Year End Tax Tips

Kicking off the Holiday Season is also a time to ensure that you have done the necessary year-end tax planning which can help lessen your tax bill come the new year.

Personal Year End

Regardless of the year end you have selected for your corporation, every person in Canada has a taxable year end of December 31^st. Therefore, it’s important to review some key tax considerations prior to December 31^st.

RESP

A Registered Education Savings Plan has some rules around both withdrawals and contributions. On the contribution side, eligible grant recipients are not only lifetime capped, but also annually capped. As a result, timing of contributions that generate grants is important to review prior to year end.

Withdrawals can be a little, I mean a lot, more complicated. You have six months after you have completed your post-secondary education to make a final request for grants, bonds and growth withdrawals (known as Education Assistance Payments or EAPs). In addition, for the first 13 weeks of a program, you can only request a maximum EAP of $5,000. Keep in mind that EAPs are deemed fully taxable income to the student. Therefore, as year end approaches, you may have an opportunity to withdraw a second EAP for a first year student who might have low taxes for 2022.

RDSP

You have until year end to make a contribution to be eligible for 2022 grants in a Registered Disability Saving Plan. These plans and associated grants are available to qualified disabled persons in Canada.

Strategic TFSA Withdrawals

Any withdrawals that you make from your TFSA are added back to your contribution room come January 1, 2023. Therefore, if you are looking to withdraw funds from your TFSA, it might be wise to do so prior to year end. This can be especially valuable if you are moving from a bank TFSA savings account into an investment early in the new year for example.

Paying Corporate Dividends

If you plan to pay dividends over the winter, consider the tax timing for both you and your corporation. Any 2022 dividends declared for a corporate year end prior to December 31 will be taxable on your 2022 personal tax return. You will want to weigh out the timing based on other income you have earned in 2022 and what you expect to earn in 2023 to determine the best timing.

Corporate Investment Earnings

Because corporate investment earnings over $50,000 in a year will erode your small business deduction tax break, it is important to review the earnings regularly and make adjustments either through strategic payments, setting up an Individual Pension Plan (IPP) or purchasing corporate owned exempt life insurance for example.

Tax Loss Selling of Investments

Given the market volatility we have seen this past year, your non-registered accounts may have capital losses. These losses can be triggered and used to offset taxable capital gains from the past three years (and can be carried forward indefinitely – so be sure to keep track of them). Therefore, if you have been sitting on a shareholder loan repayment, it might be a great time to liquidate some corporate investments to pay yourself back, all the while triggered a tax credit for your corporation and transferring tax free money to your pocket!

Likewise, it may be a good time to withdraw from your personal non-registered accounts to cover off some debts you are carrying, pay for home renos, or create cash to reinvest in your RRSP.

Income Splitting & Prescribed Rate Loans

The use of prescribed rate loans might be worth looking at if one spouse is in a high tax bracket while the other is in a lower tax bracket. The current prescribed interest rate is 3% and is set to increase to 4% January 1, 2023. Once the loan is set, the interest rate remains for the duration of the loan. This is higher strategy planning that also needs to involve your accountant and lawyer and should be discussed in greater detail should you wish to review this option.

Charitable Donations

Receipted donations are grouped together and are eligible for a 15% federal credit (and typically additional provincial credit) on the first $200. On amounts exceeding $200, the federal rate jumps to 29% (and is actually 33% if your taxable income exceeds $221,708). So if you are thinking of donating in January, you might want to move that forward!

RRSP

I know you are wondering why this is so late in the list – but the 2022 RRSP contribution deadline isn’t until March 1, 2023.

As you finalize your earned and taxable passive income for 2022, your next step is to review optimal RRSP contributions for overall average tax rate management, now and in retirement.

Understanding your 2022 income and available cash flow is key to ensuring you have drawn out appropriate salary and dividends from your professional corporation prior to December 31.

So Many Options

There are so many options and opportunities to save tax if you plan ahead. Of course, the best fit options are based on your personal situation and goals.

Advisory

As your Chief Financial Officer, I am here to help you sort out the options that make the most sense for you. Helping you understand your money and assisting you in making smart decisions about your debt repayment, insurance protection, tax management and wealth creation, are just some of the ways that I work as your fiduciary.

Have more questions than answers? Educating you is just one piece of being your personal CFO that we do. Call (780-261-3098) or email (Roxanne@C3wealthadvisors.ca) today to set up your next conversation with us.

Roxanne Arnal is a former Optometrist, Professional Corporation President, and practice owner. Today she is on a mission of Empowering You & Your Wealth with Clarity, Confidence & Control.

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a replacement for personal financial planning. Everyone’s circumstances and needs are different. Errors and Omissions exempt.

