Domiciliary myths busted

Have your doubts about domiciliary work? Concerned about moving away from the traditional testing room? Read on to see how OutsideClinic debunks three of the most common myths surrounding domiciliary work and see for yourself what an exciting career you could have as a home visiting optician. 

Myth 1: There’s no support in the field

In a high street practice, although you may be testing alone in your room, you can always call on a colleague from the shop floor or the testing room next door to double check any doubts you may have about what you have seen. Just because a home visiting optician does not have the traditional testing room next door, doesn’t meant to say they don’t have a fellow colleague to call upon; at OutsideClinic we invest heavily in the support and governance of our optometrists. This can be anything from instantly sending fundus photographs to a Professional Service optometrist at head office for a second opinion or just having someone at the end of the phone to bounce ideas off. “One of the biggest fears in domiciliary optometry is not having support. At OutsideClinic, even though we are working solo we have support at the other end of the phone with no waiting,” says our Locum Optometrist, Seeta.

Myth 2: You’ll always be working alone

Commonly, people think the word ‘domiciliary’ instantly means working alone, but at OutsideClinic, this is not the case. Our optometrists will always have access to our dedicated teams at head office -they’re simply a phone call away.

From having a point of contact in the Scheduling department, who ensures the day runs as efficiently and smoothly as possible, to our dedicated Professional Services team who is on hand at any time during the day for advice and help. They will also arrange regular field visits as part of our ongoing clinical governance programme. “We also ensure that all field-based optometrists have a direct line to a professional services optometrist at all times,” says our Professional Services Manager and Optometrist, Matt Burford.

“I will receive calls from Optometrists who wish to talk through their proposed clinical management or patients. Often, we are both in agreement; but it's reassuring to have confirmation from a peer,” said Matt.

Myth 3: You’ll have to see 10-15 patients a day

This one couldn’t be further from the truth. The average number of patients seen daily by our optometrists is 7. Yes, 7 – that’s half the average number seen in a high street practice! We like to spend quality time with each patient so that we can give them the highest levels of care and attention they deserve.

Our devoted Scheduling team do everything in their power to make the life of the optometrist as easy as possible. Our software ensures that appointments are arranged in a convenient order and with as little mileage as possible.

“We help maintain the best possible schedules for our professional staff that work across the UK. We help them to manage obstacles that arise during their working day and we will be their main point of contact for anything that they need,” says our Scheduling Assistant Manager, Steve Curtis.

To ensure your day is all about the patients and not about paperwork, our professional Clinical Services staff will take care of any referrals, so you don’t have any extra paperwork to do at the end of the day and no added stress.

Why not give domiciliary a go?

Each of our departments focuses on providing you with a different kind of support, so, whilst you are essentially working alone, you never truly are as you have an entire office of support behind you. We want you to do the best possible job that you can whilst also feeling comfortable and safe within your environment. Don’t get us wrong, domiciliary is hard work and challenging but it offers so many rewards and immense satisfaction at the end of each day if you are looking for a change.

Don’t take our word for it, find out for yourself by visiting our Head Office on one of our taster experience days. Simply call Alex on 01793 648 706 or email jim@outsideclinic.com and we can put a date in the diary.