One Year Later

There is no doubt the world changed a year ago. The life we took for granted came to a screeching halt while we waited in helpless disbelief to hear how this pandemic and its incredible impact created stress and anxiety literally by the hour.

The pandemic forced the closure of schools, places of worship, community centres and businesses. Isolation was thrust upon us as we were prevented from seeing those we love and forced into mandated social-distancing and or self-isolation for our collective protection.

Take the positive from COVID
Despite the negative impact of COVID-19, we must however, recognize the positive that has also risen out of this crisis. If we look closely, there have also been many opportunities to reflect upon and be grateful. We have been forced to slow down which has allowed us to take a step back and appreciate so many things we took for granted.

Prior to March 2020, how many of us were close to burning out thanks to the pace we were running at? Being forced to spend more time together particularly from March to June, enabled us to focus on and breathe new life into the key relationships that we may have taken for granted. While we may not have been able to visit those we love, we were given the gift of time with the people in our home or bubble.

Viewing Trust Through Your Patient’s Eyes
As a practice owner, perhaps you view patients through new eyes. Upon reopening offices and during these past two months, the response of patients returning to your office should make doctors and their teams feel grateful. People are entrusting you with their health despite the fears swirling of additional strains and the stress of waiting for a vaccine.

Hopefully now, patients are truly appreciated as they place trust in the hands of those who rely on their office to continue supporting themselves and the team that works in it. Many practice owners may have also seen certain suppliers acknowledge the hardship experienced, extending flexible terms or payment plans.

For many, COVID-19 has given tremendous courage. The courage can be seen in the simplest of forms such as taking on a new activity, or reflecting on one’s self. It can be seen in the parents and teachers who are working so hard to preserve the mental health of our children. It has even caused those who are working as associates to take the plunge and pursue ownership.

It either accelerated the desire to be the owner or was the final push to pursue this. Either way, people are buying or starting practices. Again, with the gift of time, many of us have been blessed with the need to slowdown and re-evaluate our choices and the way we approach things.

Our thoughts are hopefully more purposeful and with intent as opposed to simply reactionary. My new favourite quote is from Nelson Mandela – “may your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears”. I recite this everyday multiple times.

COVID-19 despite the tragedy and hardship many have experienced, has also brought out the best in humanity. It has made those of us who are fortunate to look around to those in need and extend a helping hand. More businesses are publicizing donations to charities in exchange for virtual registrations, while others are quietly donating food to help feed the hungry. It has also encouraged many of us to listen more and talk less.

Grateful for the Simple Joys
Perhaps one of the best things of COVID-19 is that it has hopefully made us all more grateful. Remember the simple joy of meeting a friend for coffee in a café, lunch in a restaurant, attending your place of worship and so much more. I for one have so much to be grateful for. I am truly blessed with the most supportive husband and daughter, the ability to do what I love on an even greater level and the new people I have met because of this pandemic.

As one who appraises and sells practices, I have the privilege of listening to people as they share their hopes and dreams. COVID-19 has made us more vulnerable and human and for that I am truly grateful.

JACKIE JOACHIM

Jackie has 30 years of experience in the industry as a former banker and now the Chief Operating Officer of ROI Corporation. Please contact her at Jackie.joachim@roicorp.com or 1-844-764-2020.

Rate:

Optometrists Needed Across Canada – Sublease Opportunities

Career Options, NextGenOD, Sponsors

This is a sponsored post from BAILEY NELSON.
At Bailey Nelson, it’s our mission to work with innovative and caring optometrists who ensure all patients enjoy a friendly, stress-free experience worth remembering.

We’re looking for passionate individuals who are highly invested in making a difference for their patients.
Is that you?

We make it easy to run your practice.
• A fully equipped exam room plus pretest equipment
• Online booking and recall systems
• EMR system
• Support staff for reception & pre-testing
• Onboarding, support and training
• Tools to optimize traffic and expand your clinic

Eyecare the way it should be
Founded in Bondi Beach in 2012, Bailey Nelson has quickly grown into a global brand led by an incredible team with boutiques in Australia, London, Canada and New Zealand. Buying glasses should be one of life’s pleasures. And we’ve created a formula to make it one.

We start with a process that’s clever and honest. And we hire people who are passionate and genuine. It’s not rocket science. It’s just caring enough about what you’re doing to do it right.

Sound like a fit?
If this sounds like the perfect fit, we would love to hear from you!

Laurie Lesser, O.D.
Eyecare Director, Canada/UK
Phone: +1.236 412-9911, 954 401-2476
Email: laurie.lesser@baileynelson.com
Web: www.baileynelson.com

Click here to find more detailed information.

