WANTED: Full-time Optometrist

… for full-time engagement in his/her profession. After all, you don’t just call yourself an optometrist while you’re in the midst of examining a patient.

I want to offer you a warm, personal invitation to come to our Spring Congress. It will be held in my figurative backyard, Lancaster County, this weekend. The last time we held our annual Congress in Lancaster County was in 1999. That was the same year that our very own Harvey Hanlen was serving as our AOA President. Dr. Hanlen was the 6th Pennsylvania optometrist to serve as an AOA President since its beginning in 1898.

This year you can come help launch another Pennsylvanian onto the AOA Board  – Dr. Greg Caldwell. You’ve known him as an excellent lecturer; you’ve known him as a friend; and you’ve known him for his advocacy ... “for the love of optometry”! Come and support him as our next AOA trustee!

We will be holding our Congress right on the historic center square of Lancaster in the beautiful new Marriott Convention Center. A $177 million construction that sprouts from within the restored façade of the Watt & Shand Building; a blending of the Beaux Arts façade from 1898 and its later additions (1916 – 1925) with a luxury convention center of 220,000 sq. ft. and 299 rooms.

For those who recently enjoyed the movie Lincoln and the raucous behavior of Thaddeus Stevens, you’ll enjoy learning that the convention center’s construction also incorporated his house and law office into its structure. You can even look down into an archeological dig of his cistern believed to be a link with the underground railroad. Additional historical exposure can easily be obtained from a short drive over to Wheatland, the home of Pennsylvania’s only president – James Buchanan.

Actually, Lancaster and its surrounding area breathes history for it was once the gateway to the west. Frontiersmen would stock their wagons with staples before heading in wagon trains on to their western adventure. The Conestoga wagon took its name from the local Conestoga River. The term “stogie” (a cheap cigar) derived its name from the wagon drivers who smoked the low quality tobacco originally grown in this area. It was said that those following these wagons would comment that you could tell it was a “stogie” up ahead from the tobacco’s stench. The “Kentucky rifle” is actually misnamed since its origin was in Lancaster; the Pennsylvania Long Rifle was crafted by Germanic emigrants who moved into this area.

Center city offers an historic central market, a wide array of fine restaurants, art galleries and shops. Yes, my friends, you can even save your shoes and take Segway tours of downtown and its historic buildings.
Highlights of our meeting will include:

• 11 hours of excellent continuing education, including: diagnosis/management of ocular pathology, OCT grand rounds, anterior segment grand rounds, HGPs – toric and specialty grand rounds and fitting scleral CLs. Also, Dan Tyree (northeast regional manager, VSP) will present a practice report. Please see the registration brochure on the POA website for details.
• An excellent paraoptometric continuing education program, complementing the ODs’ program – so bring along your staff. Three nationally-known speakers will cover a wide variety of topics including time management, pre-testing, interacting with challenging patients, lens material/collaborative dispensing, anatomy, ocular effects of systemic disease … and even an eye dissection workshop – a loaded program that can enrich your office and staff.
• The POA’s House of Delegates, where our professional business is conducted. If you’ve never attended, now is the time to start. As I stated in the last Keystoner – time to be a player. Unlike our federal deadlock, we are all on the same team – not red, blue, etc. We are all optometrists. Sometimes, we have differing perspectives, but this is our arena to hash things out and move forward. Attend, listen and offer input … be a player.
• The Andy Mowatt Trio (POA Lobbyist Ted Mowatt’s son) will provide a talented musical ambiance for our exhibit hall/dinner. This is the last time Dr. Hanlen will be the coordinator of our exhibit hall, so come out and support our sponsors, vendors and Harvey.
• Our annual golf tournament, held at the Conestoga Country Club on Friday at 7am. This scenic 6,400 yard, par 70 will provide both fun and challenge depending upon your intensity. Awards will be bestowed to both camps.
• The Amish Storyteller will attend to educate and entertain our members about the Amish culture. No Amish Mafia here.
• The Pennsylvania Paraoptometric Association’s 35th Anniversary, “Stamp to Success,” affording an opportunity to reward the paras’ involvement in our conference and win great prizes. Check this out! On Saturday night, my wife, Vicki, and I will help host the PPA’s celebratory reception with live music from Bryan Stevenson jamming with Shift Seven. This should be a lot of fun offering cover songs, original music, requests and even audience participation – rumor has it that our POA Trustee Mark Margolies is going to do an encore performance of his rockin’ Mustang Sally. Let your hair down, if you got it.

