OD or LDO?

**keithbenjamin** · 02-14-2004, 11:21 AM

If you could wave a wand and make it so, and were so inclined, would you rather own and operate a practice/dispensary as an OD or and optician? and of course, why? including money, prestige, loving what you do, despising what others do, legal benefits, business advantages, etc. (your wand cannot change the state of affairs as it exists today, only give you a place of business as an OD or an optician).

**Traci** · 02-14-2004, 12:27 PM

Optician - no doubt! I love being an optician. Opticians make a dispensary as OD's spend more time in the exam room and less time as "hands on" in the dispensary.

I love the fashion aspect of creating a new look for someone. "Look your best while seeing your best!" - I would rather own a dispensary as an Optician and be hands on in it than own it as an OD and have someone else manage it.

**For-Life** · 02-14-2004, 04:48 PM

You make more money as an OD; however, you do not have as much fun. Dispensing is the best part of the industry. Why else do you see so many OD's dispensing in their refraction room.

**Cowboy** · 02-14-2004, 07:20 PM

By far, An owning optician!

As an OD, you have far too many legal obligations not just during regular posted business hours, but after hours too. Whereas, an optician plugs away at his/her day fulfills the needs of his her patients and staff and goes home to fulfill the needs of themselves and family/friends. OD's have to be on call, generate coverage when he/she does not want to be, etc. But mostly, todays OD will be paying for their schooling for the next 20-30 years, where as the Optician can earn his pay and keep more for themselves.

Cowboy

**Johns** · 02-14-2004, 11:38 PM

Over the course of 15 years, I've had 7 OD's work in my offices. 2 are no longer practicing (one is a medical supplies rep, the other is a teacher). Some of the others have mentioned that they thought they could have made better choices, and one cited competition between optometrists as a reason. He didn't think the competition was as fierce between other fields, but the grass always looks greener...

The first OD that ever worked in my office is went on to his own practice (as did 3 others) and I know he wakes up every morning more excited than before to be an OD. He loves what he does, he's got a very "basic" practice (not flashy), and he really seems to enjoy every aspect of his field. He's been an OD for 19 years now.

I enjoy the freedom of being an optician. If I want to travel, my dispensary will still generate good income for me. If the OD's in my office take a leave, their income stops.

I leave my office almost everyday feeling like Rush Limbaugh- (no, not addicted to pain medications) "Having more fun than a human should be allowed to have." It sound corny, but I couldn't be happier. One of the women at the hair salon next door to us asked me the other day if we were "smoking something funny" in our office because everyone seems "so damned happy". I told he that when it stops being fun, we're closing up the store.

**keithbenjamin** · 02-14-2004, 11:55 PM

I enjoy the freedom of being an optician. If I want to travel, my dispensary will still generate good income for me. If the OD's in my office take a leave, their income stops.

If you were the OD and owned the dispensary and hired the optican(s), you don't think you could have the same freedom?

**paw** · 02-15-2004, 07:32 PM

As a single OD office, I can tell you that when we go on vacation, even though the office is open, the revenues are substantially less. People still come in to pick up their glasses and CL, but it's a far cry compared to when the doctor is there doing exams, etc.

You just have to factor in the effect of vacation time when you are looking at yearly income.

**Johns** · 02-15-2004, 08:16 PM

Keinthbnejamin,

I agree with PAW, but to be fair, their are sometimes that I have to hire extra staff when I leave.

I took almost a month of last June, and the sales were up 23% over the June before. Maybe I'm more of a hinderance than a help.(?!)

**keithbenjamin** · 02-15-2004, 10:46 PM

Guess I should have known what kind of response this would get on a board dominated by opticians. Nothing at all aginst any of you or you responses, I have a lot of respect for you folks, just that upon further consideration, I'm thinking I'd be hard pressed to find any established opticians wishing they were or even saying it would be nice to be an OD.

Seems to me, however, from a business perspective, starting a practice/dispensary from scratch, the OD would be in the better position.