ROXANNE ARNAL,

Optometrist and Certified Financial Planner

Roxanne Arnal graduated from UW School of Optometry in 1995 and is a past-president of the Alberta Association of Optometrists (AAO) and the Canadian Association of Optometry Students (CAOS). She subsequently built a thriving optometric practice in rural Alberta.

Roxanne took the decision in 2012 to leave optometry and become a financial planning professional. She now focuses on providing services to Optometrists with a plan to parlay her unique expertise to help optometric practices and their families across the country meet their goals through astute financial planning and decision making.

Roxanne splits EWO podcast hosting duties with Dr. Glen Chiasson.

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Episode 30: Dr. Sophia Leung Takes The Road Less Travelled

Eyes Wide Open, Podcasts

Dr. Sophia Leung, in a conversation with EyesWideOpen host, Roxanne Arnal, the tables are turned. Once an OD student in Dr. Arnal’s practice, the student has evolved and honed her clinical and mentorship skills. Together they explore professional burnout, mentorship and types of collaboration in a forthright discussion.

About the Guest

Dr. Sophia Leung has taken an atypical professional pathway following graduation from UW School of Optometry in 2014. After spending some time in private practice, she pursued an Ocular Disease and Refractive Surgery Residency in the US followed by an Advanced Glaucoma and Cornea Fellowship.

Dr. Leung is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry, a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), and a Diplomate of the AAO in the Anterior Segment Section.

Currently, Dr. Leung is the Principal Optometrist at a high volume corneal, cataract, and refractive surgical centre in Calgary and the President-Elect of the Alberta Association of Optometrists.

Episode Notes

Dr. Sophia Leung is passionate and thoughtful about mentorship, professional development, and education.

As an OD student, she rotated through many urban and rural clinic settings, including Dr. Arnal’s Alberta private practice.

They discuss their personal and professional insights on mentorship, professional collaboration, and the evolution of optometry. They also delve into stress and practitioner burnout and point to a few interesting reads on the topic (See Resource links).

Dr. Leung shares her not-so-typical pathway after graduation that brought her first to private practice and then to an Ocular Disease and Refractive Surgery Residency in Oklahoma, a state with a very wide scope of practice, followed by an Advanced Glaucoma and Cornea Fellowship.

In her current role, Dr. Leung is developing an OD-to-OD referral model the enhance patient access to ophthalmologic care that also increases time efficiency for ophthalmologists.

She explains how the demand for routine vision exams vis-à-vis medical eye exams will evolve and how this exacerbates the need to improve efficiencies to meet the rising demands for patient care

She challenges her OD colleagues to rethink primary care optometry and outlines why primary care will unavoidably migrate to medical optometry. An insightful 30-minute discussion.

Resources

Click the play button at top of page to listen.

ROXANNE ARNAL,

Optometrist and Certified Financial Planner

Roxanne splits EWO podcast hosting duties with Dr. Glen Chiasson.

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Eyewear Style Experts Are Made, Not Born!

Human Resources, Managing Others, Marketing, Merchandising

Scientific research gathered by Florida State University with more than 100 scientists reveals that true expertise is mainly the product of years of intense practice and coaching, and that ordinary practice is not enough. To reach expert levels, you need to constantly push yourself beyond your abilities and comfort levels.

This report stated that what truly distinguished ordinary from extraordinary was that those who are experts continually analyzed what they did wrong, adjusted their techniques, and worked arduously to correct their errors.

Did You Learn Style in Optical School?

When it comes to style expertise, I can share that when I graduated as a Registered Optician in 1989 that no one taught me how to style eyewear. This skill was not part of the opticianry curriculum. I did learn how to select the best frames for a high myope and how to adjust the temples and nose pads, but nothing about fashion and style. I still cringe when I remember selling small frames to men with big heads because they required a high minus prescription. The frame looked ridiculous and was far from fashionable. At that time, I was only using my optical science skill set and not taking into consideration balance and proportion, let only anything that resembled style.

The longer I worked as an Optician, the more disillusioned I became with my career choice. I was bored selling the same frames every day and felt like I was not doing impactful work. I began to look at other careers as a way out of the optical industry.

Always passionate about fashion, I began to study Image Consulting and became fascinated with the profession. Image Consultants are experts in marketing and fashion. They style clients to improve their appearance and help them to achieve personal and business goals. I was intrigued with the process and willing to put in the time and study to learn more so I could make a move to a new profession.

Is Fashion Art or Science?

Fashion design is definitely art. It takes a creative person to design clothing that other people want to wear, but as I studied Image Consulting more, I learned that there is a science to dressing body types and personalities. Now I was hooked!

When I made the conscious decision to come back to optical it was only if I could learn to be an Expert Stylist and bring my love of image branding and fashion to my daily work. With the combination of image consulting training and solid optical experience, I now had the hands-on experience to create and develop the 5 Spec Style personalities.