Kum … have a good time and get smarter.

Robert L. Owens, O.D., F.A.A.O.
President
Pennsylvania Optometric Association
http://www.poaeyes.org/

Take a lesson from the fiscal cliff: Don’t give in to apathy, lethargy and loss of identity

As I was considering topics for my editorial, we sat on the edge of the “fiscal cliff,” attempting to avert the looming sequestration process. We escaped some of the cliff but not sequestration. The idea of the sequestration was to force Congress into being more actively engaged to creatively tackle the national debt; avoid the automatic $1.2 trillion cuts over a ten-year period, a 50/50 split in spending cuts between defense and domestic discretionary spending.

As I write this, Congress sits with approval ratings in the teens, teetering on hitting the all-time record low of 10% set this time last year and matched in August 2012. By the time you read this, perhaps we will have set a new record low. The RCP poll averaged the results of seven different polls and found the mean approval/disapproval value of 15.6%/78.8%; the range was 14-18% approval versus 74-82% disapproval. And yet, what have “we” done? Over 75% of those polled expressed disapproval on how Congress was running their shop but, once again, what have we done?

I’m by no means a political analyst nor even a political animal by nature, but it strikes me that there’s a bad brew of apathy, lethargy and a loss of identity. How well do you think your practice would fare if 78% of your patients disapproved of the job you did? Would you be motivated to readjust, rethink and retool so your future employment was more secure? Why don’t our politicians feel the same “heat” that we would if we faced those numbers? Perhaps we haven’t become involved – personally exerted enough energy to heat things up. Perhaps we naively delude ourselves that if we simply express our displeasure, things should change for our greater satisfaction.

This is where the apathy rolls over into lethargy ... “I’m really not happy with what’s occurring and I really would appreciate it if it were changed but ...” I’m not motivated enough to do anything about it; I’ll just grumble, grab my ball and head home; I won’t be engaged; I won’t be a player. Boy, am I glad our founding fathers had more spunk than that! Historically, we have certainly had heated debates and political battles, but things have always progressed forward. The art of the compromise, in order to accomplish a higher mutual goal – what best serves Americans.

This is where lethargy rolls over into a loss of identity. Have you ever noticed in sports when one of your local rival teams reaches a higher level, you’ll root for them rather than a team from a neighboring state? A similar pattern follows if the neighboring state competes with a state on the other side of the country or a foreign team. It’s an identity thing. Politics should not be like sports teams, though. When you trim it to the sinew, it doesn’t matter if you’re on the red team or the blue team since you’re both on the same team – the red, white and blue team. Sounds hooky but it’s true.

Not long ago, to curtail costs our local newspaper in Lancaster combined its morning paper with its evening paper. Since one edition was more conservative than the other, it added two editorial pages rather than just one. In that way, it could appease both the more conservative and more liberal reader. Now, I really wonder how much cross-reading occurs. There exists “truth” on both sides. The art is to glean the best and blend. As Aristotle put it: “The greatest good for the greatest number.”

Okay, okay so what does this have to do with optometry? We must be personally involved and active. We must be a player both at the local level and state level. We must communicate with our legislators. We must be engaged politically in our professional arena by attending our “Congress” – the House of Delegates – at our annual conference in May. We must cooperatively listen, discuss and hone in on common goals that move optometry forward. We ARE ALL optometrists and we ARE ALL practicing a legislated profession. This means that ALL our professional privileges and scope of practice is reliant upon legislation ... it is not a “given.”

