I'M JUST SAYING... By Robert Dalton, Executive Director - Opticians Association of Canada
The board of directors of the OAC, our provincial partners, the countless number of committee members and charitable supporters are the subject of this month’s I’m just saying.
We would be nothing without these people. One cannot say enough, seriously, it amazes me the amount of time and personal energy that is donated each and every year by our volunteers. These volunteer persons should be recognized. Ok, the OAC does, as I am sure others do recognize with a Hall or Wall of Fame or Optician of the Year, but these are organizational accolades. I am interested to know if their fellow professionals ever actually say “ WOW, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU DO”
The demand on personal time can be very challenging. The sometimes-related travel is not glamorous: fly in for meetings, fly out as fast as you can, and then return to work sometimes even the same day. I applaud the gumption and energy level of these volunteers, without them we could not continue to do the work that our organizations do.
Perhaps we should all take a moment and personally thank those that give their time and energy to the promotion of our profession. It can be a thankless duty. It is a duty to these people. They do it because they feel the necessity to give back and improve the profession. Ok, you are now going to ask me "How can we thank them?" The best form of complimenting is emulation. Offer to help. Ask your associate how you can assist them. If you are an employer, perhaps, offer time to your employees for association work so they do not have to use their vacation time as many currently do.
Be a leader. Be a supporter. I'm Just Saying...
SPOTLIGHT ON BRITISH COLUMBIA By Claudia Rojas, Director – Opticians Association of Canada – BC Chapter
“I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the activities that the OAC- BC Chapter has been involved in over the past few months, and also to reach out to you for your input and ideas to better serve you….The OAC-BC chapter has engaged and shared information with FNHA through discussions regarding the overall experience of the vision benefit billing process and provided feedback on existing challenges to providing care to FNHA clients…. I am very excited to share with you that we will also start a new project called “Insight of Joe”, an Opticians’ coffee club in different cities throughout our province, where we will have the opportunity to network, brainstorm, share our knowledge, and support our members’ activities….”
Opticians of Canada, this was sent to us by one of our longstanding members. Please heed this warning:
" I have just realized the importance of having your OWN Professional liability insurance.
Now I know many of you are thinking, “why do I need to get my own insurance, my workplace already has me covered” or “my workplace doesn’t pay for it, so I am not going to bother with it”.
Well I can tell you that if your workplace provides it, it is not for your protection it is for the employer.
It has happened more than once that the employer has terminated the employee with just the suspicion that you may have done something that would affect their insurance. You may find yourself without a job, even if no official action is taken by the provincial regulatory body. What if you find yourself with no job and no insurance, now you are left to deal with the problem on your own with no resources.
If you had your own Professional liability insurance even on top of what your employer had provided, you would still have that protection.
Although you may still find yourself without a job, at least you have the insurance, and with that you have people that will stand with you and help you deal with the problem. The Professional liability insurance agent will help you in unimaginable ways, including helping to keep you calm during all of turmoil, and that is priceless.
Think of Professional liability insurance as an emergency kit, you never know if you will need it - but you will be so grateful that you made the investment in your own protection, if you ever find yourself in need of it. Think of it like having fire insurance on your home, you never think you will need it, and quite often your mortgage depends on you having it - but if you ever find your home is burning you will be slightly relieved at knowing that with the insurance, you can rebuild your life and emerge from the ashes of what was. Getting coverage is simple, just join the OAC like I did, and it comes free with membership"
Ontario Opticians, Volunteer With Opening Eyes
Special Olympics Ontario is looking for volunteers to assist in an upcoming Opening Eyes screening as part of our Healthy Athletes program at the first ever Invitational Youth Games in May of 2019. The event will bring together over 2500 athletes from around the world to compete in 5 different sports throughout the GTA! Read more...
Celebrating Vision & Accessibility Campaign The OAC is proud to be a contributing partner of the Celebrating Vision and Accessibility campaign launched in January 2019. This campaign was run in the Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, White Cane Magazine, and online at personalhealthnews.ca.Click here to read the digital campaign, and click here for the newspaper insert.
“ It’s no secret that scleral lenses have become an exciting opportunity in the specialty contact lens industry. The goal of prescribers is to provide a comfortable lens that keeps the cornea healthy and the patient well. That seems easy enough, but as the applications of scleral lenses increase, so do the number of hurdles that scleral lens prescribers may encounter. Common vision issues include vision fluctuation and post-lens tear layer fogging. Patients may also comment about lens discomfort, edge awareness, and difficulties with application and removal…” Continue reading this article
Nova Scotia Bus Back Campaign The OAC is delighted to partner with the Nova Scotia Society of Dispensing Opticians (NSSDO) to promote Licensed Opticians in the province with the implementation of bus posters running in the Halifax Regional Municipality. To enhance exposure, the NSSDO, with assistance from the OAC, is running an ‘EYE SPY THE POSTER’ contest providing $100 VISA gift card prizes to the public who spot the bus posters and post on the NSSDO Facebook page. Local Opticians are also taking part to win a free NSSDO/OAC membership by sharing the contest information on their personal or business Facebook pages. The contest has received over 4500 impressions to date! Full details can be found on the NSSDO Facebook page.
Our mailing address is: Opticians Association of Canada 2706-83 Garry Street Winnipeg, MB R3C 4J9 Canada
If you wish to unsubscribe from these emails, click here to login to the Member Portal and change your communication preferences, call 1.800.847.3155 or email canada@opticians.ca
What is your favorite Continuing Education delivery method? 
