Upcoming Webinar

Dear Colleagues,

We hope you are doing well during the Pandemic,

Thank you for following us and reading our posts at www.opticalforum.space, We would like to share with you some thoughts about Optometry and invite you to the upcoming live webinar: “Optometry” is a successful case of Entrepreneurship: Even though, The Greeks 400 years before Christ, had some knowledge about optics and myopia, for centuries, risk aversion limited opticians from getting into new endeavors. It wasn’t until Charles F. Prentice called the “Father of Optometry” who was himself a risk-taker that he enticed the public to conclude that he had the qualifications that authorized him to a fee for advice. And that was at the time “the biggest risk that an optician would take”.Prentice was threatened with legal actions and boycott from Oculists in New York City, and his colleague Fred Baker (1919) of Dallas, Texas, who was a prominent American Optometric Association member was arrested for fitting a pair of eyeglasses and charged with “practicing medicine without license”. Baker faced a $500 (the equivalent of $7,655 today) fine and six months in jail.“It was no simple matter to resolve this thorny issue and the optometric leadership was very much aware of what was at stake in this lawsuit.” When the stakes are high, the rewards are high too.

And as Peter Drucker said, “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” When you take great risks you may get great rewards. If you think of failures and setbacks that come with risk-taking think of starting all over again along the way but keep in mind that if you don’t risk something, you will never win anything. Big rewards come out of courageous decisions. Despite opposition from the medical society, Prentice and his colleagues were able to submit a bill to regulate the practice of Optometry in the state of New York. In 1904, the terms “Optometry” and “Optometrist” were adopted and they were popularized by a consecutive campaign. In 1908, and after 12 years of continuous effort, the New York Legislature passed an Optometry law. In 1919, the American Association of Opticians changed its name and became the American Optometric Association.

Now, having said all this: Imagine you are among the first cohort of Optometrists to graduate in 2021 from a blended online and on-campus learning program. What are their opportunities? What is their competitive advantage? How will they impact the market of eye care?…and the most important question: How will they benefit society? Join me for this live webinar, where I talk about the future entrepreneurs and the 2021 Optometry students’ career paths. Places are limited, register at: https://bit.ly/3eZFN9W

Sincerely yours,

Dr. Gilbert Nacouzi, BSc Optom, MBA, DBA, EIC