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With more Optometry schools opening up, the population is becoming more educated and we're becoming more sidelined. Unfortunately, our leaders never wanted to progress our profession and now we're stuck in irrelevance. If we focus on lowering our educational standards and/or eliminating the licenses/certificates, then we can to attract more opticians and spread the word of who we are. This will increase our number to compete with optometrists.
Sorry, but you are wrong thinking “our leaders never wanted to progress our profession “. The vast, vast majority of Opticians can look in a mirror and see why we haven’t progressed. How many can say they’ve contributed cash to the OAA, ( the only association that has a legislative division to help us nationally on state legislation). How many Opticians join their state societies? How many have gone to their own state capitals and discussed their professional issues with their state senator or representative? Even recently when states started eliminating licensure in their own state....Did they even contacted their own representatives to voice their opinion on the subject? ( once again, the vast majority did nothing...)
I’ll use Texas as an example. We worked hard, many years, to get our state to create a “Voluntary Registration “. We finally got it! We knew we would have an almost impossible time getting full licensure up front, but we felt it was a strong start that could lead to mandatory licensure. A few years ago, our state legislature voted it out of existence. Why?...
Out of over 2,000 ABO certified Opticians in our state, less that 40 registered! That’s right, a whopping 38 Opticians...(6 of which we’re myself and my employees!)
Optician apathy has been rampant since some of us broke away and created Optometry and got licensure passed in all 50 states (starting around 100 years ago. In case some weren’t aware of, Optometry was started by refracting Opticians.) The rest of us were cool with doing...nothing...right up to today...
So here we are, being legislated out of relevances. Some of us put a lot of time, money, travel and tears to help elevate our chosen profession, with little to no help from our peers. And frankly, I don’t think any Optician can b!tch about where we are today if they’ve sat on the bench their entire career.
Wisconsin ABO, the above was not directed towards you personally, but to all the Opticians out there that sat with the “vast, vast majority “...
Unfortunately, our leaders in the past were picking each other's noses and pocketing the money. They didn't think change was necessary since money was being made, and noses were booger-free. While they continued with this nonsense, optometry took over our share and our leaders reacted by using their other hands to pick each other's noses. Now, the damage is done. Opticians are a dying breed and becoming irrelevant, so there's not much value in contacting state representatives.Quote:
Originally Posted by optical24/7
If we lower our remaining standards, then we can gather a multitude of new generation opticians to combat optometrists. As the numbers rise, the newer generation can lobby for more rights and standards. As of right now, we need more folks in this field. Optometrists aren't as smart as they think they are - they're actually useless if you think about it. We can do what they're doing and we can do it better. If our leaders stopped picking each other's noses, then we would be where they are now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by optical24/7
Another sad piece of professional history revealed on optiBoard today, because the forefathers in the USA did not believe that professional knowledge, learning and training, should be under the wings and control of the Federal Government, and not the individual states, as it is in practiced in Europe in most countries.
That is also why the now fully merged corporation. on its planned way to world commercial domination of the optical retail trade, has chosen the North American Continent as their training ground, for international applications, already for the last many years.
The optical retail business as it is now, is going to face big changes and we better start thinking how we should adapt to it, to survive
the change to a new generation of retail customers that will need glasses.
Steve, feel free to sanction me, but in all my time here, I’ve never read a more ignorant post on this site. Optometrist are “useless”? “We” can do what they’re doing? I was unaware that Opticians went through 7 years minimum of college including a doctoral. If you were fortunate enough to graduate from an accredited Opticianry program of a max of two years. How much path or pharma do we know or get to clinically trial? How ignorant...Quote:
Originally Posted by Wisconsin ABO
”We” (Opticianry I assume) needs to “lower our standards”? Why? When in the majority of states all it takes is a pulse to call yourself an “Optician”. You can be changing tires today, and go work tomorrow as an Optician in even most lisenced states under your Optometrist license. ( Oh, there’s those pesky Optometrist again...) without an hour of training. Heck, you can open your own shop in most states with nothing more than a dba, and call yourself an “Optician “.
”Newer generations can lobby for more rights and standards”.... I take it you didn’t read my post above... Opticians are Apathetic! You won’t see some uprising of concerned Opticians that will put their money, mouth or time into bettering themselves. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Ain’t, gonna, happen.
“Not it much value in contacting state representatives “...Now is a more critical time than ever. If you were in a street fight, your life on the line, would you fight or cower into apathy..(the common response)...
As far as “picking noses”...I don’t know what you’re talking about. But your post shows complete ignorance of Optometry, Opticianry and why they are where they are and we are where we are. #1 difference is training. The average Optician knows only a fraction of knowledge that a schooled, interned, tested and practiced Optometrist knows. Period...
