06 August 2025
The Women in optometry edition explores what it means to be a woman in optometry in 2025 – from locum optometrists balancing multiple clients and responsibilities, to hospital teams leading the way in secondary care, to domiciliary optometrists out on the road.
OT canvassed the views of contributors to our Life in practice section on one burning topic: how do you balance work with the other things that are important in your life?
Stephanie Lipsey-Liu, practice owner and domiciliary optometrist, Nottingham
Featured in: Decoding domiciliary
“Ann [Hamilton, Lipsey-Liu's business partner at Freedom Eyecare and fellow interviewee for Decoding domiciliary] and I both have children of school age, so we both work around school hours. We aim for more life, less work, but when we are working, we put 100% in.”
Read Stephanie and Anns’ Decoding domiciliary reflections in The Women in optometry edition, online now.
Liz Cave, head of optometry at University Hospitals Plymouth
Featured in: How I got here
“When I am at work I give work all of my attention, and I apply the same intention to my home life when I am at home.
“I enjoy getting out in nature to recharge my batteries and sometimes will let my mind mull over work scenarios in the background, but always with intention. Often you can come up with ideas when you give yourself a bit of space and time. I never check work emails when away from work – that is a firm boundary for me!”
Read Liz’s How I got here reflections in The Women in optometry edition, online now.
Suzi Berg, locum optometrist, Stanmore
Featured in: Life as a locum
“Learning to say no. There are times where you are very busy, and it’s very hard to say no, because you know there are times where things suddenly do change, and you might have a short period of time where your work is a little bit quieter.
“Also, that you do things that you enjoy on your days off, and don’t spend all of your free time doing chores.”
Read Suzi’s Life as a locum reflections in The Women in optometry edition, online now.
Claire Melvin, deputy head optometrist at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen
Featured in: You had me at hospital
“Prioritising time for family life and my own activities is key for me.
“I make sure I exercise five or six times per week, and in doing so everything else flows better and my energy is higher (and I am then a much nicer person to be around!)
“I work very hard in time allocated for work, and then I switch off. Compartmentalising helps me.”
Read Claire’s You had me at hospital reflections in The Women in optometry edition, online now.
Sarah Joyce, director of optometry at Specsavers, York
Featured in: A conversation about...
“My biggest tip is to not have your work phone and your home phone as one phone. I tell my team that, because you never leave work and you never switch off from it.
“You will always have a massive to-do list, both in life and at work. That is never going to go away. You could kill yourself doing loads of extra hours, and your to do list will still be there, and it’ll just get bigger and bigger.
“For me, it’s all about prioritisation, and your out of work life: your family, your friends, exercise, whatever it is you want to do – the wellbeing part is just as important. If you’re lucky to have a role where you can be a bit more flexible, sometimes that does mean early starts and late nights, but it gives the flexibility to work around stuff that you need it to. It’s about making sure you’re focusing on the big things, and not just trying to do everything, because you’ll never achieve everything all at once.”
Suzanne Wadsworth, co-owner of BBR Optometry, a Hakim Group independent practice, Hereford
Featured in: A conversation about...
“I like to think of it as a work life blend, not a work life balance. Be realistic about what you can do. Be present with who you’re with and what you’re doing. Don’t try and spin too many plates at the same time, because you’ll drop some. You have to be realistic that you cannot do everything: it’s about prioritising and being kind to yourself.”
Read Sarah and Suzannes’ A conversation about... reflections in The Women in optometry edition, online now.
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