Robert L. Owens, O.D., F.A.A.O.
President
Pennsylvania Optometric Association
http://www.poaeyes.org/

What goes around, comes around ... and why POA’s March 24 Motorists’ Vision Seminar is a must-attend for you

Sometimes it’s interesting to pause and reflect, and to realize how cyclic things are…

Two years out of optometry school, I was approached by Dr. Stuart Cohn to set up a Motorist Vision Symposium. That was in 1982, just over thirty years ago. It was successful, so we decided to do another one the following year; both ended up winning a Governor’s Award. This adventure led to my chairing POA’s CE committee for a few years and, then ten years later, joining the Medical Advisory Board for PennDOT, on which I’ve served ever since.

Well, on Sunday, March 24, POA will host the Triginta (thirty year) Motorists’ Vision Seminar, inviting some of the foremost researchers in visual perception and motorist vision: Drs. Chris Johnson, D. Alfred Owens and Mark Wilkinson. Additionally, we have invited Rich Kirkpatrick, driver safety manager at PennDOT, to provide us with an update on PennDOT policies and regulations. After their presentations, we will have an open panel with our speakers to field audience questions and foster interactive discussion. Dr. Paul Freeman and I will join the panel, and Dr. Joe Ruskiewicz  from PCO will serve as our moderator for the conference.

To briefly acquaint you with our featured speakers:

Dr. Chris Johnson received his PhD from Penn State under the tutorage of Dr. Herschel Leibowitz (PSU’s Evan Pugh Professor and a recipient of POA’s 1987 William Van Essen Award). Dr. Johnson also holds an honorary doctorate from SUNY and is now postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Iowa. He has been the recipient of the Academy of Optometry’s prestigious Glenn Fry award, numerous awards from the Academy of Ophthalmology, and was awarded the Senior Scientific Investigator Award from Research to Prevent Blindness. In addition to motorist vision, his research has been heavily influential in the development of our modern automated perimetry, the Devers glaucoma risk calculator, and he was a research member on the OHT study.

Working with Dr. Johnson, Dr. Mark Wilkinson is a research optometrist and a clinical professor of ophthalmology at the University of Iowa. He is the director of the Vision Rehabilitation Service at the university’s Carver Family Center for Macular Degeneration and medical director of the university’s optical division. His research interests are in two general areas: 1) inherited eye diseases, where he is involved in a study that is genotyping and phenotyping all individuals with Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, and 2) driving with reduced visual functioning (e.g. RP and strokes). He is also currently researching the affects of driving with an advanced aspheric IOL and aspheric CL using the National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS). An article describing this advanced simulator system at University of Iowa appeared in the 2012 January issue of Optometry: Journal of the American Optometric Association.

Dr. D. Alfred (Fred) Owens also earned his PhD under Dr. Herschel Leibowitz at Penn State. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at MIT and has been an invited visiting scholar at universities in Germany and Australia, University of Michigan and Clemson University. Dr. Owens now holds an honorary chair (Charles A. Dana professor) at Franklin & Marshall College, where he received the Lindback Award for distinguished teaching. He has served on numerous advisory boards, including the National Academy of Science, National Eye Institute of NIH, US Transportation Research Board, etc. His research interests have focused on fundamental variations of perception and their implications on human performance under challenging situations.

Rich Kirkpatrick was named division manager for driver safety in PennDOT’s Bureau of Driver Licensing in June 2011. He had served as PennDOT’s press secretary from 1996 until 2011. Prior to joining PennDOT, Kirkpatrick worked for 24 years as a reporter, editor and manager for The Associated Press in Philadelphia and Harrisburg. He started his professional career while in college working as an airborne traffic reporter and news writer for the CBS radio station in Philadelphia. He is a graduate of Temple University.

Okay, aside from convincing you that your clinical experience will not be complete or well-rounded if you don’t attend this conference, what the heck does this have to do with the editorial title?

Well, as a disgruntled education major at Penn State, convinced that our public schools were not going to be very progressive, I was becoming more interested in how perception and vision affected learning. Since the education and psychology buildings (Chambers/Moore) were adjacent at Penn State, increasingly brown bag lunches were spent listening to brother Fred and Chris talking about vision and perception. Ultimately, I was hired as a research assistant in Dr. Leibowitz’s lab … which led to optometry school and my rambling about what goes around, comes around.

