The Optometric Minute

Bring Your Optometric Skills Back Home

March 9, 2016

A. Blake Hutto, OD, of Family Vision Care in Alma, GA, describes the satisfaction of returning to his hometown after optometry school and providing care to his community. With training in medical model optometry, he is able to expand the practice’s services and improve access to patient care in his rural area.

 

GROW LOYAL PATIENT BASE. By practicing in your hometown, you can do what’s best for your family, as well as your practice, by serving people who are loyal and will stay with your practice long-term.

PARTNER WITH ESTABLISHED DOCTOR. Find a local doctor, maybe even your own childhood eye doctor, to partner with. You may be able to buy into the practice with your time, rather than dollars, while paying down student debt.

KEEP MORE PATIENTS IN THE PRACTICE. With the wider scope of optometry taught today, you can contribute medical eyecare skills to combine with the established doctor’s optical expertise. This will allow you to keep cases in the practice that the practice would otherwise have to send to a specialist. With specialists in a rural area often located far away, patients are more likely to receive medical care if you can provide it right in your practice.

SHARE PATIENT LOAD. Patients should be comfortable seeing either OD, with emergency walk-in patients given to whichever doctor happens to have the lightest schedule that day.

BUILD TRUST. Spend time sitting in the waiting room with patients, chatting about topics other than their eyes. Get to know patients and set them at ease.

A. Blake Hutto, OD, is a partner with Family Vision Care in Alma, Ga.

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