On the Thursday and Friday of the conference weekend the national groups held their semi-annual business meetings. The National Association of Canadian Optician Regulators (NACOR), the Canadian Association of Optician Educators (CAOE) and the Opticians Association of Canada (OAC) each had separate meetings and then we all came together as the Opticians Council of Canada (OCC).
For me it was a new experience. It was the first time I attended Vision Canada representing the Ontario Optician Association. It started for me on Thursday with the OCC meeting. Under the umbrella of the OCC all the national and provincial groups have developed the "Licensed Optician" branding that we all saw on the Internet and on T.V. Through this campaign and using other tools such as the window decals, t-shirts and tote bags, the OCC is always trying to find new ways to put our profession up front in the Vision Care world. The television commercials will run through the middle of December and at the OCC meeting we discussed steps that need to be taken to move the project forward.
Then on Friday I attended the OAC meeting. A new slate of Executive Officers was elected and the new President for the OAC is Dalie Schellen from P.E.I., the vice-president is our own Lorne Kashin and the Treasurer is Todd Smith from Manitoba. Come night time it was the official opening of the trade show and time for refreshments with some of the attendees and reps from the different companies that were present as exhibitors and presenters. It was a great evening
The lectures started Saturday morning and concluded Sunday afternoon. The one that grabbed my attention was the first one - The Great Debate- Internet Dispensing. Ed De Gennaro was the facilitator on behalf of Transitions. The panel consisted of the CEO of Frames Direct, the CEO of Essilor America, the CEO of CyberImaging and Robert Dalton from the OAC. Obviously Internet sale of glasses and contacts is a hot topic at the moment with everyone in our profession. A lot of good points were presented and debated by all. Definitely the Internet is here to stay. We just have to see if there is any way to restrict who can do what online and make sure we educate our clients about the difference seeing a licensed optician makes to their investment and to their vision health.
One of the most interesting features of the panel discussion was that the audience got a chance to offer their opinions through polling devices that Transitions had provided. Although there weren't enough devices for each person, through the 100 responders we were able to immediately see the feelings of the audience about various pieces of the discussion. It's amazing technology. As people responded we were able to see how many had not yet voted and once voting was complete we were able to see a pie chart that illustrated what the majority thought.
Some pretty astonishing numbers were thrown around from the CEO of Frames Direct. He mentioned they have about 40,000 hits a day on their website. That's a lot of people that look at their website. It doesn't mean they all by online. It just means consumers are looking for information and ideas about what's out there in the optical fashion world. The OAC was taping all of the presentations at Vision Canada and once they have had a chance to make them available online I highly recommend you view the Internet panel discussion.
Over all it was a great weekend. I had the occasion to meet many opticians for different part of our country and the world. One thing is for sure they were all there to put their two cents worth to try to make a difference and represent our profession. Vision Canada is more than just a trade show and a way to earn some con ed credits. It's an opportunity to gather some of the best ideas from all over and put them all together to make our profession shine thru the sometimes dark clouds of the optical sky.
Finally an end to the Bruce Bergez saga!
On October 1, 2010 Justice James Turnbull sentenced Mr. Bruce Bergez one year in jail without parole; the sentence is for civil contempt of court.
Justice Turnbull has yet to sentence Mr. Bergez on criminal contempt of court charges. The judge felt it would be a hardship on the Bergez children who are still school-aged should both parents be sent to jail at the same time. Consequently Mrs. Joanne Bergez' sentencing hearing will occur on October 7th 2011.
This was a victory at the end of a long battle. So the question is - what next? The franchise owners have made a request to be released from their franchise agreements, which means, at this time they will be able to run independently as an optical store. The business plan and agreement stated that opticians were not to be hired and if owners would have gone against their signed arrangement with Bruce Bergez they would have been locked out of their stores.
At this time, most of the Great Glasses locations have an optician on staff. The rest have been actively searching to hire an Optician. They will be closely monitored by the College to see that they are complying and that all dispensing is performed legally.
Keeping this in mind all licensed opticians should be reminded that delegation can only occur in the office when the optician is present. The Optician will be held liable for any act performed by a non-licensed individual.