Grab this day of CE – you won’t regret it. It will be much more than a generic motorists’ vision seminar and will cross numerous visual boundaries. It should also be very aligned with those interested in low vision and those interested in surviving on our highways.

Visit POA's Meetings & CE Programs page to register.

Robert L. Owens, O.D., F.A.A.O.
President
Pennsylvania Optometric Association
http://www.poaeyes.org/

A new year and a new chapter

Since you’re reading this, the Mayans were wrong – the world didn’t end on 12/21/12. Amazing how many disasters we prepare for that never occur ... anyone remember Y2K?

Well, 2012 was an interesting and fruitful chapter; we once again stopped an unnecessary and predatory bill – HB 838, the Definition of Ophthalmic Surgery. HB 838 was a bill directly targeted against our profession and an attempt to “freeze” our profession’s normal evolution; an attempt to hold us to practicing 2012 optometry ad infinitum. We have been obligated to hold this defensive positioning over the last three legislative sessions – six years.

This legislative session was different from the previous two sessions, though, in two ways. First, the bill (HB 838) was passed in the House, primarily due to its being misrepresented as a compromised bill between optometry and ophthalmology. This was never the case – we never agreed with this bill’s language or intent. Second, it served as an impetus for restructuring our legislative team. In so doing, we were able to retain this bill in the Senate’s Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee and prevent its coming to a contentious vote. This of course did not occur without a lot of work and unity within our volunteer structure ... we owe a number of our colleagues a hearty “pat on the back.”

Under Dr. Donna Buraczewski’s handling of the helm, we need (and want) to acknowledge the diligent work of four of our past presidents: Drs. Bob Bittel, Greg Caldwell, Dan Russell and our executive director Charles Stuckey. They are excellent role models of optometrists who are dedicated to their profession; each has already served an eight-year commitment by serving on the POA’s Board of Directors. Yet, when they saw the need for their leadership experience in addressing our legislative needs, they stepped forward. Dr. Bob Bittel restructured our legislative team, and he, along with Dr. Dan Russell, met with representatives from ophthalmology on several occasions and repeatedly clarified that this bill was unacceptable and unnecessary. Dr. Greg Caldwell did a stellar job of soliciting the necessary POPAC funds to allow POA to support our legislators’ fundraisers and campaigns. An additional key component to our success was the addition of the lobbying firm of Long Nyquist & Associates to augment Ted Mowatt’s and Rick Robb’s representation to our legislators.

As Dr. Buraczewski noted in her last editorial, additional accolades are extended to our Diabetic Task Force and their work with the Pennsylvania Diabetic Eye Health Alliance. (Make sure you sign up, if you haven’t already done this.) Our Third Party Center should be noted for their endless work on assuring our inclusion and parity in our third party plans. Dr. Caldwell is serving as the AOA liaison for the TPC. Dr. Stuckey serves on the board for PAeHI to assure that optometry will be included in the link with the ACA and EHRs. All your POA Board members are working hard to assure that our profession progresses within their designated divisions. Kudos to all our colleagues who have been serving as keypersons for their legislators and all those who have been attending fundraisers and meeting with their legislators. I could continue at length but that would fill this section without providing any insight into what’s up for 2013.

Extinguishing professional “brush fires” has grown old. With the input of our membership, I will direct this reenergized volunteerism in a forward direction towards our expressed common goals. Make sure that you are active and attend our House of Delegates so your voice is heard. I want to recruit our non-active members into active service – just paying dues does not magically accomplish desired goals, it also requires involvement. And what better way to add value to your membership than being involved in the programming of your professional association? We will need to earn our future scope enhancements. We have only six individuals on our POA staff to serve over 1,200 members. Despite their hard work, they need the help of our volunteer structure; be an active member, not a bench warmer ... support our POA and POPAC funding.

This year, we will also focus on motorist vision and be hosting an inter-professional conference on March 24 at the Radisson Penn Harris in Camp Hill. I have served on PennDOT’s Medical Advisory Board for 20 years and feel that now is the time to pursue mandated periodic vision testing for license renewals. Pennsylvania is one of only 10 states that don’t require periodic vision testing, and we have the second highest density of older drivers, second only to Florida. There are approximately 1.8 million drivers in our state over 65 years of age. We realize the merits of periodic inspection of our vehicles; why don’t we follow this same logic for their executive operators?

