2008.12.04 23:02:23

John McDaniel

#9…..Awesome!  Another dry eye and ocular allergy CE lecture!

I see the value in continuing education, I really do.  I also see the need for the wide variety of topics covered.  In fact, I’ve even been fortunate enough to be the presenter of practice management education and always have a blast doing it.  That said, please, for the love of God, no more dry eye and ocular allergy lectures.

Since I started attending CE lectures in 2004 I’ve sat through no fewer than 1873 dry eye and/or ocular allergy lectures.  If you are an OD required to have continuing education you realize that I am only exaggerating a tiny bit.  I think I know why there are so many of these lectures available.  First, every optometrist encounters these conditions almost daily.  Second, most optometrists, regardless of their comfort level with diagnosing and managing most other disease states, are comfortable and capable of dealing with these problems.  Third, drug company execs pay their yacht bills with the sales of artificial tears and ocular allergy drugs.  I think the third one explains it the best.  Have you ever been to a dry eye or allergy lecture that wasn’t sponsored?  Actually, I am not sure I’ve ever been to any lecture that wasn’t sponsored (I will stop the digression right in its tracks).

Dry eye and allergy lectures remind me of the movie Groundhogs Day.  Each one feels mostly like the one before it.  I truly don’t believe it is the presenters fault for this.  I have seen some very good lectures give very good dry eye and allergy lectures.  It is entirely the fault of the material.  Hey, even I am not all that funny when my material is dry (pun intended).

A colleague suggested that my incredulous boredom with the topic stems from the fact that in my short career there have been very few major changes in a clinical area that has a lot of viable options.  I think she is right; would we see nearly this many lectures if there were some number less than the 7 billion artificial tear options on the market?

I am reminded of what I heard an optometrist at a party say about how he treats dry eyes and allergic eyes.  I’ll paraphrase here, but the sentiment was “if they are dry I tell them to get someone to lick their eye a few times a day.  If they itch I tell them to scratch them.  It ain’t that hard.”  Ah, good times.

Le meas,

John G. McDaniel, OD, MLHR
President/Founder
Waugoo Consulting Group, LLC
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