Q. How can these challenges be overcome?
“THIS YEAR’S CAMPAIGN
VIA SOCIAL MEDIA WILL
BE QUITE BOLD. ENTITLED
‘I HATE MY JOB,’ WE ARE
A. Education. We, as opticians, need to educate ourselves
and achieve a high level of competencies so, in return,
we can educate our patients on our role and how we can
help them understand all the intricacies of the services
we provide Canadians consumers. They need to learn how
the process involved from the consultation to the final
dispensing will benefit them and the value of those services.
INVITING ALL THOSE Q. How can ECPs get the word out that it's best to
see an optician?
CANADIANS WHO DO NOT A. Public awareness is imperative to the success of
opticians. The Ontario Opticians Association is a major
stakeholder in an organization called the Opticians Council
of Canada. This organization consists of regulators,
associations and educators. The mandate is to raise public
awareness on the value of the licensed optician. The last five
years have seen some very cool campaigns promoting
opticians. This year’s campaign via social media will be
quite bold. Entitled ‘I Hate my Job,’ we are inviting all those
Canadians who do not get the same personal satisfaction we
have for their existing career to consider joining us.
Opticians deliver vision care to Canadians. The role of the
optician is very rewarding. The gift of sight is the best gift.
I personally enjoy being part of this team.
GET THE SAME PERSONAL
SATISFACTION WE HAVE FOR
THEIR EXISTING CAREER
TO CONSIDER JOINING US.”
Q. Martin, thanks for taking the time to speak with us.
Let’s start with the question: What are some of the
biggest challenges facing opticians today?
A. The absolute biggest challenge facing opticians today
is the educated consumer. I say this as a good thing, of
course; vision care consumers have done much research
before they first engage an optician. The availability of so
much information online has most certainly increased
awareness around vision care. The optician’s role now
includes helping to guide the patient through the journey
of the purchase. The abundance of information can be an
overload, the optician can sift through all that and focus
the attention on the needs of our patients and bring
the best solutions forward.
Q. What are some of the benefits of joining the OOA?
A. The greatest benefits to joining the OOA are educational
offerings. As an example, Inside Optics and the new OACM,
which is the next level up of education for licensed opticians.
Being an OOA member entitles them to have access to
these programs.
Q. What do you enjoy about being president of the OOA?
A. The networking is my favourite part. I get to meet very
interesting individuals that I can learn and grow from both in
my position with the OOA and in my personal development.
There are great directors on the board and we get the
chance to share ideas and plan for upcoming events.
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