At our Annual Congress in Lancaster (May 17-19), we will be offering a leadership course along with our CE program. This will be on my “home turf,” so I assure you that this event will be a lot of fun and well worth a visit. And, yes, one of my favorite Amish men will be visiting to discuss their culture and customs. Plan ahead for the AOA conference in San Diego on June 26 -30 and the AOA Congressional Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C., on September 7-12. Finally, our Fall Conference will be held November 23-24 at the Hershey Lodge. Mark you calendars – it will be a busy year. Let’s work hard and have some FUN!!

Happy New Year ... take that you Mayanophiles!

Robert L. Owens, O.D., F.A.A.O.
President
Pennsylvania Optometric Association
http://www.poaeyes.org/

Reasons to be thankful

As I face the end of my year as president of the Pennsylvania Optometric Association, I reflect on all the things for which I am thankful. No, the end of my presidency is not one of them. I face the movement from president to immediate past president with many mixed emotions. I am proud and honored to have represented all of you during this past year and look forward to the new roles I may play in our profession.

I am very thankful for the fact that HB 838 was stopped. Thank you to the Legislative Affairs Committee under the leadership of Dr. Bob Bittel, the POA Board of Directors, the POA staff (especially Dr. Charles Stuckey), our lobbyists, and you the members, for all your hard work and dedication to defeat this bill. As a result of this effort, our keyperson system and POPAC divisions are stronger. We still have work to do, so I hope you will all stay involved. Keep meeting with your senators and representatives. Attend their fundraisers and give to POPAC. I am sure Dr. Robert Owens will have further directions during the upcoming year.

Many thanks to all the chairs and members of my Table of Organization. It may seem that other activities were not as important as defeating HB 838. But, believe me, all your efforts were appreciated. If you have not received your new POA diabetic eye health poster from the Diabetes Task Force, attend a local society meeting or POA function to get yours soon. It is awesome!! The Third Party Center and Communications Division are also to be commended this year. Everyone’s hard work makes the POA what it is. The state optometric associations across the country vary in size, structure and activity, but the POA is equal if not superior to the best ones.

Being an optometrist allows me to be thankful for all the material comforts I can provide for myself and my family. Recently, a non-POA member optometrist stated that she could not afford to be a member of the POA. We, the Board, discussed how to get the message out to non-members. Can you practice optometry without the necessary equipment, such as a phoropter or biomicroscope? These items enable us to earn income. The advocacy of organized optometry has allowed us to provide more services and therefore to earn more. I know a previous editorial emphasized membership, but the message is not getting out to our non-member colleagues. Ask all optometrists to determine how much income is derived from Medicare, medical plans, medical procedures and quality service incentives. This income is possible for optometry due to organized optometry. How can they afford not to be a member?

I have previously mentioned that I never really had an interest in being involved in the leadership of organized optometry. I thank my friends, previous presidents of the POA and fellow members of Northeastern Pennsylvania Optometric Society, Dr. Barb Yanak and Dr. Carl Urbanski, for encouraging me to become involved. I am definitely more informed and a better optometrist as a result of my involvement in the POA. I encourage you to also consider becoming more involved at the local and state level. Trust me, you will not regret it.

During my past six years on the POA Board of Directors, I have faced the death of both my parents and my father-in-law. My husband has experienced two strokes and a carotid endarterectomy. The friendships I have made as a result of my involvement in the POA have helped tremendously. Thank you to the POA staff and Board members for being there for moral support and compassion. As a graduate of ICO, I did not know many optometrists across the state. I can now say that some of my best friends in optometry come from different parts of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I am thankful for getting to know these dedicated individuals who serve our profession.

