My Private Practice

[paremyd]

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I just wanted to let prospective students know that private practice is very hard. There are some types who are not going to be good at it. There are those in which you see post here, who will thrive.

Doing retail sucks because you are not exactly your own boss. You also cheapen your profession and risk liability because you might cut corners.

If you don't want to deal with the medical and the liablity part, then just get your ABO/NCLE, learn to refract and own your own optical. Why owe 150K and flip lenses at someone else's retail.

It's not as easy as 'If you build it, they will come' mentality. You cannot just sit back and watch patients just call or come in. You have to do the work to get them in the door and you have to do the work to make them want to come back. It is very different than medical doctors who just open up an office and see sick/well patients. You just cannot give the best exam that the patient has ever had and that is it.

 

[luckyfool]

I just wanted to let prospective students know that private practice is very hard. There are some types who are not going to be good at it. There are those in which you see post here, who will thrive.

Doing retail sucks because you are not exactly your own boss. You also cheapen your profession and risk liability because you might cut corners.

If you don't want to deal with the medical and the liablity part, then just get your ABO/NCLE, learn to refract and own your own optical. Why owe 150K and flip lenses at someone else's retail.

It's not as easy as 'If you build it, they will come' mentality. You cannot just sit back and watch patients just call or come in. You have to do the work to get them in the door and you have to do the work to make them want to come back. It is very different than medical doctors who just open up an office and see sick/well patients. You just cannot give the best exam that the patient has ever had and that is it.

I'd expect it to be hard to open your own practice no matter what your medical profession is (MD, DDM, OD). Gotta be careful not to make it sound like MDs have less work to make a good practice happen. Many of them work equally as hard, but their paycheck is greater due to greater medical expertise.

 

[Envision]

I'd expect it to be hard to open your own practice no matter what your medical profession is (MD, DDM, OD). Gotta be careful not to make it sound like MDs have less work to make a good practice happen. Many of them work equally as hard, but their paycheck is greater due to greater medical expertise.

DDM?

 

[busupshot83]

DDM?

I think he meant DMD, as in a dentist.

 

[prettygreeneyes]

I just wanted to let prospective students know that private practice is very hard. There are some types who are not going to be good at it. There are those in which you see post here, who will thrive.

Doing retail sucks because you are not exactly your own boss. You also cheapen your profession and risk liability because you might cut corners.

If you don't want to deal with the medical and the liablity part, then just get your ABO/NCLE, learn to refract and own your own optical. Why owe 150K and flip lenses at someone else's retail.

It's not as easy as 'If you build it, they will come' mentality. You cannot just sit back and watch patients just call or come in. You have to do the work to get them in the door and you have to do the work to make them want to come back. It is very different than medical doctors who just open up an office and see sick/well patients. You just cannot give the best exam that the patient has ever had and that is it.

Kudos for the incredibly uplifting and positive message! 🙄

On a related note, why would you advise learning how to refract is you were to become an optician? Anticipating an expansion in optician's scope?

 

[diams]

I don't know where else to ask this question but which states or optometry schools let the OD perform laskis and what are you all's thought about laski coming towards optometrists is it true ...or just a saying ...that's never gonna happen.

 

[prettygreeneyes]

I don't know where else to ask this question but which states or optometry schools let the OD perform laskis and what are you all's thought about laski coming towards optometrists is it true ...or just a saying ...that's never gonna happen.

OK... first up... it is LASIK, not LASKI. Next, there is no state where optometrists can perform LASIK. In Oklahoma, those who go through additional training can perform PRK (a refractive surgery). Optometry schools do not directly control what an optometrist can legally do, the state legislature does. They do teach as much as possible, so that their students will be prepared to practice almost anywhere. As to whether optometrists will be able to perform LASIK in the future (or whether they should be able to) I will refer you to the many, many threads in both this forum and the Ophthalmology forum that have dealt with expanding our scope of practice. Search for 'optometrists, surgery, LASIK, etc.'