Now I know
my A,B,C's
Next time our practice has kids to please
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An apple a day does not keep an OD away. Eye health exams can be performed as early as 6 months of age and continue for the next 100+ years.
Beware of tweens in the dispensary that do not acknowledge your existance when you speak directly to them. They'll come around when they find out you have to teach them I&R before they leave wearing any contact lenses.
Common Symptoms Of Kids With Hidden And Not So Hidden Vision Problems
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Frequent headaches with reading or writing
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Developmental delays
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Rubbing eyes repeatedly
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Tilting head to one side
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Hard to write in a straight line
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Hard to understand what they read
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One or both eyes turn in or out
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Tip of nose almost touches book when reading
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Grades are declining
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Redness or tearing of eyes
Deciding on frame inventory for young patients is not easy to do. Keep in mind that kids grow like weeds and quickly blossom into tweens. Kids love fun colors. Tweens might ask for a smaller version of an adult frame. Look for durable, reputable frame lines to carry. Be careful not to get into the habit of offering to order numerous single frame units for one patient's approval. Keep track of any lost sales and why they walked with their Rx. Discuss these at your next staff meeting.
Explain to the parents that when the eyewear is ready you will need to fit the patient. No mysterious dispensing. We've all done it. When you give the parents the kid's new eyewear and it becomes a mystery as to what happens from there. Be sure to show the kids how to clean and handle eyewear. Using both hands to put them on and take them off usually starts to sink in after about age 70.
Frame features, benefits and happy kids are very important to parents. Wanting to know if the eyewear will cost an arm and a leg is another biggie. Hopefully the parent who is present is the one who wears the pants in the family and has the final say so.
Glare is an interesting word in the optical industry that ECPs often use. Glare can mean a piercing stare (I've been known to glare while on the phone with a vendor to find out my order is MIA). Glare can also affect vision and cause eye fatigue. Young patients spend a large portion of their day using computers, handheld devices and workboards. Recommend the best anti-reflective treatment available. Kids have a better outlook on life looking through non glare lenses that are easy to keep clean.
Have someone from your practice contact local schools and offer to speak to different age groups about vision. Just make sure they are smarter than a 5th grader.
Imagine yourself in the kid's shoes. How would you feel around a group of grown-ups dressed in scrubs, white coats or black and white attire? Just because you have colorful stickers or suckers to give to good little boys and girls, the experience can be frightening. Put your imagination thinking cap on.
Just do it. Stay in control when kids/parents are upset with the first time Rx news. They walk out of the exam room texting and calling family and friends. Talk about dispensary trauma drama. As ECPs we might be thinking of this long overdue Rx as child abuse or neglect. Sadly sometimes it is. But they don't need Judge Judy or Judge Joe right now, they need a non-judgemental highly qualified Optician. Just do it.
Kid Contracts are cool tools to use and can be very effective if presented correctly. Get your creative staff to develop one that works for your practice. Make it fun. Hold kids accountable for the way they treat their new eyewear or contact lenses. Get the parents on board. Even though your practice may be paperless, you may consider this a wise paper trail.
Lenses for young patients should always include impact resistant materials such as Trivex or polycarb. If the parent declines and requests the use of CR39 lenses, then personally I'm unable to help them. I don't waver. Feeling like you are helping the parents out by saving them money is not your obligation, duty to warn is. Better safe than bankrupt.
Make sure little kids don't get the wrong idea about what type of doctor's office they are in. You may have to prove to them that you aren't carrying a pocket full of needles or syringes.
Nose pads take a lot of blame and abuse. Kids will tell you their nose pads were hurting so they pressed on them or squeezed them together. It's really bad when the parents attempt to adjust the nose pads and they break. What can you say? Optician wannabes should never try this stuff at home.
Over the head terminology should be avoided when working with patients. It reminds me of visiting a foreign country and not having a clue as to what is being said around you. No one likes to be out of their verbal comprehension comfort zone.
Parents and coaches need to know that everyday eyewear is not sports friendly. Kids engaged in sports, especially ball sports should be wearing appropriate sports protective eyewear. Kids wouldn't be allowed to play on a little league football team wearing a hat instead of a helmet. So why are they allowed to play with the wrong eyewear?
Quickly bond with kids when they first arrive to the practice. Some reception areas have games and books available to entertain kids. Make sure your practice is kid approved and G-Rated while these patients are around. Keep the kids out of the candy dish until it is time for them to leave. Unless you like playing chase. That might be bordering on PG-Rated.
Recommending protective sunwear is not something to kid around about. Discuss the different options with parents. Photochromic lenses are kid approved and tween friendly. Polarized sunwear is not just for parents anymore.
Selecting eyewear is a process that can be challenging for kids, parents and ECPs. Especially if the parents pull a role reversal and act out, making inappropriate remarks. Assure parents that kids will wear their eyewear if they represent something they love.
Talk is not cheap. Talk directly to your young patients. Talk about what makes them laugh and what frustrates them. Center of attention is their middle name. Kids and tweens may let you in on some valuable self information that parents aren't even aware of. You can't possibly build rapport with them by turning to the parents for answers to every question.
U should stress the importance of UV protection to kids and parents. Use easy to understand language and examples. The UV fried egg poster available from Transitions is still one of my favorites.
Value every patient. A practice goal should be to have a kid patient for life and their kids for life and their kids for life...
Washing your hands before handling contact lenses should be the #1 rule for lens wearers. Hands down. No excuses.
X out of your mind any thoughts of not wanting to work with or help young patients. They may be taking care of you one day.
You can't please every patient and parent. Establish guidelines and stay within them. Know when enough is enough. Explain to the patient that you have done everything for them that you possibly can. If you have to fire them as your patient, follow the proper legal procedures in the event they should have an eye emergency.
Zealous ECPs help kids feel at ease as much as possible during their visit. They tell kids how great they look in their new eyewear and applaud responsible, young contact lens wearers.
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