Welcome to Optometry: The Ultimate O.D. blog! This will be coming out weekly and accompanying the podcast. My goal is to follow the same general outline as the podcast, but the written word tends to take on a life of its own, so you may notice a unique subtle difference between the two. (i.e. You should consume both)!
To start, my name is Nick Lillie and I am the host of the Ultimate O.D. podcast and author of the Ultimate O.D. blog. I am incredibly excited to take on these endeavors. Be warned, I love to talk, and when it involves Optometry, I REALLY tend to get animated and excited, so hold on, keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times and anyone with pre-existing heart conditions should not proceed.
I graduated from ICO in 2011 and started an office cold straight out of school. I have had my fair share of ups and downs, wins and losses, but honestly think I have a pretty successful practice. I love to share my experiences with anyone interested in what I do, whether its local high school students, optometry students, or even colleagues that are interested in testing the waters of private practice! As a result, the Ultimate O.D. was born.
Additionally, when I look at periodicals, podcasts or blogs currently available, they do not have what I want for myself. And you all know how we work in this industry, if they do not have it, we find a way to make it happen. Whether it is 3 separate pairs of reading glasses (1 for their iPad, 1 for when they’re laying in bed on their phone, and one for their computer at work..this is real) because they do not need a PAL or somehow teaching the 55 year old presbyope how to put on and take off contacts is just too much. We are resourceful and find a solution to the problem at hand. In this vein, I hope to create the content for YOU that I have been yearning for. The stuff that, if lucky, I am privy to once or twice a year at a random CE lecture.
That being said my goals for this blog are pretty straight forward:
I want to share my experiences and give you clinical or practice management pearls that you can act on immediately. I am very aware that not everything I do will resonate with your staff or patient base, but I hope by bringing up the subject, it allows you to examine those parts of your own offices. As a student, I held on to every nugget of wisdom I could find, and that has eventually shaped my office into what it is today.
I am in the process of starting a Myopia Management niche and I want to share the journey with you. The search for a niche has been a goal of mine since I opened. I feel like a fad dieter throughout this process! Sports vision for a few months, heavy into dry eye, and now I feel like I have something that has stuck for over a year. Regardless, I feel like this journey is something either incredibly relatable or incredibly amusing to see from afar, so I plan on recapping my journey and taking you with me for all my new adventures.
I plan on reading an Optometry related magazine, article, or journal (honestly it will be more along the line of Review of Optometry, Optometric Management, Vision Monday, Eyecare Business, etc.) and giving you my 2 cents on the material. I know finding the time to stay up to date is incredibly challenging. Hopefully, I can filter through the nonsense and pick out what I feel will benefit us the most.
At the end of the day, I love all things related to this wonderful profession and I cannot wait to get into the nitty gritty with you!