Having this structure, allowed me the freedom to stop assuming anything about the people that I was fitting with eyewear and gave me a scientific approach to fashion and style that I was able to systematically implement and repeat with every client.

Spec Style Personality
The science of Spec Style personality is the combination of analyzing the body types, the clothing styles that complement the body types, hair styles, personal complexion and facial features.

Breaking down an individual’s personal style with science and practice allows us to be unbiased as we analyze and assess our
clients to better help them select eyewear. You are then not simply selling glasses; you are selling style expertise.

You can learn how to assess someone’s Spec Style just by looking at them. Seriously!

Top 5 Things to Assess Your Client’s Style and be the Expert Eyewear Stylist:

1. The design lines in their clothing: straight or curved?
2. The fabrics they are wearing: textured or smooth?
3. The colours in their Wardrobe: deep, light, bright, muted?
4. Hair Style: straight or curly?
5. Facial features: curved or angled?

Once you have assessed these personal details, select eyewear that mirrors or mimics the same. For example, if your client is wearing a tweed jacket that appears textured, select eyewear that has texture in design or material. If they have smooth, sleek straight hair, select eyewear in shiny plastic or metal with straight edges.

Moving away from what you intuitively default to in conversation is not easy, but it is necessary to learn new techniques. With
intentional and deliberate practice, you will confidently be able to refer to what you are specifically seeing with each individual
instead of falling into the trap of repeating the same vocabulary. Your clients will have confidence in your expertise, and they will buy from you.

¹ Harvard Business Review, July- August 2007, The Making of An Expert

WENDY BUCHANAN

Wendy Buchanan, Eyewear Image Expert is a Registered Optician, Image Consultant and Educator. She is the creative force behind the Be Spectacular Eyewear Styling System® for Eye Care Professionals. Wendy helps eye care practices to systematically reinvent their eyewear dispensaries to create an exceptional buying experience and increase profits.

Connect with Wendy on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bespectaculartraining/

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Location. Tips on Getting it Right!

Finance|Wealth, Office Design & Renovation, Practice, Real Estate

The location you pick for your practice is one the most critical business decisions you will make, and for new practices which rely on attracting new patients, will determine how quickly you reach profitability or even survive. Here is a list of things to consider.

Awareness of your brand is critical to building the initial trial visit which ideally will lead to repeat visits throughout the years. Pick a location which is highly visible to thousands of consumers each week. Real estate with good traffic generators like grocery stores, liquor stores, drug stores, popular restaurants/pubs or big box retail like Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, Winners, Marshalls, Home Depot etc. The highest volume optical stores in Canada are located in the large regional enclosed malls which provide huge flows of walk-by traffic. Occupancy costs are much higher so these practices must generate very high sales to survive.
Ease of access is very important. Most people do not casually visit an optical practice and in fact regard it as an expensive chore, so you want your store on the path of their normal round of weekly or monthly shopping.
Mature markets with established practices and loyal patients will be much tougher to penetrate than an area that is growing with new consumers looking for a new service provider.
Another key market dynamic is the type of competition. Some markets may have a competitor selling designer frames at close to cost, a battle you will inevitably be drawn into if you locate there. Conversely your research may reveal that the established operators are out of touch with the market and or give poor service, which spells opportunity.
Use an experienced retail agent if you can find one. Many real estate (residential) agents will take your business without being able to add any real value. Ask the prospective agent to list the specific retail deals they have done. A good agent will know listed and unlisted vacancies, and importantly what kind of deal is possible with a given landlord. The agent’s fees are generally paid by the landlord.
Understand that Optometry/optical stores are one of the best tenants a shopping centre can have. It is a clean, unobtrusive, attractive use, does not use a lot of parking and is likely to generate a good revenue stream for years.
Buying versus leasing. It’s great if your occupancy costs can go towards buying a location, but most of these are residential homes zoned for retail, condo ground floors, or commercial condos. These may work if you have a well-established practice, but unlikely to have the traffic necessary to build a business very quickly.
Don’t get sucked into taking a space larger than you need, the smaller and more efficient a space the better. Occupancy costs are a fixed expense and can crater your income for the life of the lease if they are out of line.

Recognize that a well-established visible location in productive real estate is one of the biggest drivers of your practice’s value. Take your time planning for it, finding it and negotiating for it.

TOM BOLLUM

Tom Bollum was the founder and CEO of Eye Masters Canada (sold to Lenscrafters) and has held senior management positions in New Look Lunetterie and other optical companies before joining the Avison Young Commercial Real Estate Brokerage retail practice. He has sourced and negotiated locations for many optical stores across Canada.

