Partnering with an organization boosting OD career trajectories.
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By Linda Enciso, OD
August 14, 2024
When you consider where you want your career to go, you may need additional support to achieve your goals. I found the support I needed when my practice joined the AEG Vision family in 2019.
Team Approach
During this transition to becoming part of their organization, AEG Vision demonstrated that they were a people-first company by welcoming our team and keeping open lines of communication about future steps. This helped to build trust among our team and ensure a smooth integration.
AEG Vision also placed an emphasis on ensuring a seamless transition for our patients, again demonstrating that patient care and well-being was a priority.
Most changes that were implemented enhanced patient care and positioned our team members for growth and development.
Assessing Where You Are & Setting Goals to Go Farther
When I joined AEG, I had been practicing in private optometry for 13 years. During this time, I was seeing patients full time, and I assisted in implementing an electronic health records, additional third-party software to increase patient communication and practice productivity, as well as new diagnostic equipment to enhance patient care and increase our scope of practice in three clinics.
My goals for the future are to continue to implement new processes that enhance patient care, increase practice productivity and expand the provider’s scope of practice.
AEG Vision is helping me to reach these goals by:
- Providing me the opportunity to transition to the training team. This allows me to leverage my experience to optimize the EHR and POS systems to streamline workflows, improve documentation and enhance patient care coordination.
- Providing continuing education opportunities to stay informed about advancements in optometry and healthcare technologies.
- Fostering collaboration with other healthcare providers and cross-functional teams within AEG to enhance comprehensive patient care.
- Offering flexibility in my schedule so that I can balance my responsibilities between training and providing direct patient care in the clinic.
Partnering with an Organization Offering Ample Resources
AEG has the following resources for ODs:
- Optometric Leadership and Advisory Council (OLAC)
- Two ODs are selected per region to be the voice of optometrists at practices managed by AEG Vision, advise the executive leadership team on best practices within optometry, support the practice of full-scope optometry, advance the profession, provide leadership to, and increase engagement with, optometrists and promote career opportunities at AEG practices.
- Networking events: AEG organized local and conference events providing ODs opportunities to collaborate.
- Local and online continuing education courses led by AEG ODs: allowing providers to share clinical insights, expertise and best practices.
- Optometric Excellence Award: This highlights optometrists who showcase clinical mastery, prioritize patients, serve the community and commit to continuous growth.
Joining a Network of ODs to Collaborate With
Yet another great help AEG provides to reaching your career goals is the substantial network of ODs it offers. They make it easy to collaborate, and learn from, these doctors, including by providing:
- Access to team members with knowledge in specialty fields outside of clinical care – allowing the expansion of my own knowledge on these topics.
- Engagement with executive leadership to understand strategic priorities and gain insights into effective leadership and operational strategies.
- Organized continuing education events to enhance clinical skills.
- Organized OD networking events – providing the opportunity to connect with other ODs.
- Leadership opportunities to recruit new ODs and represent AEG at professional events.
Help Building Your Office’s Team and Patient Care
AEG Vision ensures that its doctors are able to build the office team they need. They also assist greatly in ensuring the doctors and staff have the knowledge needed to provide topnotch care. For example:
- Established providers are given the opportunity to mentor new OD hires.
- New ODs are paired with a Regional OD to assist them in the onboarding process at AEG.
- Courses are developed and offered to increase provider knowledge on specialty optometric topics.
- Providers can participate in clinical pilot programs to access the newest clinical tools and advance in their careers.
Partnering with an Organization that Cares About Your Growth & Development
AEG Vision’s commitment to investing in its own people is the key that allows for personal growth and development. This philosophy promotes their proactive approach of developing tools and programs that empower people to continue to expand their careers.
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In 2023, the training team achieved the following milestones:
- Successfully transitioned over 70+ practices to AEG’s EMR and POS. This contributed to over 350 practices successfully transitioning to AEG’s EHR and POS by the end of 2023.
- Assisted in implementing a mentoring OD program.
- Successful customization and implementation of EMR and POS for a large specialty vision therapy clinic.
Both team members and support employees have paths to expand their career opportunities at AEG. Development opportunities assist them in achieving the highest proficiency in their current role and then, if desired, possibly transitioning to a leadership/management role.
AEG Vision not only creates programs to invest in their own people, but also seeks individuals who are committed to uplifting those around them and prioritizing patient care.
I am surrounded by team members who motivate each other to improve, appreciate one another and cultivate a positive and enjoyable workplace environment.
Linda Enciso, OD, is a therapeutic optometrist practices with an AEG Vision-affiliated office in Houston, Texas. To contact her: lenciso@aegvision.com