Optometrists are about to find every possible use for the metaphoric rope their degree entitles and will as Karl Marx said have only one thing left to do with it as they saturate markets. Not to mention the Tele-Optomotrists entering the picture.
Correct me if I'm wrong but the history of optometry dates back to when the highly skilled, lens grinding optician sold his glasses to traveling peddlers who sold them to customers along with others goods on his cart.
Some of these hustlers had the smarts to see the future and learn refracting from the opticians. The profession became organized and blossomed from there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Fester
Optometrists (also known as doctors of optometry in the United States and Canada for those holding the O.D. degree,[1] or ophthalmic opticians in the United Kingdom[2][3][4][5][6][7]) are health care professionals who provide primary eyecare through comprehensive eye examinations to detect and treat various visual abnormalities and eye diseases. Being a regulated profession, an optometrist's scope of practice may differ depending on the location. Thus, disorders or diseases detected outside the treatment scope of optometry are referred out to relevant medical professionals for proper care, more commonly to ophthalmologists who are physicians that specialize in tertiary medical and surgical care of the eye. Optometrists typically work closely together with other eye care professionals such as ophthalmologists and opticiansto deliver quality and efficient eyecare to the general public.
The term "optometry" comes from the Greek words ὄψις (opsis; "view") and μέτρον (metron; "something used to measure", "measure", "rule"). The word entered the language when the instrument for measuring vision was called an optometer, (before the terms phoropter or refractor were used). The root word opto is a shortened form derived from the Greek word ophthalmos meaning, "eye." Like most healthcare professions, the education and certification of optometrists is regulated in most countries. Optometric professionals and optometry-related organizations interact with governmental agencies, other healthcare professionals, and the community to deliver eye- and vision-care.
see more at source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optometry
We can’t change the past, so we have to focus on the future. We need to resuscitate our dwindling numbers so we can make a comeback to the mainstream. The only thing we can do is lower our threshold even more to attract people to this profession. Once we have a decent number, regulations and standards will arise themselves to govern and advance the field.Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Fester
We can’t let optometrists gain more practice rights as ours decrease or remain stagnant. Optometrists aren’t even needed in the workforce and their presence just obstructs our future. Just because they created a “doctorate” doesn’t mean they’re smart, it just means they wanted to make us look insigificant by saying they’re more educated. In fact, I wouldn’t even call them smart.
Ummmm....Quote:
Originally Posted by Wisconsin ABO
O.K.:rolleyes:
It would be pretty tough to lowering the standard when the standard requirement is a pulse! I guess we could get rid of that requirement and provide jobs for all the deceased out there craving to be an Optician...
You obviously do not know very many if any optometrist. Since i happen to work at a school of optometry and work closely with future optometrists, I find them very intelligent and well trained, far beyond the scope of opticianry. Furthermore, I do not see where Optometry increasing their practice rights has any bearing on opticianry. Stop worrying about optometrist and start worrying about bettering yourself as an optician.
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Originally Posted by Wisconsin ABO
Optometry is moving away from opticianry and towards ophthalmology. In my area, large medical practices and ophthalmology offices have little difficulty hiring ODs, while opticals seem to have great trouble finding one.
Folks, I’m going to meet with an attorney to discuss what legislative options can be done. Hopefully, I can start the process of forming a bill that will reduce the educational requirements in states that have them.
This thread is the gift that just keeps giving! Keep fighting the good fight Wisconsin! LMFAO. Yeah, reducing educational requirements is just the ticket!Quote:
Originally Posted by Wisconsin ABO
Oh, and don't forget to remind us how dumb OD's are. And, keep referencing everyone picking everyone else's noses.
Your arguments are soooooooo compelling! :rolleyes:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quig
The latest post by the new master of insults on optiBoard.
Ha! Only when they're well earned!Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Ryser
And at least Wisconsin is actually taking the time to type up his OWN thoughts and not simply regurgitating ancient posts or simply cutting and pasting the garbage you do. :rolleyes:
You're so delusional I don't know where to begin.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wisconsin ABO
1. Optometry hasn't hurt opticianry one whit.
2. Optometrists are only 3.5 GPA students in college. Pretty stupid.
3. I don't think optometrists are useless.
4. You seem to be stuck in a time-warp. It's not 1976.
5. You don't even know what optometrists do.
That's for starters. I think I did a great job.
I have more!
Why can't you consider us as opticians who did EXACTLY what you recommended...in 1912.
You are free, my optician brother, to join us refracting opticians plus medical care-givers. There are plenty of OD schools in which to enroll. We can talk about old times.
Get well soon, drk. I wish you well.Quote:
Originally Posted by drk