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Enhancing lives through design: FYidoctors Calgary Mission Square concept clinic inauguration

Practice, Resources, Technology

Calgary-based leading eye care clinic unveils its latest flagship location, showcasing the latest optometry technologies and improving patient digital experience

FYidoctors, a division of FYihealth group, announces the grand opening of its new flagship location in Calgary, Alberta. Founded in 2008, FYidoctors is Canada’s largest doctor-owned and doctor-led optometrist. FYidoctors has over 375 locations across Canada employing over 630 doctors and more than 2,300 team members. The company proudly has 47 clinics in Alberta making them one the most established eye care service provider in the province.

Located in Calgary at 102 – 2424 4^th Street SW, this unique 3,000 square foot clinic offers personalized eye care using state-of-the-art optometric technology and carries a wide selection of exclusive brands, including Cartier, BonLook, H Halston, Chopard and more. This clinic also has the largest FYidoctors exam room in Canada and is conveniently located on the ground level of the FYihealth group head offices. This location carries over 45 brands of optical eyewear and offers an unparalleled number of frames with more than 2,000 frames in clinic. It is also a hospitality-orientated, ‘guest-centric’ shopping environment.

Unique to this FYidoctors location is a fully customizable digital storefront display wall facing street traffic. New interactive digital media is utilized throughout the clinic space to educate and engage our patients. Additionally, a unique “FYidoctors scent” is used throughout the clinic to stimulate the olfactory senses of patients while browsing.

The clinic’s waiting area is designed to be more relaxed and comfortable, creating an opportunity for our patients to enjoy their time at the clinic. With top-of-the-line materials, the overall clinic purchasing experience is improved with exceptional acoustics, lighting, digital touch points, and interactive messaging.

“This clinic, its design, and the technology it offers is what we have as a vision for our entire network across Canada at FYidoctors. It exemplifies what FYidoctors has become as a leader in patient care in Canada and we are very proud to provide such a wide range of services and products to our patients,” says Dr. Alan Ulsifer, CEO & Chair of FYihealth group.

“Since moving our corporate Home Office to Mission in 2015, it has been our vision to create a flagship location at street level to effectively showcase our brand. I am so excited to see this dream come to life and for our team to be able to enhance the lives of the local community through the eye care and services we provide,” added Darcy Verhun, President of FYihealth group.

The four optometrists based out of Mission Square bring over 112 years of optometry education and knowledge. With a goal to offer the best optometric experience and to have answers to all the patients’ questions answered, Mission Square’s Lead

Optometrist, Dr. Bunny Virk, shares “the clinic is fully equipped with the latest state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment for early detection and management of all forms of acute and chronic eye conditions. In addition, our clinic will have the WAM800, an advanced diagnostic device in the optometric industry.”

Additional technology including the IPL/Radio Frequency Darwin treatment device, corneal topography, meibography, retinal widefield imaging, and the latest lens technology (duo-form lenses exclusive to FYidoctors with precise measurements (opitkam)), will all be available at this flagship location.

FYidoctors have built this space to be welcome to patients from all demographics, which can be seen through the customized wheelchair accessible room and friendly staff. To continue the progression of the services offered, the new FYidoctors University space will be opening soon, less than ten steps away and right across the hall, to help support the current and future team members with training and education of new Optometrists.

This is a sponsored post by FYihealth group.

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How to Manage Life-Work Balance in Your Practice

Human Resources, Leadership, Managing Others

Gone are the days when employers could decree when and how employees work. Employees control the narrative now. They demand more, they have higher expectations and when their needs aren’t met, they don’t roll over complacently. They change things. How does this dynamic play out in your practice?

Changes in today’s workforce world are all employee-driven. While plenty of companies are jumping on board and meeting their employees in the arena as part of their team some are choosing to be on the opposing team.

This is not a fight that you want to lose, it will be violent and catastrophic.

Quiet Quitting and Burnout
If you are on any social platform, you’ve probably seen “Quiet Quitting” trending recently.

Suddenly, it seems everyone is talking about it. Quiet quitting isn’t about employees leaving their jobs; it’s about them setting boundaries to prevent burnout or reclaim their lives. This is often done as a response to being expected to work longer hours and take on more work.

Employees are tired. They are fighting back against employers who expect them to do more. Some employers may think this is unfair pressure or underhanded tactics as they face a hiring crisis of epic proportions at a time they are short on staff.

However, loading your current employees up with more work may make your situation worse. You may cause even more employees to leave while gaining a reputation for overworking your staff.

Work-Life Balance, or Life-Work Balance?
Instead of fighting your employees tooth and nail, consider what they are asking for, and how providing them with the balance and the boundaries they crave could boost productivity and be beneficial to your organization.

You may be used to having employees who dedicate themselves to long hours and spend time socially with colleagues outside work hours but that has all changed. And in hindsight, was their work truly better?

