This week we have our guest blogger, Ashley Blasi, O.D., blogging about the mistakes that she has made from transitioning from optometry student to new OD.
Mistake #2 – Pushing Change Too Fast
When I graduated SCO I was so pumped to apply my knowledge I had obtained to the real world and I believed some major changes needed to happen to the practice when I arrived. My thoughts were the practice needed an EMR system, the patient’s should be scheduled in this particular way, the optical board should be arranged in a more efficient manner, the equipment was outdated , staff needed to be trained in more areas and some major decluttering needed to happen. I had all of these ideas that I wanted to be implemented yesterday. Throwing all your ideas out at once can cause tension between you and the staff and you and the senior doctor. Change is hard for many people. My advice would be observe how the practice is ran for a couple of months. Let the staff become comfortable and trust you. Slowly start to introduce your ideas and explain how you see the practice improving with those changes. In my experience, you will have much better results.
Ashley Blasi, OD is an associate at Drs. Fisher, Yarrow and Fleming, Optometrists, in Wichita, KS. She has been with the practice for close to two years. She will continue to guest post for the next couple of weeks on “Mistakes I have made.”
