In Contact - June 2005
Issues
A couple of readers reprimanded me for letting up on the APC and Board-related ?issues? last month. On the other had there were those that were happy to get back to contact lenses, clinical optometry, research and case reports. Frankly I'd much rather stick to the clinical stuff, but it had to be said.
There was good reason for giving it a miss last month.
Firstly we are currently all registered [some with conditions] or in my case and at least one other, ?deemed registered? until current issues are resolved as per Part 2 d 29 (3) of the HPCA Act.
I must say we had no such problems, restrictions or onerous conditions placed on us when registering [or re-registering] in Aussie. One reason may be that Aussies are all ?one eyed? and thus not capable of binocular techniques like BIO etc?
Some of us are now proud holders of Australian Optometric Registration?
Most practitioners on the ?wrong side? of the minority-determined direction the NZ authorities want us to comply with, still have five years to decide whether to succumb, retire, emigrate or find another profession/business.
Secondly I have pretty much said all that one can say, over the past years, as we built up to this fiasco. The writing was on the wall. I attempted to make everyone aware of what may happen. Many didn't care; some only took notice when their livelihood was threatened. One of the instigators of all this change also told me that they ?never intended? for it to go so far?
At least three former Board Members [optometry and dispensing], and some NZAO people also expressed major dissatisfaction with the current situation.
So that's things as they currently stand. Status quo or stalemate? We shall see. There has been an offer to discuss the conflicting issues with a representative of the Board and a number of people have indicated a desire to attend such a meeting.
There is also a ?Call to UK trained optometrists? in the members section of the NZAO website. If you care or are affected I suggest you take note and help out with the request for info. You will need to login first to access the link.
For now the pressure is off.
We are certainly not rolling over. Simply pursuing the options in a democratic fashion.
If that fails then legal action looks like the only avenue as the various government Ministries don't appear to give a toss.
I note that on the ODO website the list of Board Members has changed, with one Optometrist member apparently having retired.
Apparently an announcement will be forthcoming.
I have however never been properly advised as to how Board Members are determined, suffice to say that a Board Official told me that they are ?appointed?. When asked who ?appoints? the Board members I was told ?The Ministry of Health? but in the ?Bureaucratic Run Around? [BRA] I had from the Ministry no one actually told me by whom and by what process.
So much for democracy?
Massive powers are given to the Board and they are seemingly accountable to no-one [or so I was led to believe by the Minister of Health?s office]. They told me the Minister could/would only intervene if we showed ?procedural errors?. When we did show numerous procedural errors - some of which were acknowledged by the Board - I was then told that the Ministry still wouldn?t intervene, after all. That was after few weeks of ?BRA? and being shunted from one person to the next. When I requested a meeting with the Minister I was told to wait in line as she gets ?187? meeting requests a week and it would take months to see her.
There must be plenty of problems with the Ministry, to have so many people seeking an audience?
I thought the apartheid regime knew how to play the game but this current bunch of pollies takes the cake.
The Minister of Immigration also missed many of the points I mentioned regarding aspects of the APC debacle, despite my sending screeds of accompanying information.
I'm not surprised that Ministers and Members of Parliament seem to be falling like flies. How many Labour [and other?] politicians have recently fallen on their swords, retired in disgrace or otherwise been embarrassed, stood down or whatever, these past few months? Fraud, dishonesty, incompetence and a whole raft of allegations and other issues seem to be the reason.
As one parliamentary reporter stated on the late news on 16th May, It's like ?a tide in ragged government??
The ?authority figures? question and regulate our ?competence?, meanwhile if we showed such incompetence we?d probably get shot or sent to Stewart Island.
Tissues?
I really enjoyed the hit TV series bro?Town but recently discovered the TV1 series Facelift.
Now at least there are a few people who are prepared to stick their necks out and ?take this piss? out of celebrity Kiwi?s and Politicians.
Take a look at a few of the Facelift caricatures.
True to life?
The Gibson Group are also well known for other excellent TV programmes these past few years.
Many a true word said in jest, eh? Some of the stuff they say is borderline libellous.
Good on them!
Roll on the next election. I think we are heading for interesting times?.
It could of course turn out to be just another general erection? The budget was also a bit of a damp squid. I might just have an extra four hundred odd bucks in my back pocket. By 2009.
