Foreign holidays are now back on the agenda, and the demand for flights for leisure appear to be bouncing back. After a forced two-year absence, the optical conference scene has now also well and truly re-emerged. If you have a passion for eyes and information, the options are many: virtual or in person, at home or abroad, many with hybrid options too.
Returning from the College’s Optometry Tomorrow conference (OT2022) earlier this summer, full of new knowledge and a renewed excitement for my profession, I bounced back to my desk with new ideas, inspiration and contacts – you will be hearing from me!
For practitioners in primary care and smaller practices, optometry can at times feel a lonely profession – many hours spent in a dark consulting room – and so the benefits of getting out to meet colleagues at local or national meetings are significant. At OT2022, what was in evidence was the sheer joy of delegates getting reacquainted with colleagues after the prolonged absence or meeting new ones, all face to face. We are human beings – we thrive on physical interactions to inspire, to empathise, to discuss, to share.
Over lockdown, we had to learn the art of virtual networking – although I suspect many of us simply failed to network, other than between our existing groups of friends and colleagues. Our article reminds us of the value of networking at all stages of our career – and the opportunities that exist face to face and virtually. A traditional business card (preferably with a QR code as a nod to modernity!) still has value, and acts as a prompt to follow up.
With conferences aplenty and technology at our fingertips, accessing research should be easy – but the sheer quantity of abstracts, journal articles, and guidelines can feel like information overload. How can we keep up to date with research developments, when our clinic diary is fully booked, practice management needs attention and there are many more daily demands on our time and attention?
