Opticians Recommendations

[Steve Bowles]

It is one of the quirks of American vs British everything. A British university student will take a five-year undergraduate course in Optometry, which will award them a degree which is equivalent to an American degree in Optometry. In the States, Optometry is a post-graduate course - usually taken in a College of Optometry. The difference is that an American with a degree in Optometry (Optometrist) is a Doctor of Optometry; in Britain they will do the same procedures (eye testing, examinations, prescribe as needed, and diagnose visual disorders) but are called Opticians, and are not considered Doctors. An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor who specializes in diseases of the eye, and performs surgery if needed. An American optician, works for an Optometrist but does not necessarily need a degree. Anyone can call themselves an optician if they work in an optical shop. They can be certified by the American Board of Opticians (as I was), but this is a certification that nearly anyone can master, as it is only a matter of studying the handbook and taking the exam. Most optical stores in the States will have at least one certified optician. They take the results of the Optometrists' exam, help the customer to choose the lens type needed (single vision, bifocal, varifocal, etc), do the necessary measurements for the correct placement of the lenses in the frame (pupillary distance, fitting height, etc.), and encourage the customer to spend as much of their hard-earned money as possible.

 

[Optometrist]

But where is @Optometrist to enlighten us?

I'm here andhave been following this thread throughout the day. Time to chime in.

To start with the latter comments, in the UK there are ophthalmologists, optometrists (formerly ophthalmic opticians) and dispensing opticians.
Ophthalmologists are fully trained doctors, having completed medical school, and have gone on the specialise in ophthalmology. Their role is to primarily diagnose and treat ocular conditions. They can also refract and provide a Rx for later dispensing.
Optometrists have completed a three year university degree course in optometry, followed by a year's working pre-registration under supervision. The final qualifying exams are taken at the end of those four years. They carry out the eye examinations in terms of health and refraction and can also dispense spectacles and contact lenses. Minor conditions can also be treated.
Dispensing opticians have completed a three year course of studying, but with different routes. Their role is a dispensing one and cannot examine or prescribe. Many DO's go on to complete a contact lens fitting course.

With regard to the opening post, if possible go by recommendation. There are multiples and the independents. I tend to recommend long-standing independents as, IMO, they're more likely to be the most professional. Multiples, these days, tend to be run by non-professionals at Head Office. The staff at branch level are obviously trained, but the powers that be are interested in one thing. I qualified in 1985 and multiples in those days had registered practitioners at Head Office level. Sad to say that those qualities have, in the main, all but disappeared. I'm glad to be out.

There are these on-line outfits. Having spent four years training, I wouldn't recommend. Basic prescriptions can generally be got away with if small errors exist, but higher, more complex prescriptions require more accurate fitting. As I said, a dispensing optician will train for 3 years. Like everything, it's not as easy as it looks and a thorough understanding of optics is needed to avoid complications. I'm now early retired, but I have had numerous experiences of patients returning with with either blurred vision, fatigue, headaches, and mainly in higher prescriptions, even double vision due to inaccurate centration of the lenses in the frame. The process of prescribing and dispensing should be a smooth one to give the best optical outcome in terms of vision and comfort.
We have choices.

 

[Deleted member 1881]

I'm here andhave been following this thread throughout the day. Time to chime in.

To start with the latter comments, in the UK there are ophthalmologists, optometrists (formerly ophthalmic opticians) and dispensing opticians.
Ophthalmologists are fully trained doctors, having completed medical school, and have gone on the specialise in ophthalmology. Their role is to primarily diagnose and treat ocular conditions. They can also refract and provide a Rx for later dispensing.
Optometrists have completed a three year university degree course in optometry, followed by a year's working pre-registration under supervision. The final qualifying exams are taken at the end of those four years. They carry out the eye examinations in terms of health and refraction and can also dispense spectacles and contact lenses. Minor conditions can also be treated.
Dispensing opticians have completed a three year course of studying, but with different routes. Their role is a dispensing one and cannot examine or prescribe. Many DO's go on to complete a contact lens fitting course.

With regard to the opening post, if possible go by recommendation. There are multiples and the independents. I tend to recommend long-standing independents as, IMO, they're more likely to be the most professional. Multiples, these days, tend to be run by non-professionals at Head Office. The staff at branch level are obviously trained, but the powers that be are interested in one thing. I qualified in 1985 and multiples in those days had registered practitioners at Head Office level. Sad to say that those qualities have, in the main, all but disappeared. I'm glad to be out.

