June 7, 2023
I am so proud and excited about the efforts of our colleagues in the state of Florida and their longtime political action committees that allowed their Governor to veto a bill that was devastating to our profession. It is a proud day to be an optometrist and to support our national and local political action committees. In Florida we are still DOCTORS!
If they had lost this fight, so many more states would have jumped on the bandwagon. Ophthalmology was just waiting for this victory, sorry — YOU LOST AGAIN. This much political clout does not come without hard work and financial support.
Oh, and most important, although this is politics, the bottom line is we are in the right. We treat these patients every day, and as I have said even in the MD offices, WE are doing the majority of primary care, including practicing at the full scope of our profession.
I’ve been involved with political candidates for many years and have many friends who are supportive of optometry. Unfortunately, my local congressman would not even vote to get our legislation out of the health committee. I failed, and you all know how disappointing this is when ophthalmology undermines our right to practice full scope optometry. It’s not just about giving money, although we all have to make sure we supply our leaders with the resources to make a difference with politicians.
It is also very important to show up and attend the dinners and the meet and greets so we can have face-to-face discussions with our congressmen and senators. We need to demonstrate our involvement in politics and in the governments and leadership of our cities, counties, and states. I am asked regularly if I’m a Republican or a Democrat. The simple answer is when it comes to optometry, I am just an optometrist who supports and promotes whoever is in office.
We have come such a long way as a profession, and we have such a long way to go. We now have more than 10 states that have the right to use lasers and perform minor surgical procedures.
It’s important that we continue to progress in keeping up with the latest in eye care education as we increase our scope of practice. Our goal at Review of Presbyopia and the Aging Eye is to prepare you for these major changes and advancements in optometry. ROP brings you nine different areas of patient care with nine key optometric leaders (KOLs). They keep you informed of the latest advances in each area. Together we will accelerate optometric dominance for eye care in the United States. They can’t hold us back: never have and never will.