Martin LeBeau,RO
Sophie Ladak R.O
As opticians we all know how hard we have worked to earn our license. We must present ourselves to the public as knowledgeable professionals specializing in vision care. Giving out glasses to customers without the presence and awareness of a licensed optician is not so professional. It is actually illegal. Think about your first time progressive wearer who needs the guidance from their optician before trying out the glasses at home or office to ensure optimum vision. They have questions that need to be answered like " why can't I read from the top part of my glasses, and why are the sides slightly blurred when I move my head?" sounds like simple stuff for a licensed optician to handle. A non licensed person acting as an optician would not be able to accommodate their patient and illegally dispense the glasses. This is definitely wrong and should not be happening. It our responsibility as licensed opticians to protect the public and protect our profession. When you go to see your dentist do you have to question whether or not you are being looked after by a qualified person? No. It should be the same for our profession. Licensed opticians legally dispense and student opticians work with them to obtain hours and experience. Nothing less should be tolerated. The best way to stop it is to take action and report any known illegal dispensers. We must continue to educate the public on the importance of our profession and the positive impact we have in helping them understand their vision care needs.
We will continue our work with the Ontario government and with MPPs from that position. Obviously we are disappointed with the portion of the regulation that enables people to purchase their eyeglasses and contact lenses on the Internet. The OOA through its partnerships with the OAC and the Opticians Council of Canada will be having input into the ongoing consultation that is taking place prior to the May 1st implementation date for the B.C. Opticians’ Regulation. We have received encouragement and suggestions from some Ontario opticians as to what issues to address and we appreciate their pro-active support.
We will keep you updated as more information becomes available. We cannot forget that the B.C. regulation also gives B.C. opticians an increased scope of practice to include refracting. The OOA has been an energetic proponent of optician-performed refracting. On that basis we do applaud the Minister of Health of British Columbia’s confidence in the skills of the refracting opticians in British Columbia to provide sight testing services for their clientele.
“The Optician of the Year 2010" at Inside Optics 2010.
MINISTRY RELEASES HPRAC REPORT
COO Seeks Comments On Draft Delegation Standards
Lorne Kashin,RO
The
College of Opticians of Ontario (COO) has sent out to all members and stakeholders a draft of the proposed Delegation Standard of Practice. In a nutshell here is what it is saying. Opticians will be allowed to delegate all of the functions in our scope of practice. Of course there will be conditions. To explain how it will work here is a scenario. Your manager says to you that you will delegate an authorized act (Dispensing) to four of your non optician co-workers. You don't feel comfortable delegating to two of them due to their skill level. Your manager says, "You will delegate to these four". The COO will expect you to only delegate to those you feel meet the standard. We do have a code of ethics too. College? Manager/Job? Should an optician be put into this situation? The Ministry of Health is pushing the COO to develop very open standards of practice for delegation as other health care colleges have done. We are in a situation where there has to be delegation but so far we are not comfortable with the draft standards. Should there be a limit to the number of people we should be allowed to delegate to at any given time? What other conditions should there be? There are approximately 2,300 opticians in Ontario that have now been asked with the current request from the COO for input on this issue. Surely there must be some good ideas out there. We need to come up with constructive ideas not just complaints about this draft. In the past the association and the COO have received countless responses to the request for comments on issues especially the issue of delegation. The responses I have seen only included disappointment and negative comments. We need to come up with constructive ways for this to work. I challenge all of you to come up with ideas on how delegation may work. If we don't the stakeholders that benefit most by this and the COO will be the only crafters of this standard. Please send me your ideas.
lorne@theeyeglassfactory.com
1/19/11
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1/22/11
Canadian Opticians And their Colleagues From Around The World Meet At VISION CANADA
Transitions Optical has once again stepped up to educate the public on eye care issues in support of the profession of opticianry. Canada Blooms, Canada's largest and most prestigious flower and garden festival will took place from Wednesday March 15th to Sunday March 20th at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto. This year marks the 15th anniversary of Canada Blooms and also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Juno Awards with the "Juno Rocks Gardens". This partnership between the OOA/OAC gave the associations an excellent opportunity to promote the Licensed Optician public awareness campaign. The OOA/OAC thank the volunteers who worked the booth and acted as ambassadors for our profession.