Gee thanks.
Wassup?
There are other things afoot Optometrically-speaking? with plenty of lobbying and seeking of ?contracts? [supposedly ?on our behalf?] to get ?Cataract screening? for optometry. If what I hear is correct however, maybe only TPA Certified Optometrists will be ?deemed competent? to perform this cataract surgery suitability-screening.
Thank goodness! Frankly I am busy enough without having to become a cataract screening technician. Currently I refer my patients with cataracts, mostly privately, but where indicated to the public system. that's enough for me. I don't need to become a screening station for every cataract in my area.
There seem to be others who share my view and systems in place to do this already?
What do you think?
Get used to it folks.
As soon as you create this multilevel ?class structure? between colleagues in the same profession, It's just a matter of time before only certain people are allowed to perform certain functions.
Currently we are not 100% sure who is behind this desire for an optometric cataract screening contract. Is it Ophthalmology, or as some suggest the NZAO or Ministry of Health?
The DPA issue seemed to originate from well intentioned - but in my view - misguided NZAO councillors.
Who knows?
We are not alone in our dissatisfaction. there's is a bit of debate going on in the USA where people are questioning whether the AOA is in fact really representing the profession [which it should] or if the AOA is simply being driven by a minority, without regard for what coal face practitioners want or need. there's also plenty on ?private? optoms versus ?commercial? optoms.
Sound familiar?
If you want to know more, logon to [or join] www.seniordoc.org and check out the forum >State of Optometry>AOA Drop Out. You?ll also find some forums on NZ optometry and plenty of useful stuff on clinical optometry, contact lenses, path, equipment, computers, retirement, investment and much more.
Myopiagenisis
As optometrists, myopia has been an issue for practitioners for over seven hundred years. For Behavioural Optometrists and those that follow OEP philosophies, the cause/s and control of myopia has been an issue for seventy five years.
It would appear however that with the current ?myopia epidemic?, especially in Asia, myopia research is now the ?in thing? and undergoing somewhat of a renaissance.
I was fortunate to have some great teachers in behavioural optometry and was also exposed to the OEP during my student years. It made sense to me then and still does.
Many of the things we ?knew? at that stage ? like the influence of esophoria, high ACA ratios, poor accommodative facility/flexibility, lag of accommodation, inheritance and the benefits of ?plus at near?, are now being ?proven? through new research.
Many of these issues are dealt with in the April edition of Optometry and Vision Science [Volume 82, Number 4, April 2005]. One paper I found particularly interesting was one that noted very little difference in myopia prevalence and ocular biometrics when comparing a group of white and Asian British undergraduates. Thus it seems there must be other ?myopiagenic? factors ? possibly environmental, educational method, diet or other environmental factors. There obviously needs to be a lot more research in this area. Check out Ametropia and Ocular Biometry in a U.K. University Student Population by Logan et al, in the aforementioned edition.
Also of interest, Refractive Status of Indigenous People in the Northwestern Amazon Region of Brazil by Thorn et al seems to agree with my own anecdotal observations and work done in Vanuatu and Nepal by some of our NZ researchers [Garner, Kinnear, McKellar, Grosvenor, Owens, Frith et al]. Thorn et al found a very low incidence of myopia in a group of indigenous people in Brazil.
Myopia incidence was around 2.6% for myopia of -1.00D and above. Of the four cases recorded two were the only subjects to have entered formal education. I saw similar things in indigenous Africans in my time there, with a sudden, albeit rare, ?spike? or shift into myopia when they left the bush and entered formal education.
The advice I semi-jokingly tell the paranoid parents of progressive myopes ?I'm pretty sure that if Peter dropped out of school and became a beach bum surfer, his myopic progression would probably cease.? seems to be at least honest advice. I get the impression the kids think It's great but somehow the parents don't always seem to agree?
there's plenty more to discuss from this issue but space limitations prevent that this month. Next month I will be reproducing an interesting commentary from the Journal of Behavioural Optometry that will be sure to pique your interest.
Last Word/s
The Super Twelve semis and finals will be decided by the time you read this.
Go Crusaders!
The Lions and Barmy Army are due soon.
Go ABs!
It also looks like Alonso has worn out the soles of Schumacher?
Goooooo Alonsoooo?.
For more information or any comments email Alan at incontact@optom.co.nz.