Optometric scope expansion will continue. The question is, will we in the Optometric community do it right. I think we first need to establish parity in all states, with reciprocity for licensure, and leadership that ties reasonable progression in scope to training and uniformity. One of the main barriers to scope expansion, is that we have changed very rapidly as a profession over the last 20+ years. We have practitioners just out of school who are doing scleral depression on a suspected tear in the far periphery, and practitioners who came out of training not so very long ago who were not allowed to dilate patients, and thus do not, and can not.
We have Optometrists who send a corneal abrasion over to Ophthalmology for a cataract evaluation due to decreased VA, and another diagnosing an amelanotic choroidal melanoma and sending it out for appropriate life saving treatment.
This vast gap in training and comfort level justifies questions as to our ability to expand scope for all Optometrists. The quandary is that it has always been a chicken egg scenario for us. We need a scope of practice that will legally allow us to train in techniques and procedures, yet we have to prove competence in such techniques and procedures in order to justify to many of our Ophthalmology friends that we are able secure said scope expansion. This is the difficulty of being part of a legislated profession. This is why these scope expansion bills look like they do, and why concerns on both sides are justified
We have Optometrists who send a corneal abrasion over to Ophthalmology for a cataract evaluation due to decreased VA, and another diagnosing an amelanotic choroidal melanoma and sending it out for appropriate life saving treatment.
This vast gap in training and comfort level justifies questions as to our ability to expand scope for all Optometrists. The quandary is that it has always been a chicken egg scenario for us. We need a scope of practice that will legally allow us to train in techniques and procedures, yet we have to prove competence in such techniques and procedures in order to justify to many of our Ophthalmology friends that we are able secure said scope expansion. This is the difficulty of being part of a legislated profession. This is why these scope expansion bills look like they do, and why concerns on both sides are justified