A new year brings with it a new sense of vigour and enthusiasm. It gives us the chance to take stock and look ahead and provides an opportunity to set goals, plan and lay out our hopes, visions and expectations for the 12 months ahead. It also gives us the chance to make our New Year’s resolutions.
What are your resolutions for 2018? Less chocolate? More exercise? All very worthy but it all adds up to less fun. How about resolving to do something that makes a difference – promise to mention contact lenses as an option to every suitable patient – including children?
We have a shortlist we want to see in 2018. We will do all we can to ensure they become reality but need your help. By working together we can deliver on these pledges and make a difference to eye health.
1 Wage war on myopia
We have the weapons, our army is in place, now let us go on the attack. ‘Generation M’ – as Ian Flitcroft described it at our recent Visionaries conference – needs us to do more. There is no excuse, myopia management is available to all of us and it has proven to make a real difference.
2 Invest in young people
Our profession is fortunate to have a ready pipeline of exciting talent coming through the ranks. Bright young minds have a desire to succeed, an enthusiasm for technology and an appetite for effecting change. We need to encourage them and welcome them into our midst, equipping them with the tools and knowledge they need to prepare them for a lifetime in optics.
3 Get confident fitting kids
For years people have backed off from fitting children with contact lenses. That needs to change. Myopia in children is more prevalent than ever before and as a profession we have to be aware of what we can do to treat it effectively.