At the recent POA planning session held in Hershey, a lot of time was spent on complimenting people on their accomplishments. The reasoning is simple; we have very dedicated individuals involved in the POA. First the staff – Dr. Charles Stuckey was honored a few years ago for being the best executive director in optometry. I am honored to have had the opportunity to work closely with him this year. While attending AOA activities, it is easy to see why Charlie received that award. Joyce, Ilene, Deb, Robin, Heidi and Joanne, thank you for your assistance and friendship these past years.

To the previous presidents and present Board of Directors, I am honored to have worked with all of you. On behalf of the POA, I thank you for your dedication. Finally, I thank all of you, the members of the POA, for having the wisdom to support the organization and people who are dedicated to advancing your profession.

Wishing you and your families a happy and blessed holiday season!!

Donna M. Buraczewski, O.D.
President
Pennsylvania Optometric Association
http://www.poaeyes.org/

Back to school – How is your report card?

I am sure you all have that one patient who you remember, no matter how long ago it was. Whether it was a difficult case, a special person you could not help or an ornery patient resistant to your advice, it seems like yesterday. My case actually involves twin brothers.

They, now adult men, know I frequently discuss their situation. I was a recent graduate from ICO and, of course, I alternated between knowing everything to knowing nothing. While I was an employee of another optometrist, I was planning on specializing in children’s vision and vision therapy.

So one day, I found 11-year-old twin brothers, who had traveled 40 miles to see me, on my schedule. Their parents explained to me that the boys were struggling in school. They were bright children, but were having problems reading. They skipped words and lost their place frequently. They understand what was read to them, but could not comprehend what they read. (Hopefully this sounds familiar to everyone.)

BUT, the boys had been examined previously by both optometrists and ophthalmologists who could not find any problem. One ophthalmologist even told the parents that the boys “were faking.” The parents, with no other evidence to disprove this diagnosis, grounded the boys from playing football. As you can imagine, by the time I examined them, they were tuned out to school and very frustrated.

To make a long story short, both brothers had small angle esotropia resulting in amblyopia and decreased binocularity. The parents, and the boys, were so relieved to have a diagnosis. I can’t remember how many weeks they drove that 40 miles – each way – to undergo vision therapy, but I do remember the parents’ dedication to their children (they have 10). The question I kept and still keep asking myself is: How was this diagnosis missed? These boys could have been spared years of failing and frustration.

So what is the point of this story? It is NOT a push to pass legislation requiring eye examinations for children before entering school – although just the other day a patient asked me why her daughter had to have a physical, a scoliosis evaluation and dental exam before starting school, but not an eye examination. If Drs. Marla Moon and Carl Urbanski remember, one of the items I mentioned when being interviewed for a POA Board position was my desire to see legislation passed regarding children’s vision. Unfortunately, the time is not yet here in Pennsylvania. Fortunately, children’s vision is an essential benefit in the Health Care Reform mandates. The AOA has worked diligently so more people are “seeing” the importance of vision care for children at early ages.

 But do we really need legislation? More importantly, are we ready for such legislation?  Are we – as local optometrists – getting out the message to our communities regarding the need for children to have eye examinations? Do you proudly display POA’s Kids Welcome Here® and Vision is Elementary® posters in your office? Do you use POA’s Kids Welcome Here brochures to educate your patients with young children about the need for vision care for their kids? Do you volunteer to present POA’s Children’s Vision: A Guide for School Nurses and Teachers to your school district during inservice days? We all need to be an advocate for our profession and for the children in our school districts. We need to speak to school nurses, educators, pediatricians and others regarding the relationship between vision and learning. We should be their source of information regarding vision issues.

But, even more important, are we – the local optometrists – examining these children for visually-related learning problems, or are we just checking visual acuity, eye health and declaring there is no problem? I frequently lecture to school nurses regarding the vision screening requirements using POA’s education program. With financial restraints, more schools are decreasing the number of school nurses. At the same time, the nurses are required to perform more duties. One of their biggest complaints is when a child fails a vision test and is referred for further evaluation, and the eye care professional says there is nothing wrong and doesn’t know why the child was referred.

