“It will never be as good as it was in the past.” Too many students and new optometrists are hearing an undercurrent of pessimism and “Chicken Little” messages that the sky is falling.  Many Baby Boomers prefer the old days and are concerned for the future of optometry. In many ways this is a huge advantage for the next generation of optometrists. As Carol Dweck, PhD. describes in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, there are two kinds of thinking about people and life: fixed and growth. The growth individual sees change as an opportunity to grow and make things better than they were before. Someone with a fixed mindset sees the world as having arrived and one must continue to build upon things of the past.

Not all Baby Boomer optometrists have a doom and gloom outlook for the future of our profession. However, many will say in casual conversation that the best was in the past. As Dweck says, those who have a growth mindset are those people who will excel in their line of work, in their parenting and personal life, and be the most fulfilled. I would have to agree and here are 3 reasons to embrace a growth mindset and not listen to the baby boomer generation.

1. Optometry/ophthalmology relations – Right now is the best time to be practicing optometry in healthcare. The younger generation of optometrists are graduating alongside their ophthalmology peers with the knowledge and ability to medically treat the eye. Respect for optometry has grown exponentially over the past 20 years and more optometrists and ophthalmologists are working as a team to treat and manage eye disease. One of my best friends has been changing the mindset of ophthalmology residents  for almost 10 years by leading them in clinical care and shaping them to see optometry as their equals. He embraced the growth mindset by educating ophthalmology students about optometry.
2. Medical model – With many Americans on the verge of receiving some type of eye care coverages through the government, the growing practice will experience an influx of patients. The fixed mindset will say that we are just having to see more patients and receive a lower reimbursement. This is true if we continue practicing in a model that was successful for the past 30 years. However, the next generation has an opportunity to thrive under these new conditions when the medical model is embraced. The medical model will allow for greater delegation and may resemble something similar to what dentists or orthodontists have been doing for years. The sky is falling for those who refuse to change the way they have practiced for the past 20 years despite the changing climate. For the next generation of optometrists the future looks bright under the medical model.
3. Ambitions – The Baby Boomer optometrists are a product of the generation that endured the Great Depression. They watched their parents go through very difficult times and the Baby Boomers were determined to not let that happen to them. They redefined the workaholic mentality. Work, work, work, work. . . retire. Good or bad, the next generation of optometrists do not embrace this mindset. They don’t necessarily need the highest paying jobs. What they desire are jobs that will give them freedom to live now. With the changing scope of healthcare, there is some allure to taxing the rich and government healthcare. The next generation believes this will create an opportunity for more time off. Instead of working like their parents did, they will work to the point in the year where time off is more intriguing than the amount of net dollars they will see in their pocket once they hit the upper-tiered tax brackets.

Now don’t get me wrong, there is much wisdom that comes from the mouth of those Baby Boomer optometrists. The take-home point for the next generation of optometrists is to be selective on how deep you wade into the waters of Baby Boomer nostalgia. Embrace the future of optometry with a growth mindset:  We can grow, we can make tomorrow better than today, and the best years are yet to come.