The pandemic shifted at a foundational level how people view work as part of their lives, and it isn’t about work-life balance anymore, where ‘work’ takes pride of place. Instead, people are turning to life-work balance, re-imagining and re-engineering how work fits around their lives rather than their lives fitting around their work.

With the state of the labour market right now, with demand far outstripping supply, employees have the power to do this. Across North America right now, there are more than 12 million jobs that need to be filled. It’s a seller’s market and if an employee feels like their boundaries are not respected, they will simply choose to take their talents elsewhere.

Like all of us, they want to spend time with family and friends, improve their physical and mental health, and lead balanced lives where they can very happily work hard in the allotted time, and then move on to other things, guilt-free.

If they cannot do that while working at your company, they’ll be out the door faster than you can say “but…”.

Working With Employees
Those of us who are of a certain age may still hear our fathers’ voice ringing in our ears: “you should damn well be happy to have a job. You don’t have to love it. Suck it up and get on with it”.

That was a common paradigm a generation ago. One that, for better or worse, has gone the way of the dinosaur.

It’s time for a new paradigm to emerge, one where the power is no longer master-servant, but more balanced. When someone feels an affinity with their role because it fits them, where they feel respected and where they can contribute satisfyingly, they will naturally be much happier, more engaged, and more productive during working hours. This results in higher quality work, a better work environment, and overall better engagement among employees.

Engaged employees with set boundaries don’t need to work extra overtime hours to get things done because they can complete their work during working hours.

By respecting boundaries and allowing your team members to manage life-work balance, you create the kind of environment more people want to work in. Your associates feel respected and satisfied, their quality of work reflects this, and you get the reputation of a great employer. Suddenly something that started as a scary trend doesn’t seem so bad.

This post is sponsored by EyePloyment.com and Fit First Technologies

Learn more.

TIM BRENNAN

is Chief Visionary Officer with Fit First Technologies Inc, the creators of Eyeployment, TalentSorter and Jobtimize.

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A Good Business is Not Always a Good Investment

Accounting Basics, Building Wealth, Finance|Wealth, Resources

To understand when a good business isn’t a good investment, you need to understand what makes a business good and how they are priced.

A Good Business
When we talk about investing, whether it be buying an optometric practice or a stock, a good business can be easily defined as one that shows revenue growth, easily pay its debts and generates sufficient income to pay its owners a dividend. A good optometric business should have full calendar bookings and illustrate a strong patient base. A good investable business should have the ability raise revenues to keep pace with inflation and the need to pay its people well. A good business should have a board of directors that have a clear vision for the future.

A Good Investment
The reason a good business isn’t necessarily a good investment is based on the price you pay. This is typically referred to as the Price per Earnings ratio for most investable business shares. When purchasing an optometric practice, we often refer to the “multiple”.

EBITA Multiples
Private businesses are typically sold in large portions rather than a share at a time. Regardless, the value of the business is often determined as a multiple of the earnings of that business, specifically the Earnings Before Interest expense, Taxes & Amortization.

However, what is included in expenses will vary. Currently, when selling from one doctor to another, a 3X multiple of EBITA is often used. However, when aggregator corporations are looking to buy, you will likely hear 5X, or higher, as a multiple being used.

I Like 5X Better than 3X
On the surface, a 5X multiple sounds better but it rarely represents a significant difference from the 3X multiple. I know, confusing. The biggest reason is that the calculation of EBITA will vary.

Typically, in a private sale, expenses deducted prior to calculating EBITA does not include any of the owner optometrist direct payments, whereas with a larger corporate buyer, EBITA will be adjusted such that the expenses do include the normal and customary costs of having to hire all optometrists for the clinic.

16.9X P/E on Investments
Let’s shift a bit now to investment businesses. As of September 30, 2022, the S&P/TSX Composite markets had an average price to earnings of 16.9X.

Essentially this means that if you were to buy into the aforementioned market that day, you would have paid 16.9X the average earnings per share of all the companies listed. Think of it this way: It would take you nearly 17 years to recoup your costs if earnings for the business don’t increase.

Is that a good price?
Well, it depends. Let’s look at the stock price and earnings for CISCO, an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate headquartered in California. This has been a very profitable business, growing it’s net income by 315% from March 27, 2000 to September 28, 2021. It’s a really good business.

However, if you bought the business on March 27, 2000, when there was a lot of upward speculation for the growth of the company and trading was at a peak, you would have paid 226X P/E. That’s really expensive.

And even with the growth CISCO saw through to September 28, 2021, your investment would still be down 33% on market stock price. That’s a bad Investment.

The Price You Pay
The price you pay for an investment is one of the key determinants on whether or not you have a good investment. It might not be everything, but price really does matter a LOT. If you are buying a new practice, you want to be able to pay it off in a reasonable time period. If you are looking for a good investment, you want a good business at a good price, and when markets are down, there are definitely some good bargains to be had.

