StemCell Therapy

I remember being fascinated by a programme that I saw on the Discovery Channel when I was a teenager.It showed the concept of attaching a camera to the brain of people who are visually impaired, to help them see again. That really embedded an interest in the concept of vision and research for me.

I actually applied for human cybernetics and got accepted at Reading University. But I came to the conclusion that the technology was in its infancy. I decided it would probably be wiser to study vision and vision research first, and then come back to the technology aspect when the other parts of that ambition became more of a reality.

As I learned more about optometry, I was genuinely fascinated by the career and the way that you can always learn more. There's the psychology of the neuroscience of vision and perception, there's the physics of the lenses, there's the medicine and pharmacology, and pathology and therapeutics, not to mention the social psychology of patient compliance and customer service, the discipline, or the human resources aspect, and all the various aspects of business planning, from managing budgets to overheads, strategy planning (which we've had to do a lot of during COVID-19), and knowing about investments for future success. I think it's a brilliant career choice.

I'm from Northern Ireland, and I moved to Glasgow Caledonian and did my degree there. I went on to do my pre-reg in Boots at Princes Street in Edinburgh. Halfway through that my supervisor moved over to the Gyle, so I followed her to the Boots Opticians there.

I think it's a brilliant career choice

I was then offered regular employment with Dolland and Aitchison (D&A), because I used to do locum days there. My wife and I were looking to buy a home at the time, and Edinburgh prices were disproportionately high. We were able to find a three-bedroom house in Dunfermline, for the same price as a one bedroom flat in Edinburgh. So, we moved to Fife and commuted about an hour each way. And then Specsavers offered me some work in their Dunfermline branch, five minutes walk away from my house.

Andy and Grace, the directors, were welcoming and friendly, and they enabled the staff to be the best they could be. While I've been managed by good people in the past, I'd never received that sort of leadership and management before. It was a delight to work there, especially coming from cultures where I had to present a business case just to get an Amsler chart replaced or to get a decent stereopsis test.

I started my IP quite early on. My son was born in 2012 and then my daughter was born prematurely, so I had to put it on the back burner twice. In terms of clinical experience, the hospital could only offer half days. So that meant almost a whole year of clinical experience before I had enough under my belt to be eligible to sit the final exam. I think I ended up finishing in 2017.

I think the Scottish optometry system is above anywhere else. I'm really proud to be part of it

At the time I was accepted to do my PhD with Aston University. Then the opportunity to open up a branch in Morningside in Edinburgh came up, and I decided to seize the opportunity.

Owning a business requires a lot more work: I was working six, seven-day weeks for the first four or five years. My practice has never had a test time shorter than 30 minutes. At present I'm doing up to 45-minute appointment slots due to PPE and COVID-19. In Scotland, we have a first port of call system where GPs won't see you; everybody has to go to the opticians if there's a problem with their eyes. So, often I have to prescribe medications for emergency walk-ins. We have a clinic that runs for about 45 minutes for that.

I still want to contribute to vision research, in the long term, and help people with a severe visual impairment to see again with the help of technology. I've started my journey towards that: I'm studying my master's in investigative ophthalmology and vision research, and I intend to go on to do a PhD in vision research and neuro development at some point.

I think the Scottish optometry system is above anywhere else. I'm really proud to be part of it. That's part of the reason why I became vice chair of Optometry Scotland. Its world-leading, and I want to be part of that.

Read more:
I want to be responsible for improving eye health on a national scale - AOP

This entry was posted on February 14, 2021 at 6:55 pm and is filed under Eye Sight & Vision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |