My optometry community

My pre-reg supervisor

Hayley Smith, newly qualified optometrist at Peter Ivins Eyecare, Bearsden

“My supervisor during pre-reg was Craig MacArthur, another optometrist and the owner of the practice where I still work.

“Craig was extremely helpful during that year, and his support has not changed since I qualified. He is always there for guidance if required, and I can tell he has my best interests at heart. It’s great to have such a solid support network.

“I’m lucky to be surrounded by such experienced and knowledgeable people. I find their work ethic and motivation admirable, and seeing how they always strive to advance their skillset motivates me to do the same. It is a quality I have acquired from observing them.”

I’m lucky to be surrounded by such experienced and knowledgeable people

My mentor

Jodie Hastings, head of brand marketing at Leightons Opticians and Heating Care

“I could not live without the mentorship relationship that I have come about through my role at Leightons.

“Right from the beginning, in the interview process, I met with Rebecca [Sharp, managing director at Leightons] and I instantly felt a connection with her. My first interview ended up being over two hours, because we were talking about everything.

“She has obviously got a huge wealth of experience and knowledge about the industry. It’s an industry which has a lot of personal connections for me, and I was really passionate about joining the business.

“It started off quite informally, but it has really grown. One of Rebecca’s great strengths is greeting people with that holistic, 360° approach. That really appealed to me. Being a woman and being a mum, having that positive influence and support network is just becoming more and more important.

“This role is my first direct professional experience in the optical industry. It has been a steep learning curve, but Rebecca has been great at helping me understand that, and the sector.

“Everybody approaches things differently, but I think we’re quite similar. Rebecca is really great at valuing the person behind the role. Being a mum means balancing work and life outside the office. It’s really hard to find somebody who truly gets it, and wants to help you as an individual. It’s that empathy, and the thoughtfulness around that.

“What makes Rebecca special as a mentor is that she wants me to succeed. It’s that personal approach. She’s very good at stopping me and saying: ‘take a moment. This is what’s happening at home. Do this.’ It’s about compartmentalising, and setting those healthy boundaries.

Being a mum means balancing work and life outside the office. It’s really hard to find somebody who truly gets it

“As a mum, getting back into work and then working full-time and wanting to have a career, and wanting to do the best that you can, can be a challenge. Your children have demands on you. It’s not a nine to five job, so it’s important to have somebody who has that trust in you, if you need to pick something up later, or have a call in the car as opposed to in a formal environment.

“It’s that flexibility, trust and openness that allows me to be present with my children when I need to be, and also allows me to have the career that I aspire to work towards.

“Particularly for those that are new to the optical sector, or transitioning into roles like marketing or communications within healthcare, having somebody to guide you and reassure you can make a massive difference. I would be really proud to be part of something like that in the future.”

My optometry peers

Lizzie Shaw, newly qualified optometrist at Moorfields Eye Hospital and Addenbrooke’s Hospital, and locum optometrist

“I was lucky, because as a pre-reg optometrist at Moorfields, you have three people who are doing exactly the same thing at exactly the same time as you. That was really important. Seeing where you go and what you do after qualifying, having started at the same point, is really interesting.

“I think your peers are the most important resource that you have, especially during pre-reg. Pre-reg can be really difficult on your own. But also, taking that into your post-qualification year. It might be easy to think ‘I’m qualified, that’s it.’ But you still have lots of situations that pop up where you don’t know what you’re doing. Those established connections are always the best thing, especially if it’s someone you don’t mind being stupid in front of, where you can say, ‘I probably should know this, but I don’t.’

As a pre-reg optometrist at Moorfields, you have three people who are doing exactly the same thing at exactly the same time as you

“Working in community practice as a locum, sometimes I see things and have no idea what is going on. But I’ve got lots of peers, mostly from Moorfields, who have worked more in the community than I have. I text them and ask what they think they would do in certain situations.

“At Addenbrooke’s, there are not a lot of optometrists – but that means that every optometrist you know is also triaging the referrals. It’s really useful to be able to say, ‘if I sent this to you, what would you say?’ Without having to go through those steps.

“At Addenbrooke’s, I’m exposed to a lot that I wouldn’t know how to refer at this stage. I’ve started in glaucoma and in consultant-led paediatric clinics. It’s really important to build those relationships with the consultants.

“In my glaucoma clinic, it’s just me and the head of optometry. I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing half the time, but I’m learning from the best people that there are to learn from. Because it’s such a small department, it’s quite one-to-one. You soak so much up.

“I think sometimes, you need to build connections and not worry too much about where they will help you. I found that a lot of people that I knew at university have been really helpful now, going into my PhD. I have no doubt that the people I’ve met and interacted with will be helpful at some point in my career, even though I might not know exactly where yet.”