Advisory
As your Chief Financial Officer, I am here to help you make smart investments, whether it’s buying a practice or upgrading your portfolio. Helping you understand your money and assisting you in making smart decisions about your debt repayment, insurance protection, tax management and wealth creation, are just some of ways that I work as your fiduciary.

Roxanne Arnal is a former Optometrist, Professional Corporation President, and practice owner. Today she is on a mission of Empowering You & Your Wealth with Clarity, Confidence & Control.

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a replacement for personal financial planning. Everyone’s circumstances and needs are different. Errors and Omissions exempt.

ROXANNE ARNAL,

Optometrist and Certified Financial Planner

Roxanne splits EWO podcast hosting duties with Dr. Glen Chiasson.

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THE Myopia Meeting Makes its Canadian Debut

NextGenOD, Perspectives, Practice, Products | Services | Industry News

THE Myopia Meeting, presented by CRO (Clinical & Refractive Optometry) Journal and Review of Myopia Management, took place at the International Center in Mississauga on Sunday, November 6^th. This full-day event was the first of its kind in Canada and included lectures and workshops from leading researchers, clinicians, and industry partners.

Dr. Debbie Jones, BSc, FCOptom started off the first COPE-accredited continuing education lecture by acknowledging that Canada is a world leader in myopia management; Canada has endorsed the World Council of Optometry’s resolution to make evidence-based myopia management the standard of care.

She then provided a review of the various therapies available and discussed what the future of myopia control might look like.

Leading Canadian Experts Lend Advice
Dr. Vishakha Thakrar, OD, FSLS, FAAO talked about the practical applications of myopia management using her experience in private practice, such as the importance of having a supportive and well-trained team.

Dr. Langis Michaud, OD, MSc discussed myopia as a failure in emmetropization, the importance of the quality of the visual signal in myopia control management, and ongoing research. He detailed how he tailors treatment to each individual patient and gave the audience some of his very own clinical pearls.

Dr. Stephanie Ramdass OD, MS, MBA finished off the lectures for the day by presenting case examples and her tips for troubleshooting myopia management.

Leading Myopia Players Present Options
Key manufacturers displayed their latest in myopia control technology through workshops and table displays in an adjacent exhibit room.

HOYA’s MiYOSMART lenses use Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (D.I.M.S) Technology and have been available in Canada since 2020. Their most recent data shows that the myopia control effect was sustained over six years.

EssilorLuxottica is committed to supporting ECPs in their management of myopia. As one of the founding members of the Global Myopia Awareness Coalition (GMAC), they aim to increase public awareness of myopia as a treatable disease, with campaign expansions into Canada coming soon. EssilorLuxottica has also created training programs for ECPs and their staff, and developed Stellest spectacle lenses as an effective myopia control therapy which uses Highly Aspheric Lenslet Target (HALT) Technology.

CooperVision’s MiSight 1 day lenses use ActivControl Technology (dual focus) in their Proclear material. Their most recent data (Part 3 of their 7-year study) show that there is no rebound effect with MiSight. This is the longest continuous soft contact lens study for myopia management.

Johnson & Johnson Vision’s ACUVUE Abiliti 1-Day Soft Therapeutic Lenses for Myopia Management have received approval from Health Canada. Made of the same material as ACUVUE OASYS 1-Day, the Abiliti lens has the same benefits in a smaller diameter for pediatric eyes. These lenses use RingBoost Technology, which allows for a stronger treatment power while maintaining visual quality.

Attendees of THE Myopia Meeting were able to obtain a comprehensive look into the best practices of myopia management today.

Hopefully this event is the first of many!

Dr. Jaclyn Chang graduated from the University of Waterloo (UW) with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences before continuing at Waterloo to complete her Doctor of Optometry degree. She is currently a practicing optometrist in Toronto.

Dr. Chang is committed to sharing information and bringing new resources to her colleagues. As a student, she sat on the Board of Trustees for the American Optometric Student Association, organizing events to connect students with industry. She was the Co-Founder/Co-President of the award-winning UW Advancement of Independent Optometry Club, the first club at UW dedicated to private practice optometry. Dr. Chang is also a passionate writer, who aims to make information accessible and easily digestible to her colleagues. She has published in Optometry & Vision Science and has contributed to Foresight and Optik magazine.

JACLYN CHANG, OD

Editor NewOptometrist.ca

Dr. Chang is committed to sharing information and bringing new resources to her colleagues. As a student, she sat on the Board of Trustees for the American Optometric Student Association, organizing events to connect students with industry. She was the Co-Founder/Co-President of the award-winning UW Advancement of Independent Optometry Club, the first club at UW dedicated to private practice optometry. Dr. Chang is also a passionate writer, who aims to make information accessible and easily digestible to her colleagues. She has published in Optometry & Vision Science and Foresight magazine and contributed to Optik magazine. She is excited to bring valuable resources to Canada’s next generation of optometrists with NewOptometrist.ca.

