SOCIAL

  THE WAY I SEE IT

“NOTHIN’ LASTS FOREVER”

ASK YOURSELF WHAT WILL WORK BETTER TO STAY CURRENTc

MARC BLOOMENSTEIN, O.D., F.A.A.O.

I WAS driving in the car today and Axl Rose was belting out “November Rain,” ”Nothin’ lasts forever in cold November rain.” Of course, I was looking at the temperature outside, and it was 56° with a high of 77°. Don’t be hating; it is February, and I do live in a desert. Think of me when you are lounging on Lake Michigan in the summer with a gentle breeze and piece of straw hanging from your mouth, while I am in a pool of sweat from the 120° heat. Where was I? Oh yeah — Guns N’ Roses got me thinking about what does last. What in your lane and in your practice has proven the test of time?

WHAT LASTS?

The Snellen chart and the phoropter both have cemented themselves in our lane. Yet, the ETDRS and a new wave of auto-phoropters may be relegating these stalwart vision testing devices to the back alley. The advent of wavefront technology and computerized “one button” devices may open up some footprint in your lane for lip-syncing or a yoga mat. The slit lamp is going no where and neither is the indirect ophthalmoscope, although sometimes the views I get of the retina could be gone and I would not know the difference. “It’s shiny and red and well, sure it looks great.” Stereo Fly, Worth 4 Dot, Ishihara Color Vision Test have all been around for a long time, and now they can literally fit in our palms, as I wrote about earlier, as apps for our phones. And Schaeffer Eye Centers will out last us all.

WHAT DOESN’T LAST?

In the past I have I written about our perception of staining and how that, to me, should be a timeless feature. It should be obvious to all, with conditions like PATH, that our ability to make diagnostic decisions is thwarted by our own prejudices. Change is hard, I agree. Sometimes, it takes a slow maturation — more like a Darwinian time frame — and oftentimes it is not obvious until the change is complete.

Take refractive surgery, for example. The concept that altering the cornea for the gain of improving vision is not new, but RK in the ’80s made it affordable and mass productive. Optometrists bristled at the notion of allowing patients an opportunity to go without correction. Yet, when the ramifications of that process were “seen,” the popularity dropped as fast a pet rock to the bottom of that lake in Michigan. LASIK has proven to be a procedure that has gotten better through time and has been woven into the fabric of refractive options. It is hard to think of a time when it was not available.

LOOK TO THE FUTURE

What should not last forever is the perception that we are “spinners and grinners.” Optometry will last as long as we continue to work to molt the perceptions that glasses and contact lenses define who we are. Do not be content with what has “worked” and instead look for what “works better.” Charting the course for success is a day-to-day narrative. Moreover, our patients “hearts can change, and it’s hard to hold a candle in the cold November Rain.” OM

To view previous columns, visit our archives at optometricmanagement.com/magazinearchive.aspx.

DR. BLOOMENSTEIN currently practices at Schwartz Laser Eye Center in Scottsdale, Ariz. He is a founding member of the Optometric Council on Refractive Technology. Email him at mbloomenstein@gmail.com, or visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment to comment on this article.