Career Path Roadblocks in Eye Care

Margaret M. Felkay is this issues “Community Contributor.” Felkay formerly worked in a private practice and is now an opthalmic practice consultant.

Local Eye Site hopes you can avoid your Career Path Roadblocks in Eye Care.

By Margaret M. Felkay,COT,OCS of Opening Eyes, LLC.

So many of our journeys in eye care careers mirror the road trips we take everyday. Some of us know the routes by heart, some of us take a different route each day, some of us get lost, some of us let someone else do the driving. All of us have come across obstacles discouraging us from entering or continuing down the career path. How many of these roadblocks have you encountered on your road to success?

Stuck in the “Just A Job” parking garage

Ever felt like you are driving around in circles and no matter how many jobs you try on each level you try you can’t seem to find your way out to the Career Path? Have you worked your way up from answering phones to patient registration to billing only to realize you still aren’t finding what you are looking for? Have you found yourself wanting more, needing more out of your job but not knowing how to find it?

Missing Keys

Have you ever missed an important meeting or event you wanted to go to because you couldn’t find your car keys? Many lose out on or give up on certification as they can’t find the time to study or the money for application fees or the necessary papers that were filed in a safe place.

No Road Map

How many of you know people that are extremely good at the job they have worked at for years yet they don’t feel they have a career? Many are not aware that what they do is a “real” career that offers certification. When they find out their response is “No one ever told me that I could…”, “I didn’t know…”, “I’m just a tech”, “But I only sell glasses”. No one ever gave them a map or directions.

Can’t Understand The Language

How many times do we talk in the same shorthand that we use to document in charts? COA, COT, COMT, CRC, CRA, CRNO, Opt. A., R. Opt. T., R., ABO, NCLE, OCS, POAG, ARMD, NS, DM, IDDM, TXE ½ %, HBP, LBS, OD, OS, OU, WTW, FA, OCT, HRT, VF, HVF, ECCE, etc. We assume everyone knows what we are talking about. What do all of those initials mean? Where do you start? Do I need to go to school for that? Who translates for us? How much of our message gets lost in translation?

Fear of driving in traffic or a new city or visiting a foreign country

Some of us are afraid of failure, some of us are afraid of success. It is scary to try something new, to change jobs, to take a test you might not pass, to learn a new skill. Fear is a dead end on a one way street. There are no options when you let fear paralyze you.

Confusing Signs and Signals from Management and Physicians

• “Certified preferred, but willing to train” is code for “we can’t afford to pay someone certified, so if you apply be prepared to accept less”.

• Letting go of the most experienced (certified) staff when times get tough. Yes, it may be one of the most expedient ways to save money for the business. But the message your staff hears is, “It doesn’t pay to be certified or to know how to do more as you will be the first to go”.

• “Just need a warm body to fill a room” reflects a lack of respect and understanding for the skills your clinical staff must have to work with patients every day.

• “So simple a monkey could do it” implies that technology has come so far and costs so much that just pushing a button should yield results and shouldn’t require anyone to think. In my experience, “a monkey can do it” usually means that someone else in the practice can’t do it which is why they hired you! Besides if they couldn’t afford to get a monkey to do your job for your pay! I’d gladly wager a months salary to see a monkey do an A-scan, visual field, refraction or Goldmann tonometry to the satisfaction of a surgeon.

• Practices that say they encourage certification, but don’t supply training materials, don’t have a set policy in place for salary increase when you become certified or fail to help cover costs of continuing education and recertification.

No Navigation System

There is no Garmin to navigate us to our final destination with a cheerful voice reminding us to make a U-turn when we are going the wrong direction. No traffic cop direction us through the detour. No handy pocket map guiding the way. It is hard knowing where to turn for career advice or guidance or assistance.

There are many so career paths in the eye care community and many ways to get there. It is difficult to know where to turn. Take your career path seriously whatever direction you chose to travel. If you are driving around in circles in your career…ask someone you consider successful for help! If you are stalled on the side of the road…flag someone down. Many people will drive by and ignore you, but there will always be someone who calls a tow truck or stops to give you a ride. Prepare for the journey…do your homework. If you have “arrived” , try to make the trip a little easier for others. Share your “short cuts on the back roads,” become a mentor, give detailed directions or jump aboard to show the way.

You might not find the help you need in your own vehicle, but it is out there. The internet offers help at our fingertips. There are so many sites and organizations that offer guidance. Local Eye Site is just one of a multitude of resources available for career development and support. As eye care professionals we have the power to form a strong community giving each other the guidance, encouragement, and support we may have missed along our own career paths. Our professions will be all the better for it.