Canadian optometry is at a pivotal point in its history. As various forces (private equity, eCommerce, international organizations) are vying for their market space, how will optometrists ensure that the profession thrives in the future?
Today on Canada’s number one optometry podcast, Harbir Sian invites all organizations and key figures in the industry to come on the podcast and share what they envision for the future of optometry in Canada. Let's all get together and be better together across the country.
—
Watch the episode here
Listen to the podcast here
Eye2Eye: Wake Up Call
I have another Eye2Eye episode for you. If you are familiar with the show, then you know the Eye2Eye episodes are these short episodes where it's me talking to you guys, trying to share some knowledge and some information and experiences that I've had to hopefully, help you grow. Maybe you can implement the lessons I have learned into your life to help improve your professional or business career.
This conversation is one that I have wanted to have for quite some time. I haven't known, whether I should or how even to approach it. As time has gone on, and changes have happened in our industry and profession, I felt like now has to be the time. Otherwise, it's going to end up being too late. I like to talk about entrepreneurship and business-related and inspiring things that can help us all grow.
I like to bring on guests who can share their challenges and inspire us individually in optometry as a profession to grow and think outside the box. I would like for The 20/20 show to be a voice for the profession and Canadian optometry. A place where we can all come and say, "Here's how we can be better. Let's all be better together across the country, so we know that our profession will continue to flourish, grow and strengthen with time.” I feel like Canadian optometry and Canadian optometrists are at a pivotal point in the history of our profession.
If we work together for the greater good, we can all share in the benefits and that future that we built together
The very ground that our profession is built on is shifting below our feet. Unless we're careful, these tectonic shifts are going to result in an earthquake, and we, the optometrists, are going to be the ones who are left to pick up the pieces of what used to be optometry in Canada. Optometrists seem to be in demand these days. There are various entities and opportunities for optometrists all over the place. For the first time in my career, I feel like I'm seeing a scarcity of optometrists.
The question is, “Is this scarcity because these entities truly value our skillset or is it based on the rules and regulations they require our services for their businesses to succeed? If it's the latter, how long until one of these entities is large, strong, and influential enough to change the rules and regulations so that they don't need our services anymore or to change them so that we become automatons?”
They dictate the services that we provide and how we provide them. If you think that's farfetched, look back several years and see how one organization caused massive deregulation here in BC. I have heard many of these organizations claim that they have the optometrist's best interest at heart. They want to do right by the optometrist. My question to you is, “While you are doing right by the optometrist, what are you doing for optometry? What are you doing for the profession as a whole? What good is a fat paycheck if the profession is degraded over time?”
Canadian Optometry: Unless we're careful, these tectonic shifts will result in an earthquake. And we, the optometrists, will be the ones who are left to pick up the pieces of what used to be optometry in Canada.
I'm calling these entities and organizations to the floor. I would like to invite you to come forward and talk to us and share with us what you envision optometry looking like ten years from now. What do you think you and your organization are doing to help support optometry as a whole? Specsavers, Bailey Nelson, Ollie Quinn, Clearly, LensCrafters, FYI, New Look, what are you all doing to help make sure optometry survives and thrives in the future?
A fat paycheck and extra perks for the individual optometrist while behind the scenes looking forward to degrading and diminishing the profession is not what we are talking about. What are we doing to grow the scope of our profession in the long-term? I invite anyone and everyone willing and interested in coming forward to share their thoughts. I'm opening up the floor here on The 20/20 show to come forward, and let's have a conversation, open dialogue. Let's talk about where we think optometry is going to be 10, 20 years from now.
To my colleagues and my friends, we have to ask ourselves, “What are we doing to make sure our profession is growing?” Whether you like it or not, this is the profession that we sweat and cry for, that we stayed up late hours cramming for, that we spent years in graduate school and thousands and thousands of dollars on our education for. If we are not working to make this profession stronger, what did we do all of that for? I understand the need to make a living to pay off loans to support families.
What good is the money if this profession that we spent all this time working for is not around ten years from now? I like my philosophy, stoic philosophy, and quotes. My favorite ancient philosopher is Marcus Aurelius. He would always write about doing something for the greater good. One of the famous quotes is, "Have I done something for the greater good because then I can share in those benefits." If we are working together for the greater good, we can all share in the benefits and that future that we built together.
If you find yourself sitting there wondering if you as an individual or a small group of people can do anything to affect change, I'm going to leave you with the one last quote that is powerful when we have those concerns, "Never doubt that a small, thoughtful group of committed citizens can change the world." In fact, it's the only thing that ever has.