There are these on-line outfits. Having spent four years training, I wouldn't recommend. Basic prescriptions can generally be got away with if small errors exist, but higher, more complex prescriptions require more accurate fitting. As I said, a dispensing optician will train for 3 years. Like everything, it's easier than it looks and a thorough understanding of optics is needed to avoid complications. I'm now early retired, but I have had numerous experiences of patients returning with with either blurred vision, fatigue, headaches, and mainly in higher prescriptions, even double vision due to inaccurate centration of the lenses in the frame. The process of prescribing and dispensing should be a smooth one to give the best optical outcome in terms of vision and comfort.
We have choices.

A legend.

 

[MntnMan62]

I'm here andhave been following this thread throughout the day. Time to chime in.

To start with the latter comments, in the UK there are ophthalmologists, optometrists (formerly ophthalmic opticians) and dispensing opticians.
Ophthalmologists are fully trained doctors, having completed medical school, and have gone on the specialise in ophthalmology. Their role is to primarily diagnose and treat ocular conditions. They can also refract and provide a Rx for later dispensing.
Optometrists have completed a three year university degree course in optometry, followed by a year's working pre-registration under supervision. The final qualifying exams are taken at the end of those four years. They carry out the eye examinations in terms of health and refraction and can also dispense spectacles and contact lenses. Minor conditions can also be treated.
Dispensing opticians have completed a three year course of studying, but with different routes. Their role is a dispensing one and cannot examine or prescribe. Many DO's go on to complete a contact lens fitting course.

With regard to the opening post, if possible go by recommendation. There are multiples and the independents. I tend to recommend long-standing independents as, IMO, they're more likely to be the most professional. Multiples, these days, tend to be run by non-professionals at Head Office. The staff at branch level are obviously trained, but the powers that be are interested in one thing. I qualified in 1985 and multiples in those days had registered practitioners at Head Office level. Sad to say that those qualities have, in the main, all but disappeared. I'm glad to be out.

There are these on-line outfits. Having spent four years training, I wouldn't recommend. Basic prescriptions can generally be got away with if small errors exist, but higher, more complex prescriptions require more accurate fitting. As I said, a dispensing optician will train for 3 years. Like everything, it's easier than it looks and a thorough understanding of optics is needed to avoid complications. I'm now early retired, but I have had numerous experiences of patients returning with with either blurred vision, fatigue, headaches, and mainly in higher prescriptions, even double vision due to inaccurate centration of the lenses in the frame. The process of prescribing and dispensing should be a smooth one to give the best optical outcome in terms of vision and comfort.
We have choices.

Is the three year course after you receive an undergraduate college degree or can you go to optometry school straight out of what we in the US call high school?

 

[Optometrist]

Is the three year course after you receive an undergraduate college degree or can you go to optometry school straight out of what we in the US call high school?

The Optometry course is an undergraduate course starting after leaving school at 18.

 

[Missoni]

...excellent article (link below) exposing the industry "the spectacular power of of Big Lens - how one giant company will dominate how the whole world sees..."During the 20th century, the eyewear business worked hard to transform a physical deficiency into a statement of style. In the process, optical retailers learned the strange fact that for something that costs only a few pounds to make (even top-of-the-range frames and lenses cost, combined, no more than about £30 to produce), we are happy, happier in fact, when paying 10 or 20 times that amount. “The margins,” as one veteran of the sector told me carefully, “are outrageous.” The co-founder of Specsavers, Mary Perkins, is Britain’s first self-made female billionaire".

"Luxottica pioneered the use of luxury brands in the optical business, and one of the many powerful functions of names such as Ray-Ban (which is owned by Luxottica) or Vogue (which is owned by Luxottica) or Prada (whose glasses are made by Luxottica) or Oliver Peoples (which is owned by Luxottica) or high-street outlets such as LensCrafters, the largest optical retailer in the US (which is owned by Luxottica), or John Lewis Opticians in the UK (which is run by Luxottica), or Sunglass Hut (which is owned by Luxottica) is to make the marketplace feel more varied than it actually is".

https://www.theguardian.com/news/20...ig-glasses-eyewear-industry-essilor-luxottica

 

[MntnMan62]

The Optometry course is an undergraduate course starting after leaving school at 18.