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Insight with Dr. Sophia Leung

Insights, Practice, Resources

Dr. Sophia Leung pursued an Ocular Disease and Refractive Surgery Residency in the US followed by an Advanced Glaucoma and Cornea Fellowship, after spending some time in private practice in Canada.
She is passionate about mentorship and professional collaboration.

Dr. Leung is the Principal Optometrist at a high volume corneal, cataract, and refractive surgical centre in Calgary and the President-Elect of the Alberta Association of Optometrists.

Sophia Leung

OD, FAAO, FASOS, Dipl ABO, Dipl Anterior Segment

What changes to eye care do you see coming down the pipe?

I foresee an evolution in eye care delivery where technology and specialized care will be adopted more heavily in response to patient needs and demand. A rudimentary environmental scan highlights a few incoming trends: app-based clinic-to-patient interactions, subscription services, scope expansion and advanced scope utilization, in-office drug-delivery systems for surgical alternatives. I also anticipate stronger optometry to optometry referral pathways that address the increasing patient demand without adding burden to the existing stress points of the current eye care delivery model.

What is currently the most exciting thing in your field to help patients?

There have been some exciting developments in therapeutic options for corneal wound healing and neurotrophic keratitis. Amniotic membranes, steroid-sparing agents, and autologous serum eye drops have been around for some time, but we are seeing more research and development in these areas. Recombinant nerve growth factors, plasma rich growth factors, and increasing evidence around scleral lens efficacy are also making waves for these conditions that at one point, only had major surgeries like corneal transplants, corneal neurotization, and conjunctival grafting for consideration.

What is something you have done in your practice to set you apart?

The optometry-led triage model that has been under development, with the support of the ophthalmologists I work closely with, is inspired by a referral pathway that works very well at similar surgical and secondary / tertiary referral centers in the United States. I perform surgical triage which allows for more efficient surgical consults with the ophthalmologist. I also receive direct referrals from optometrists for non-surgical cases warranting a second opinion, secondary or tertiary care, and / or co-management with me to the level of the referring doctor’s comfort and preference. I am grateful for the uptake, support, and enthusiasm from the optometry community for this referral model and I look forward to building this more with the referring doctors as the pathway grows and evolves.

What advice would you give a new grad today?

Pick your mentors wisely. Do an inventory of the people you know and look up to and invite them out for a tea or coffee. Listen to their story and ask them the honest and hard questions. Chances are, you will walk away with insight that challenges your current perspective and it may just propel you to go after something you are passionate in, even if it is a road less travelled.

What is your definition of success?

There are many extrinsic and intrinsic aspects this. To me, one important characteristic of successful and respectable people is the ability to be humbly confident. I recognize this in individuals who know they have put in the work, have accomplished great things, and have acquired noteworthy amounts of knowledge in an area. And yet, these leaders also acknowledge that learning never stops and accept wise counsel to continue to grow.

I recall a class discussion about dangerous clinicians. The discussion highlighted the dangers of two groups of people: maximum knowledge but no confidence, and no knowledge but maximum confidence. Being humble is not the same as being insecure. And being confident is not the same as being arrogant. I admit that I am working on this myself, as I continue to grow in my career.

What is your favourite food?

There is something about traditional Chinese fried rice that I find extremely comforting. High heat, wok-fried, simple fried rice; and no withholding on the MSG. I have attempted to recreate this at home but have come nowhere close, so not only is it delicious, but I also have a great respect for the chefs who do it right. Sometimes, if I have been doing a lot of traveling whether for business or leisure, and I find myself feeling homesick, I will seek out the best fried rice in the area and order it.

Favourite past-time / hobby?

Over the last few years, I have attempted to surf every chance I get. If I am close enough to a beach to sneak away for a few hours of surf lessons, I will try! Let me clarify that “favourite” does not equate to “aptitude” in this case. Although, I was recently promoted to “novice level” at my last surf lesson in Orange County so that was a particularly excellent day.

Tell me something few people know about you?

I really enjoy independent theatres and cinemas. Sometimes, if I find myself having a day without obligations, I will make my way to an independent theatre and purchase a ticket for whatever is showing at that time. There have been some odd ones that I have watched without a clear idea of what was happening. But often, I end up stumbling upon a memorable movie or documentary I would not have otherwise found.

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3 Key Pearls of Dry Eye Management: A NextGen OD Perspective on the Canadian Dry Eye Summit

NextGenOD, Perspectives, Practice, Products | Services | Industry News, Resources

Jenny Lee, OD-4, University of Waterloo, contributes her perspectives on the Canadian Dry Eye Summit.

