Optometrist Shireen has been with Optical Express for nine years, providing a range of specialist eye care services to the cities of Cardiff and Swansea. Originally working as an optometrist on the high street, she decided to make the switch to Optical Express and now enjoys clinical diversity as part of a world leading team.
“I just felt like in the high street it was a bit more monotonous whereas it’s such a varied role that we have here, from post-operative checks, from consultations, you know, you’re offering different types of treatments, it’s not just the one option that we give,” she explains. By making the move from core optics into refractive optometry, Shireen has been able to take her clinical development to the next level. Alongside more routine sight tests and contact lens fittings, she now also conducts refractive consultations and post-surgery check-ups, and enjoys the variety this has brought to her role: “With other companies that I worked for it was a lot of, you know, just glasses and contact lenses whereas at Optical Express we can give a lot more than that. I just feel like no two days are ever the same which is a really important thing for me with a job, which is probably why I’ve been here nine years.”
Another major benefit to working in refractive optometry is that it gives Shireen a sense of continuity with her patients. As an Optometrist, she is able to provide long-term eye care solutions such as refractive and lens replacement surgery, and gets to support patients throughout every step of the process. “You see them [patients] from the day they come in for their consultation, and then you see them on the day, you get to catch up with them after a month. Just getting that sort of feedback and seeing what a difference you can make to people’s lives, I do find that really rewarding,” she comments.
Working alongside our renowned surgeons and the expert optometrists and ophthalmologists, Shireen has been able to build her knowledge and grow her confidence as a clinician. “I just feel like I’m constantly learning, working alongside so many different people. You’re working alongside a surgeon, and there’s a Clinical Services Team that I can always phone at any time to get help, to get a second opinion, or to review scans,” she says. This vast support network, consisting of some of the most experienced specialists in the industry, is available to all Optical Express optometrists to help them confidently manage their patients. “I feel like I’m constantly supported and I never feel like I can’t ask something,” she continues.
Besides receiving day-to-day support from industry specialists, Shireen has also benefitted from a wealth of training and development opportunities. As we are committed to supporting every optometrist throughout their career at Optical Express, we have created a comprehensive and rolling training programme, host regular CET events, and even encourage all of our optometrists to gain their IP qualification, fully funded by the company. “OE Academy is the way that Optical Express gives us the training that we need. You will get multiple training modules that you will do with time, and we’ve had many CET events. I’ve been offered the IP course and I’ve always been offered a next step,” she explains. Do you want the opportunity to enhance your clinical skills and experience the same professional development opportunities as Shireen? View our latest optometrist vacancies now and develop your career with the UK’s leading refractive surgery provider.
