While the General Medical Council acknowledges the importance of leadership and management skills for doctors, optometry currently lacks equivalent emphasis or mandatory training in these areas.
Traditionally, discussions surrounding leadership and management within optometry have centered on business and practice management, leaving many clinicians disengaged. However, it’s imperative for all optometrists to recognize the essential role of leadership skills, particularly in light of the evolving landscape of the National Health Service (NHS) and their expanding clinical responsibilities. These skills are pivotal in ensuring the delivery of safe and efficient services to patients.
Over the past six decades, the role of optometrists has evolved significantly. Optometrists now manage ocular pathology in community practice and have the authority to prescribe therapeutics, thereby assuming greater patient management responsibilities. With increasing pressures on general practice, more patients are turning to optometrists for eye care, emphasizing the interconnectedness of optometry practices within the broader healthcare system.
In April 2017, the Scottish Government published the Community Eyecare Services review, highlighting the need for optometrists to possess “good leadership and management skills within the practice” to meet the evolving needs of the Scottish population. This underscores the vital role of leadership skills in optimizing service delivery.
Understanding that optometrists operate within a complex healthcare system is fundamental to recognizing the importance of leadership skills. Effective clinicians are those who comprehend the systems they work in and actively engage in leadership to deliver and improve the quality of services.
Leadership encompasses various interpretations, with recent theories emphasizing a shift towards viewing leadership as a process rather than an individual pursuit. This perspective, known as “shared leadership” or “distributed leadership,” recognizes that every team member can contribute to the leadership process, particularly in complex healthcare environments.
Frameworks such as the Medical Leadership Competency Framework (MLCF) and the Clinical Leadership Competency Framework (CLCF) highlight the competencies necessary for effective clinical leadership. The CLCF emphasizes shared leadership and outlines essential competencies across five core domains: demonstrating personal qualities, working with others, managing services, improving services, and setting direction.
While some competencies may align well with professional standards set by the optometry regulator, others may not be fully understood at the practice level. However, these competencies are crucial for enhancing service delivery and patient care.
For instance, in a small independent optometry practice facing workload management challenges, effective leadership involves auditing current practices, identifying inefficiencies, proposing changes, and evaluating outcomes. Each team member plays a role in this process, emphasizing the importance of shared leadership in practice.
In summary, the goal of optometry, like all healthcare services, is to provide high-quality and safe patient care. Achieving this goal requires active engagement in supporting, leading, and managing services by every clinician. Leadership is not confined to formal roles but involves a shared responsibility among all team members to enhance service delivery and patient outcomes.
Moving forward, optometrists must embrace shared leadership and leverage support from tools like EyeAppoint to enhance productivity and the quality of care provided. EyeAppoint offers various services tailored to support optometry practices in their leadership and management endeavors. Explore our services or meet with our team today to learn more about how EyeAppoint can assist your practice.