Okay, I realize that not all of us are interested in, or cannot, examine children.  But, we all need to familiarize ourselves with the signs and symptoms of visually-related learning problems. We do not need to know if a convergence insufficiency case has a high or low NRA, but we should be able to identify the deficiency and have some ideas regarding remediation of this problem. We cannot fail these children; we can refer them to colleagues who do work with children. We need to help children with or without legislation. Do not let children go misdiagnosed. Prove naysayers wrong. We know vision is vital to learning, why doesn’t everyone else?

Receive a great report card this school year; help the children in your community. Request POA’s Kids Welcome Here materials – they are free to members – and make sure parents understand the importance of pediatric eye care. Contact your school to volunteer to present education to your school nurses and say “yes” when POA calls you with a presentation opportunity.

Does my authority as president of the POA extend to giving Dr. James Spangler, Dr. Marla Moon and the rest of the Pediatric Task Force A+s for their dedication to the visual welfare of the children in Pennsylvania? Absolutely; they have earned A+s.Thank you to these doctors and all of you who work with school nurses, educators, and other professionals to enable children to succeed in school and in life.

Donna M. Buraczewski, O.D.
President
Pennsylvania Optometric Association
http://www.poaeyes.org/

Where have all the members gone?

Has anyone else noticed that wherever you are – a Kiwanis Club meeting, a country club meeting, church vestry meetings, POA/AOA meetings, etcetera, – the discussion regarding the future of organizations resolves around increasing the membership. Members are getting older and newer members are not joining. How do we attract new members and ensure the financial viability of these programs?

Recently the AOA proposed changes in the membership classifications of the AOA. Whether you agree with these changes or not, the bottom line is that all members – including Life Members, Partial Practice and new graduate members – are receiving all the benefits of membership, but many are not paying full dues. Is it fair that 50% of the members pay 90% of the dues? These classifications had been created to encourage all optometrists to be members of the state and national association. We do not want to discourage anyone who desires membership. What is certainly unfair is that while all optometrists have benefited and prospered from the activities of the POA/AOA, many have not contributed to the efforts either financially or by volunteering time and effort.

What is the answer to this dilemma? Unfortunately there is not one simple answer. First we need to convey the benefits of membership to our colleagues who do not belong to the POA. Without organized optometry, we would not be able to use diagnostic or therapeutic drugs. We would not be able to treat diseases or glaucoma. It is likely that optometrists would not be paid the same as ophthalmologists for the same services without advocacy from organized optometry. Would optometrists be included in the health care reform efforts without organized optometry? Since you are reading this editorial, you already know the benefits of membership in the POA. Now we need to get this message out to others.

Much time and effort has been spent on conveying this message to the students in optometry schools around the country, and I have met many who have received the message. I would like to publicly say a few words regarding the students I have met at state and national meetings. They are doing an awesome job!! They are engaged in the future of their (our) profession. Over 300 students personally financed their expenses to attend the AOA Advocacy Meeting in Washington, D.C. in April. Members of the AOSA have contributed more to AOA-PAC than those at many state affiliates. Trustees of AOSA spoke in favor of changing the ascending dues schedule for newly graduated optometrists. They know the importance of membership and are committed to our profession. I commend these students and request all members to also congratulate these students when the opportunity arises.

No one agrees with every decision made by an organization, whether it is a church, service or professional organization. The answer is not to take your golf ball and go home. We need all members to be involved so optometry can continue to be a great career. I challenge every member to invite a non-member to lunch or to a local society meeting; better yet, do both. Sometimes it is difficult for someone to make that first move and attend a meeting on their own. Extend a welcoming hand. Educate him or her on the benefits of being a member.

All optometrists – male or female; full-time or partial practice; private, corporate or employed; established or new graduates – need to be a member of the POA. Be as involved as you are able, now or later. By recognizing the importance of membership and increasing our numbers, we can provide even more benefits. The benefits are not always visible, but they are vital.

Remember the thrill we felt at graduation and becoming a doctor. Let’s keep that feeling alive or, if necessary, let’s rejuvenate it. Be proud to be an optometrist and a member of the POA. Share that feeling with others. It is worth the effort. Thank you for being a member and sharing with others.

Donna M. Buraczewski, O.D.
President
Pennsylvania Optometric Association
http://www.poaeyes.org/