This weekend, members of NextGen OD/Eye Care Business Canada and the CRO (Clinical & Refractive Optometry team) had the opportunity to attend the annual Canadian Dry Eye Summit, held in Toronto, Ontario from November 12^th to 13^th.

This conference is truly one of its’ kind in Canada, featuring innovative, thought-provoking talks from several heavy hitters in the dry eye management scene from across the country including Drs. Richard Maharaj, Trevor Miranda, Wes McCann and countless other faculty.

The conference also featured live demos and exhibits of various equipment and products hot on the market from industry representatives.

Nyah Miranda OD-1 NECO — Nyah Miranda, NextGenOD Digital Communications Associate at the CRO and NextGenOD.ca booth in the exhibit hall. Nyah is an OD-1 student at NECO.

As a current fourth year optometry student at the University of Waterloo as well as the Vision Science Editorial Assistant for the Clinical and Refractive Optometry Journal, having the opportunity to dip my toes in the dry eye scene this weekend was truly a worthwhile and incredibly informative experience. Here I’ve highlighted three key pearls from my time with some of Canada’s best dry eye gurus.

#1: Now, more than ever, evidence-based medicine is crucial to the progression of optometry.

The extent and scope of optometry is vastly different than where it was even ten years ago.

Likewise, in order to keep up with a rapidly evolving field, it is vital to remain up-to-date with the current studies and to read beyond the conclusion of an article, as aptly stated by Dr. Maharaj.

In a talk about the impacts of nutrition on ocular surface disease, Dr. Kim Friedman broke down each key component (such as dosage and form), presenting the evidence for and against the inclusion of different supplements for dry eye.

Her talk emphasized not only the benefit of paying attention to the literature to support a medical recommendation, but also reading between the lines of a study conclusion and being able to draw your own insights.

Chances are, if we can access this information easily from the internet, so can our patients, and it gives you that extra edge to be able to keep up with them.

#2: Expert opinion is what bridges the gap between a research study and direct patient benefit.
Following up from the previous pearl, as practitioners are the direct points of contact for a patient seeking to manage their dry eye, it is important that we not only synthesize and make our own interpretations but also use this knowledge to develop our own expert opinion that is backed by the knowledge we obtain from reputable, reliable sources.

The true benefit of a conference such as this is that we are able to gather some of the brightest and most well-versed minds in a very specialized aspect of optometric care, and disseminate knowledge through expert opinion.

However, expert opinion is ultimately at the bottom of the evidence-based medicine pyramid – and it is up to the individual eye care professional to look beyond the neatly-packaged one hour COPE lecture to educate themselves.

As Dr. Maharaj stated in his talk on demystifying dry eye, “expert opinion is where it begins, and then we need to climb up the ladder”. The role of industry in educating optometrists on up-and-coming technology and the impacts of staying up to date in the literature are heavily understated.

#3: Ultimately, your patient care comes down to your ability to communicate and use the appropriate terminology.
Dr. Jeff Goodhew and Dr. Tina Goodhew provided an excellent outline of how to present the idea of dry eye management to the patient in a way that not only empowers the patient to seek their own care, but also does not place the onus on the doctor to feel obligated to provide a whole dry eye assessment during a routine eye exam.

Drs. Goodhew and Goodhew, as well as several of the speakers at the conference, highlighted the importance of how to approach the topic of dry eye with the patient, and some salient points and phrases that could be easily incorporated into any eye exam.

Building on this idea, Dr. Maharaj discussed how patients are already doing their own research and developing their own ideas about dry eye before they even come into your office – and as such, it is crucial to be able to use the right language and arm the patient with the correct information so that when it is disseminated to friends and family, there is no room for miscommunication.

At the end of the day, it is your words the patient will remember, and not the result of a randomized controlled trial.

Ultimately, I walked away from this conference with a newfound sense of respect for all the ongoing research and efforts being put into advancing the scope of optometry and the knowledge surrounding what we know about dry eye.

With the resources available to us, it is easier now than ever to stay up-to-date in the field, whether by reading case reports from fellow optometrists or attending trade shows and actively engaging with industry representatives.

I look forward to seeing where my own journey in optometry takes me!

If you are an optometrist looking to contribute back to the community with case reports of your own, the CRO (Clinical and Refractive Journal) is an excellent place to start.

We help you with the process of publishing your own article and becoming a COPE approved instructor! This is an excellent opportunity particularly for those looking to submit case reports as part of the Academy’s Fellowship program. CRO is on the Academy’s list of authorized journals for Fellowship points.

JENNY LEE, OD

Vision Science Assistant Editor, CRO Journal

Jenny Lee is an onboarding resident with the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science.

She is a recent 2023 graduate and is passionate about pediatrics and vision therapy.

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