward. But the inescapable fact is that we will remain the person who, in the eyes of our patients, ‘lets them continue to see’. It is this awesome responsibility that will keep me aiming to give the highest possible care to my patients for years to come. It is why I am an optometrist.
Have a happy and reflective Christmas.