What Has My Association Done for Me Lately?
By A.D. Forth, Registered Optician

What future do you want for opticianry? Are you satisfied with your present professional status? Are you thriving or surviving? Are you optimistic, pessimistic or altogether jaded? Do you wish you had a voice?

We all live in unstable times: another job lost, another pension depleted, another soldier killed. It seems that all news is bad news these days. We tune out our televisions, radios, and newspapers – not because we don’t care but because we feel powerless. Must we feel powerless as professionals as well?  Power is perception.

Opticianry is a unique profession with unique issues. Few other healthcare providers struggle with the same political unrest. Deregulation, provincial differences, member disconnection and public confusion are all constant threats. These may seem like different issues, but they share a common thread – professional unity. Power lies in numbers and our numbers are scattered.

Unity doesn’t mean conformity; change occurs only through difference. We cannot expect to agree with every action of our associations any more than we do with our governments. Those who represent the interests of others must always be challenged. We have all suffered the insecurities of a world without diplomacy, but even diplomacy isn’t perfect. It is flawed as we are flawed. Unity exists only when flaws are embraced for the sake of understanding and growth. Security is the sum of all unity.

Opticians are not unified through their colleges, but rather regulated by them. This is a common misunderstanding. Our colleges have a mandate to protect the public from misconduct by their members. They wield no further power. They walk the finest of lines between regulation and promotion. Conflicts of interest are always a concern. This is the necessary process of professional accountability. Our colleges ultimately protect our profession from deregulation, but they must do so indirectly.

Our only voice as opticians is through our associations. They constitute the organized representation of our professional goals. Without them we are powerless. Our associations lobby on our behalf, provide us with continuing education and keep us connected. They have the potential, however, to do so much more for our profession. So why is our support for them so low?

I’ve often heard opticians say, “What has my association done for me lately?” Isn’t the better question, what have you done for your profession lately? What can you possibly expect your association to do for opticians without the support of opticians? What would society be without taxes, charities without contributions? One cannot exist without the other, though each may be flawed.

Do you ever wonder why opticians have always been such easy targets? Why have there been so much opposition to our advancements and so many threats to our survival? The answer is simple: the front of opticianry is broken. A broken front is easily penetrable and easily exploited.

The optical industry is a multi-million dollar business. From the sale of eyeglasses, contact lenses and low-vision aids, to sunglasses and accessories – the retail opportunities are endless. It’s no wonder that more and more businesses would like to steal a piece of our pie. The drug store and hair salon sales of contact lenses in the past now seem like small potatoes in the wake of the Internet. Mammoth optical corporations continue to expand as independents fall. Opticians are forced to work more hours for less pay and even less dignity. Eye care has become more about fashion and price and less about quality and service. Somehow, we have lost our way as a profession. How can this be? Shouldn’t opticians be the leaders in the optical industry? Isn’t it our knowledge and skill that enables our profession to exist?

It’s time for opticians to take back their profession. To unite against exploiters and to thrive instead of survive. It is impossible for one optician to stand alone, but together we would be a powerful force. We would demand only the best working terms and perhaps even charge for our services. We would be recognized as skilled professionals and not merely as sales people. We would succeed in all of our professional advancements. We would truly value our patients and our profession, by first valuing ourselves.

Imagine what our associations could do for us with our support. They could connect a national network of opticians to each other and to opportunity. They could be even better advocates for our continuing education.
They could effectively market our profession and lobby with influence. They could provide us with greater benefits and protection from exploitation. They could finally represent us as we would represent ourselves. We are our associations. Together, we would never feel powerless again.

What future do you want for opticianry? Are you satisfied with your present professional status? Are you thriving or surviving? Are you optimistic, pessimistic or altogether jaded? Do you wish you had a voice?

For a list of federal and provincial optician associations, along with contact names and numbers, please see the OAC masthead near the front of this magazine.