We are problem solvers. Let’s continue to help each other

It is such a privilege for me to have the opportunity to be chief optometric editor and be a part of your lives every month through Optometric Management. It is special not only because I will be able to hear from you, our readers, but also because I am an avid reader of OM.

The magazine has helped me become more efficient in my practice processes during the last 23 years as an optometrist. Since I graduated from Nova Southeastern University in 1995, completed a contact lens/ocular disease residency in Boston, started my career as a leaseholder at Walmart for six years in Tallahassee, Fla., had two children and moved back to West Palm Beach, Fla., and purchased a 60-year-old private practice, Optometric Management has been there through it all.

LOOKING FOR GUIDANCE

Although I graduated at the top of my class and was well prepared to care for patients, I knew little about the details of running a practice. No matter where I have been in my career, I have always looked to OM for guidance in specific ways to make my life and my patients’ lives better.

Whether as an employed doctor, a leaseholder at Walmart or in private practice, OM’s contributors have provided practical “how-to” information — from start to finish — that has enabled better patient outcomes and increased patient satisfaction in my practice.

THE COMING CHALLENGES

As I look at the challenges the profession faces in the next five years, I know that OM will play an even bigger part in our success. I look forward to more of our contributors’ real-life examples and teachings that will help us navigate the waters ahead. Yet OM cannot be as effective as we would like without your input. My request is that you, my friends and colleagues, connect with us via social media, attend our live events and email me those practice challenges you would like to see us cover. (See below for the social media links and my email address.) As we develop strategies for 2019, your input is critically important.

The theme that has always run consistent in my heart is that of creating positive change for my colleagues and patients. Life’s challenges will continue to unfold for all of us. What turns challenges into opportunity is the way in which we react.

As chief optometric editor, my goal in 2019 is twofold: 1) to help you navigate the challenges we face in practice, and 2) create distinction in our businesses by continuing to provide real-life strategies to implement daily. We are problem solvers after all, so let’s continue to help each other improve at solving our practice and patients’ problems. By continuing to change our patients’ lives and sharing helpful stories, we can all learn from each other. Imagine what we can be with the help of each other.

I am eagerly looking forward to the year ahead and sharing it with you at OM online, in print and at events. See you there! OM

Email: dr@apriljasper.com
Twitter: @OptoManagement
Facebook: @Optometric Management