Credentialing Your Staff Adds Value to Practice

BY MARY JAMESON, OPT., T. R.
MAR. 1997

"An educated consumer is our best customer." An east coast clothing retailer uses this slogan, but it holds true for our patients as well. The more they know about contact lenses and how to maintain eye health, the better their results will be. How can we achieve this level of patient education?

BEEFING UP THE FRONT LINE

Thorough patient education can be very time-consuming. For successful patient interaction, the educator must have knowledge, time and patience. Although you may be the first to present new information to patients, your staff reinforces this information, and they will also be your front line when it comes to fielding patients' questions.

Delegating patient education enhances the professionalism of your practice and heightens the level of care that you can provide. Proper and accurate reinforcement of lens care and hygiene instructions is a critical part of the learning process. You cannot do it alone.

ACHIEVING A LEVEL OF CREDIBILITY

There are a number of avenues to assure that your staff maintains a high level of knowledge, which will also enhance their credibility with patients. Assistants and technicians can be graduates of formal programs, can be certified by professional organizations and can take continuing education courses regularly to maintain their certification and stay current with primary eye care. Some of these organizations also offer self-study courses worth continuing education hours for those who cannot travel to meetings.

When patients ask me what my qualifications are and I explain my background and certifications, they are immediately at ease and we are able to proceed with a very thorough history and testing. These days, when patients can choose from a great many eyecare professionals, you will gain an advantage by having a well-trained and certified staff. Credentialing, such as registration and certification, will demonstrate that your staff has and maintains a high level of knowledge in the eyecare profession.

Education begins at home, or in this case, in the office. Can your staff answer patients' questions about contact lenses? Are they effective problem-solvers? How many times has a patient been scheduled for an appointment when he needed only a refresher course in contact lens insertion and removal procedures, a task that you usually delegate to your assistant anyway? Avoid wasted chair time and appointment time by using your time to perform the 'doctor' tasks and leaving the data gathering and certain problem-solving tasks to your staff. CLS

Mary Jameson is the laboratory supervisor for clinical diagnostic procedures/contact lens laboratories in the Department of Clinical Science at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. She chairs the AOA Paraoptometric Section.