Optometrist Harry Singh Bhakar on the rewards of a varied career

Optometrist Harry Singh Bhakar discussed his approach to further learning in an interview with OT.

“I think one of the key things is how relevant is it to my role in practice? How is it going to serve me and serve the patients that I am seeing,” Bhakar said.

Since qualifying in 2020, Bhakar has gained experience practising in both a multiple and hospital environment. He has served as a council associate on the General Optical Council (GOC) and as a mentor on Johnson & Johnson MedTech’s pre-registration support programme.

The council associate role was created by the GOC in 2022 to provide optometrists and dispensing opticians with their first step towards a board, committee or panel role, while also increasing the range of perspectives available to the GOC council.

“The GOC are doing a really good job of trying to increase diversity on council. At the end of the day, if you have different perspectives around a table having a discussion – there is richer discussion to be had,” Bhakar said.

Speaking about his long-term career ambitions, Bhakar would like to be able to influence change within optometry.

“To be able to make those bird’s eye view changes – whether it is in practice, within an area or across a large landscape, I think that is definitely where I can see myself going,” he said.