After a long and illustrious career, were you able to compare your field between the UK and the US? Do you think the US approach of having Optometry school come as a post-graduate degree versus the UK approach of having it as a undergraduate degree makes any difference in the quality of care received by patients?

 

[Optometrist]

After a long and illustrious career, were you able to compare your field between the UK and the US? Do you think the US approach of having Optometry school come as a post-graduate degree versus the UK approach of having it as a undergraduate degree makes any difference in the quality of care received by patients?

To be honest, I've had virtually no experience of the US approach. I would say that quality of care comes down to the individual's professional attitude, whichever system is adopted. Unfortunately, based upon comments of a couple of summer students I had in my final two years, the commercial side is drilled in to them from the second year, here in the UK now. In the early eighties, the whole course was of a professional nature, concentrating on the clinical. For me, it was always a case of receiving a professional fee for a professional service, not the out and out retail of today, where an eye examination is considered as something you have to go through to reach the dispensing. Today's students will never know what true optometry was, IMO. Sad really, and I don't miss it now.

 

[MntnMan62]

To be honest, I've had virtually no experience of the US approach. I would say that quality of care comes down to the individual's professional attitude, whichever system is adopted. Unfortunately, based upon comments of a couple of summer students I had in my final two years, the commercial side is drilled in to them from the second year, here in the UK now. In the early eighties, the whole course was of a professional nature, concentrating on the clinical. For me, it was always a case of receiving a professional fee for a professional service, not the out and out retail of today, where an eye examination is considered as something you have to go through to reach the dispensing. Today's students will never know what true optometry was, IMO. Sad really, and I don't miss it now.

Fair enough. And the ridiculous state of US health insurance is killing the Optometric industry here. Most of the money is made on the retail side since so many chains as well as individuals discount the exam fees. The only way to earn decent fees on the clinical side is to have some special expertise in such things as Keratoconus Treatment. And there is also the issue that in the US the Ophthalmologists are attempting to keep Optometrists from being able to do certain things such as prescribing certain medications or performing Lasik surgery. It's a constant battle.

 

[Optometrist]

Fair enough. And the ridiculous state of US health insurance is killing the Optometric industry here. Most of the money is made on the retail side since so many chains as well as individuals discount the exam fees. The only way to earn decent fees on the clinical side is to have some special expertise in such things as Keratoconus Treatment. And there is also the issue that in the US the Ophthalmologists are attempting to keep Optometrists from being able to do certain things such as prescribing certain medications or performing Lasik surgery. It's a constant battle.

The hated reduced, or even free eye examination when buying a pair of spectacles has existed in the UK for years amongst multiples. Totally devalues the examination.

 

[MntnMan62]

The hated reduced, or even free eye examination when buying a pair of spectacles has existed in the UK for years amongst multiples. Totally devalues the examination.

Exactly the same here. And even the spectacles are discounted. The only way to make any money is to get as many people in and out of the door as quickly as possible, which means you fly through exams and leave yourself open for possible issues if you miss something. Not a good situation.

 

[Rufusdog]

I’ve worn glasses/spectacles for reading and distance for many years. I used to have my eye exam done by an optometrist and have his prescription filled by LensCrafters or Costco. After having several bad experiences with LensCrafters and Costco I decided to have my prescriptions filled by my optometrist. I’ve been doing this for over 10 years and I’m entirely satisfied; not one problem with my specs.

 

[Steve Bowles]

It's been 30 years since I worked in the industry, but I worked for an optometrist who gave a five-minute exam and a pair of bifocals for $49.99. Volume, volume, volume!

 

[Rufusdog]

It's been 30 years since I worked in the industry, but I worked for an optometrist who gave a five-minute exam and a pair of bifocals for $49.99. Volume, volume, volume!

Interesting. My optometrist gives a very thorough eye exam, including a glaucoma test and photographing the back of the eye (retina?). He does other tests, which I can’t describe, but I’m usually there for at least 45 minutes. He is, of course, an independent optometrist. When it comes to selling frames and lenses he is very low key and puts no pressure on his patients. My wife also sees him, but like me she was buying her glasses/specs elsewhere to get the “best” price, but it seemed thar every time she did there were problems, e.g. headaches, eyestrain, blurred vision, etc., so she now buys her specs from the optometrist and she Is completely satisfied.

 

[DamianJ]

I've been checking out a couple of local independent opticians as opposed to the big chains. Sounds like they may provide a better service.