Posted on

How to get teacher feedback about a child’s vision

Looking after the vision of children is a good way to grow an optometry practice. However, children are often unable to give reliable information about their symptoms; so it’s important to understand the signs of a possible vision problem. Optometrists routinely ask parents what they have noticed, but often some of the best observations will come from the child’s teacher.

The website linked below has a handout that can be given to parents for them to pass along to the teacher. We can then gather more information about how a vision problem is affecting the child’s behaviour and school performance.

TIP: Print the handout and make copies for the consulting room. When a situation arises where a prescription would be given only if warranted by the signs & symptoms, give a form to the parents to pass on to the teacher for them to record their observations. The form is then returned at a follow-up assessment when a more informed decision can then be made about treatment.

​Click here to go to the page: Then scroll to >Patient Education.

Posted on

Handouts for explaining eye health

As well as the standard information handouts for Patient Education (about eye conditions like myopia and cataract), two handout sheets have been shared by a practitioner.

The website in this link has downloads that are ideal for use with clinical explanations in the consulting room. There is one about ‘Anatomy of the Human Eye’ in general and another with a ‘Cross-Section of the Human Eye’. Both are a standard A4 size and produced in colour.

TIP: Print each handout and make photocopies for use in the consulting room. Then use these as handouts to support the clinical explanations that you give to your patients – making notes and highlighting relevant areas so that they are personalised to each situation.

Click here to go to the page: Then scroll to >Patient Education

-or-

Click here to view the download for ‘Anatomy of the Human Eye’.

 

Posted on

Make improvements by small steps

Almost everyone strives to improve their business, but it is almost impossible to achieve a single improvement of 20%. However it is a lot more achievable if we try to obtain 20 different small improvements, each of 1%.

The website in this link contains examples of small improvements that could each achieve results of between 1% and 3%. These are therefore manageable to implement, as well as being encouraging to complete.

TIP: Print the suggestions in the download and discuss these with your staff so that there is support for the plans. Then implement them and reinforce each project at your regular staff meetings.

Click here to go to the page: Then scroll to >Staff Training.

Posted on

Forms an optometrist can use for employee management

Having good records is important in every business, especially when it comes to the management of employees. The website in this link has a collection of forms for interviewing job applicants; doing performance reviews; and employee suggestions.

TIP: Print the forms and implement them in your practice. The employee management will be more professional; applicant selection will be more effective; there will be a reduced potential for misunderstandings; and staff will feel more involved in the success of your business.

​Click here to go to the page:  Then scroll to  >Forms & Misc.