As optometrists, our days are often filled with fully booked schedules, demanding patients, and the constant pressure to meet targets. It’s no surprise that we sometimes slip into autopilot mode, becoming somewhat like optometric robots. However, merely getting through the day and delivering average outcomes to our employers and patients shouldn’t be our goal. Instead, we should strive for excellence, aiming to wow our managers and provide the best eye examination experience for our patients. Let’s explore some practical ways to achieve just that!
Effective Communication
Why it matters: Communication is key. Explaining each step of the examination process to our patients helps build trust and ensures they feel at ease. It also helps convey information as the test progresses so they can process it when you summarise the eye examination at the end.
Be transparent: As you perform procedures, explain what you’re doing in simple terms and avoid jargon. Patients really do appreciate understanding what’s happening during their eye exam. They will also get the impression that you are being thorough as they will know you are doing many tests throughout instead of going through motions of what they may perceive to be just a single test.
Address common questions proactively: Patients often ask about the “puff-of-air test” or other commonly discussed terms in eye care. Anticipate these questions and provide clear answers during the examination. Knowing what a patient is likely to ask at each point during the examination means that you can explain the likely answers before they ask – making you appear to be in tune with your patient, as well as exceptionally knowledgeable within your field.
Discuss test results: In the majority of routine eye exams, most results will be normal. Assure patients of this and prevent unnecessary worry. Try and do this for every test as you complete them. “I’ve just checked the pressures of your eyes and they are within the normal range and exactly where we would like them to be. Now we will move on to…”. The more they are reassured, the more likely they will relax and build further rapport with you.
Utilise Patient Information Leaflets
Why it matters: Patient information leaflets are valuable resources and contain much more information than what you will be able to cover in an appointment slot. However, just handing them to a patient without explaining what it has been given to them for will not be useful to them at all and, in some cases, cause them undue worry. Use them as a tool to help with explanation of complex concepts and terminology.
Explain the leaflet: Explain to the patient why you are using a given leaflet. Tell them what you think is wrong with their eyes, the management and the treatment plan, using the leaflet as a guide to highlight key points and show pictures. This ensures they understand what you are trying to tell them, the content of the leaflet and allows them to feel informed. I also find that most leaflets show images of advanced cases and, should their findings be mild, tell them that their eyes look much better than this photograph and the advice you are providing is to prevent their eyes becoming like th eone in the image.
Customise information: Cross out or emphasise relevant paragraphs based on the patient’s specific case. I found the College of Optometrists Blepharitis leaflet is useful as it covers anterior blepharitis and meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). In some cases, the patient may only have mild MGD and as such, the information about anterior blepharitis treatments and antibiotics is irrelevant – so cross it out and tell them. This will help the patient feel both reassured and that you are performing a bespoke eye examination just for them.
Use them as paper: Sometimes you may need to recommend a website, other resource or a product to do with the condition in the leaflet. If so, use it as a place to write it down as the patient will be taking it away with them. If recommending a product (e.g., an ocular lubricant), mention a specific brand and its benefits, rather than just a generic treatment option.
Personal Reflection and Improvement
Why it matters: Regular self-reflection helps us enhance our professional conduct. In university, you will be very familiar with having to write reflection pieces with regards to coursework, practical sessions and placements. You will also need to do this for the General Optical Council Continuing Professional Development as part of your ongoing training, but it is also good to do routinely as it allows for identification of your strengths, weaknesses and areas you may wish to improve.
Did I communicate effectively? Reflect on your interactions with patients. Could you have explained things better? Did they leave with a clear understanding? Reflecting on these interactions will ensure that future interactions with patients will be more meaningful to them. You aren’t going to have an amazing interaction with every patient – often through no fault of your own (such as the patient being in a bad mood or just a mismatch of personalities), but learning how you reacted and how the patient responded to those reactions can help you adapt to similar cases in the future.
Case-specific letters: In complex cases, consider writing it up as an anonymised case report. Taking the time to go through the patient’s experience with you, the tests performed and the management outcomes, alongside the latest peer-reviewed literature or College Clinical Management Guidelines will help test your understanding on these more challenging cases, highlighting areas you may need to read around or study further. We can always do better – but it is a case of spending the time of identifying how!
If you are in a pre-registration role – I highly recommend that you do this for any appointments that you may be able to use for sign-off. Taking that time to dive into the case in detail will mean you should be prepped for any questions that your College assessor may have for you when they review the case.
Follow-ups. Be proactive in finding out how your patient has gotten on with that emergency referral that you have sent or contact that patient that was worried about trying varifocals for the first time. Sometimes, that little touch will prove to your patient that they are more than just a number and that you do care. This will pay dividends – as they will likely be a returning patient for years to come and, if you are lucky, recommend you to their friends and family.
Thoughtful Recommendations
Why it matters: Recommending products isn’t just the dispensing or contact lens opticians’ responsibility. Your advice matters. Remember, you have spent the last 20 to 40 minutes building a rapport with the patient and ensuring that they trust you. At handover to another colleague, they may perceive that they are moving away from a healthcare professional and on to a salesperson, where they do not have the same rapport Handover the responsibility carefully and use your knowledge to create meaningful recommendations.
Be specific: When recommending spectacles, name specific options (such as bifocal, varifocal, single vision etc.) and, where possible, suggest both brands and styles that you would recommend. Discuss their features and benefits during the examination as patients will remember your advice and be will be keen to follow up this recommendation with the dispensing team.
Bridge the gap: Address dispensing concerns during the examination. This ensures a smoother handover to the dispensing staff, improving conversion rates and overall value. Whilst testing the patient, find out what they like and dislike about their glasses, if they have spare pairs, if they have considered upgrading to a varifocal and similar questions. Having this on the forefront of your mind will help you recommend appropriately and aid your handovers.
Conclusion
Our profession can sometimes lead us into autopilot, but implementing these tips can help you break free from repetitiveness. As an optometrist who cares, you can go the extra mile, leaving a lasting impression on patients and boosting your practice’s reputation. Do you have additional tips? Feel free to share them below—I’d love to learn from your experiences!
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