1) The OD generaly garners a little more respect from the public than an LDO (even though confusion abounds when it comes to the O's).
2) As an optician, your business can live or die at the hands of the OD. The OD can pick up and leave for greener pastures or can even pick up and move next door taking a chunk or your customers and leaving you with no one to do exams. From what I understand, it's not all that uncommon and is a pretty scary possibility when you've put everything into your business.
3) As an OD, you likely have more control over the quality of the opticians you hire than you would have contol over the quality of your ODs as an optician.
4) As an OD, you have something more substantial to fall back on, if things go south (as if that were even an option).
5) As an OD, it's easier to supplement your income as the pratice is growing.

ok, fire away...

**Johns** · 02-15-2004, 11:59 PM

Keithbenjamin;

I thought the question was, given the choice, which would you rather be?

(1) No doubt, the OD gets more respect, but if you asked the question, "Who get's the most respect - I'd say "the MDs"
However, I know that the hairdresser next door often gets more respect than the OD that works at the chain down the street. (He's a picker-upper and mover, and he's running out of places to pick up and move to).

(2) The OD's job at the optical lives and dies by how good a job he/she does. If an OD ever had a negative impact on my business, it wouldn't be for long.

-Most of the indpendent opticians (owners) I know don't wander from job to job looking for "greener pastures". I planted in my pastures (yes, much manure was involved), and am now harvesting a comfortable crop. Granted, many opticians seem to be roamers as well, trying out different pastures every few years.

- All my OD agreements are such that they can't take a "chunk of my customers". Not all the state laws are the same, but the
agreements can usually, with a little foresight, guarantee that the records (for the good of the patient's care) stay on the premises.

(3) As on OD, you can always fall back on...? Examining eyes ?

- True, it is very common for OD's to work for opticians or chains until they get their own practices going.

What is the other skill that you are falling back on when your dispensary goes south ? I had an OD working for me that had a dispensary that went more than south. His optician left and started her own optical. When his dispensary went south, he found out that he couldn't make ends meet without the income it had generated. He worked at WM for a while (not green enough pasture), then he came to work for me. After 3 weeks I decided I didn't like his chairside manner, much as his patients at his office hadn't, so I got another OD. Eventually, he "fell back" on teaching elementary school.

As far as being hard-pressed to find opticians that want to be OD's., I know that there was an optician from the class of '85 at HCC in Tampa, that went on to become an optometrist. On the flip-side, there is an OD in Youngstown, Ohio, that studied for, and obtained an optician's license, and never misses an opportunity for continuing ed. (She in her mid 70s now).

Because there is not much of a financial investment required to become an optician, it would not be that big of a deal to simply switch careers if an optician did not like his/her chosen field. Od's on the other hand, are often forced into staying in a field they are not comfortable with just to pay off the school loans.

**Pete Hanlin** · 02-16-2004, 08:13 AM

My wife used to tech for an Ophthalmologist in a really nice office next to the river in Harrisburg. The OD there had what I would call the ultimate situation. As an OD in an MD office, he performed post-op care for cataract, refractive, and other medical patients. Nice office on the third story of a brick building overlooking the Susquehanna with good hours, an established staff and practice...

So, if I had to be in practice, it would be as an OD working in a nice MD office. Having run several OD offices (and having observed store-owning Optician friends), I have to say I'd never want to own my own practice. Let me practice my profession and let someone else worry about paying the light bills, etc.

That said, the truly ultimate job in this industry (for me, anyway), has been a non-practicing position here at Essilor (well, I do get to adjust and dispense co-workers glasses from time to time, but...). All jobs come with trials and tribulations, but I haven't heard a patient complain about her "scratch proof" lenses scratching, seen an insurance form, or scraped face cheese in over a year now- and I have to say... I don't miss it!

:D

**keithbenjamin** · 02-16-2004, 10:57 AM

I thought the question was, given the choice, which would you rather be?

Sure, but I was hoping to elicit responses of a practical nature as well as an ideal one.

Most of the indpendent opticians (owners) I know don't wander from job to job looking for "greener pastures". I planted in my pastures (yes, much manure was involved), and am now harvesting a comfortable crop. Granted, many opticians seem to be roamers as well, trying out different pastures every few years.

