Is a national recognition or licensure possible?

I think it has more posabilities than anything we can do state by state.

Why?(you might be asking ... or just about to hit the "back" button to go to another post)

The two strongest opposing forces to state licensure, it has been stated, are optometry and national retail chains. Does anyone ask why? Oh, you think you know the answer; "they would have to pay us too much." I think that may not be so.

National retail optical chains are doing business in both licensed and unlicensed states. If they had to pay licensed opticians so much more in licensed states, then how do they continue in business? Perhaps wages have very little to do with their opposition to licensure, but the ability to move good people from one location to another does.

We live in a world where traveling and even living for periods of time outside the U.S. is quite common. We think nothing of moving to another state because someone is offering us $2000 or $3000 more a year or may even take a cut because we want to live with our significant-other or close to our children or the beach. That is great in most cases unless an optician in Nebraska wants to move to a licensed state. This is what the "chains" deal with.

No one has responded to my post about Opticianry's changes under the General Discussion Forum but I think a truth is hidden there. Optometrists are also up against state licensure problems. If a person gets divorced and needs to get out of town, it is not easy to run off to Wyoming to get some personal space. Young optometrist don't like this situation anymore than the chains who can't move their star person from Wichita, Kansas to Florida to manage a new store. As far back as 1998, an Optometric Management poll stated that nearly 50% of OD's want a national license.

So the point is ... (thought I'd never get there? Well some things are a little better if it takes a little more time! At my age it takes a little longer - and that ain't all bad.) .... as I was saying, the point is that everybody wants reciprosity.

The national retail chains want it. The optometrists want it. And if we would help them get it we could get some too!! Such a deal! It would be kinda like a United States. We could all live and move and have our being as we liked ... and the marketplace would level everything out, as it usually does.

Let's help the chains (who claim to be pro education /credentialing) and the OD's who want to be able to move to Idaho, let's help them get a nationl license for all of us.

On the other hand, maybe this really belongs in the Just Conversation Forum in the discussions about heaven.