Obviously, I wouldn't expect owners to be wanderers and that's not to whom I was referring. My point was there are quite a few more high paying options for ODs than for opticians, thus it would stand to reason it would be easier for a OD to keep an optician happy than the other way around.

As on OD, you can always fall back on...? Examining eyes ?

Well... yes, whether it be in a private practice or in the commercial world, or simply filling in here and there ...and the income would likely be something more substatial to fall back on than that of an optician whose dispensary has gone south.

What is the other skill that you are falling back on when your dispensary goes south ? I had an OD working for me that had a dispensary that went more than south. His optician left and started her own optical. When his dispensary went south, he found out that he couldn't make ends meet without the income it had generated. He worked at WM for a while (not green enough pasture), then he came to work for me. After 3 weeks I decided I didn't like his chairside manner, much as his patients at his office hadn't, so I got another OD. Eventually, he "fell back" on teaching elementary school.

Someone with no chairside manner that doesn't understand the importance of a dispensary probably has no business being an OD, let alone running his own practice.

Because there is not much of a financial investment required to become an optician, it would not be that big of a deal to simply switch careers if an optician did not like his/her chosen field. Od's on the other hand, are often forced into staying in a field they are not comfortable with just to pay off the school loans.

Changing careers almost always requires investment and sacrifice. If an optician wishes to change careers there is still the cost of moving to the chosen field and loss of time invested in opticanry. The cost of optometry school should be considered and evaluated as an investment, just as the cost starting a business.

Thanks for the responses! Keep 'em coming.

Keith

**Johns** · 02-16-2004, 11:28 AM

Keith,

Can't argue (not that I'm looking to) with any of your points.

As far as the investment, I was refering to the amount of colleges it take for an OD just to get to the point of opening the dispensary. With $60K plus in bills, the OD would be more apt to have to stick it out , one way or the other before changing professions.

**walt** · 04-27-2004, 10:43 AM

xx

**Eddie G's** · 04-27-2004, 09:40 PM

I'd love to be an OD but there's NO way in heck I'm going back to school.

Actually I always wanted to be an OD ever since I was a kid.

Oh well...

**Pete Hanlin** · 04-28-2004, 07:25 AM

Pete, what do it mean? Is there a market for face cheese? How about cheese from other parts of the anatomy? Do you use finger nails or a tool? Does it involve the FDA?
Next time someone tries to tell you guacamole is made from avacados...

As for government regulation, this does raise an interesting question. Namely, is face cheese hazardous bio-waste? If so, should it really be put down the drain? Also, perhaps there should be some mandate regarding gloves and other protective clothing...

I'm sorry ma'am, before I clean your frames I'm going to need to don my bio-hazard suit, gloves, and open a face-cheese containment grid... The adjustment is free, but I'll have to charge you $20 for the toxic clean-up.

:D

**Texas Ranger** · 04-28-2004, 09:19 AM

I suppose that there are a lot of "investments" in both fields, and a lot has to do with "personality", there are those folks that like everything in black and white, which is better, one or two, all day every day, and then there are those that like frame styling and solving real practical applied optics problems..."owning and operating" any business has it's stresses, and an optical business IS stressful. I has been an "independent" shop for 27 years now. the last 4 yrs, and independent, non-dispensing OD has practiced next door, and our business has dropped each yr. I think we have the "respect" of our clients. I can't imagine any field that I could have gotten into that I would have been happier or done better financially in...and since I have studied refracting, I couldn't remotely imagine doing that all day every day...hmmm?

**Johns** · 04-28-2004, 10:53 PM

Texas Ranger:

The OD next door does NOT dispense, and you're business is dropping? What's up?

**Texas Ranger** · 04-29-2004, 10:08 AM

Johns, the non-dispensing OD next door does not make any effort to refer patients, practices pretty much part time, and the other docs in the area that we had good referrals from, see us as aligned with the OD next door. He has offered to buy the shop, but my pending divorce has it all bogged down....I guarantee if it was his shop, folks would be waiting down the sidewalk, but he worked at Wal-mart too many years....the decline has really more to do with a major employer in the area putting most of their staff on VSP, cost us about a $100K a year in sales right there...