Rate:

Insight with Roxanne Arnal

Insights, Resources

Roxanne Arnal originally hails from Winnipeg, Manitoba

She is a past-president of the Alberta Association of Optometrists and
the Canadian Association of Optometry Students (CAOS)

Roxanne successfully grew an independent Optometric practice in Alberta before leaving the profession to become a Certified Financial Planner® focusing on optometrists and their families’ financial requirements.

Roxanne Arnal

Doctorate of Optometry from the University Of Waterloo (1995)

Certified Financial Planner®

Why did you choose your field?
I always wanted to be a doctor and learned early in undergrad that medicine and medical school was not a lifestyle I wanted. Helping people and teaching has always been a natural tendency of mine. If I had not gotten into Optometry school, I was going to become an accountant. So I guess it’s really no surprise that I’m a financial planner. Helping people, educating them, and using numbers…this is what I was created for.

What is the biggest struggle in your career?
Helping people understand that not all financial planners are the same. Unlike optometry, there is no title protection, no title requirements nor clear definitions. It really is alphabet soup of credentials which ultimately leads to increased public confusion. Most of the professionals I speak with don’t really understand what I am able to bring to the table and the breadth of service I offer. I have a very unique skill set and am well groomed to be your family CFO.

What is currently the most exciting thing in your field to help patients?
Tax integration. Very few professionals have a current and comprehensive grasp of building tax efficiencies for today and their future. Integrating your business and personal finances within the Canadian tax system is the geeky fun of planning work I love.

What is something you have done in your practice to set you apart.
I specialize in optometrists. We are a unique and highly educated bunch, who spend most of our days in a little dark room. Having lived through the various stages of practice, I understand the opportunities and pitfalls.

What advice would you give a new grad today?
You’ve lived the past several years as a student, so treat yourself to a little grad gift, then continue to live like a student! You’d be surprised how quickly you can pay off your student debt with this attitude. Yes, you may be able to write off your loan interest, but it’s a devil on your back that feels much better to shed as you move forward and build your business ownership.

Always give patients no less than you would give your mom (assuming you love her).

And – purchase your commercial space as soon as you can. You have to pay rent anyways!

What do you believe is the key to success?
Love people! Take a genuine interest in their lives, listen to their concerns, and help them to the best of your ability.

What is your favourite saying?
“You don’t know what you don’t know – until it’s too late.” We all make mistakes, some more costly than others and I made my fair share. The more I learned in my new field, the angrier I got about all the missed information I didn’t get from my advisors. I am determined to ensure my clients don’t have to learn the hard way by answering the questions they didn’t even know they should have asked.

If you could take one album, one book, and one luxury item to a desert island, what would they be?
Adele 25 – Hello? Lots of quiet time for me to convince the local wildlife I sound as good as her!

Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill – an older book, but lots of content to keep you thinking and tips to tap into your imaginary friends for company.

My bed – because a good nights sleep is essential to reset my attitude.

What is your favourite TV show/Netflix series?
Grey’s Anatomy – I’m not sure why.
Suits – probably for the same reason I like Grey’s

Last time you laughed?
All the time, but most of those wouldn’t be funny to anyone else. But the other night we were attending a virtual Wine Tasting event hosted by our local Co-op Liquor Store. Really, a good excuse to drink 3 bottles of wine on a Friday night in quarantine.

Using an open zoom meeting format, you get to “enjoy” everyone else’s experience too. Now you have to understand, we live in rural Alberta, so watching the various screens is really only a bit more elevated than an Optometry School Wine & Cheese event.

I’m not sure how our sommelier, Amy, manages to maintain her professionalism. Wine number 3 was paired with a salami, and the instructions go like this: “Take a sip of your wine, now eat the sausage and tell me what’s going on in your mouth?” My husband, Ken, had to step off screen. Enough said.

Last Indulgence?
Glass Sculpture from Murano, Italy.

What is your favorite food?
I’m a foodie – new and interesting. We are currently expanding our vegetarian menu, but my top comfort foods will always be pork ribs and beef stew.

What was the last gift you gave someone?
Nerf guns – last family gift to open at Christmas held 4 Nerf guns and a package of extra bullets. The battle ensued. It was such a blast.

How have you changed since high school?
I’m more cautious. A wise man told me “it’s because I have more to lose now”.

Something few people know about you?
I LOVE puzzles. Especially traditional piece puzzles and number puzzles. I just love figuring out how all the pieces fit together. Just like a good financial plan, I love picking apart and looking at all the different pieces to find the best way they fit together and create the perfect picture for my clients.

If you had a time machine, what year would you travel to and why?
2000 – the year our first child was born. I love babies and would love another chance to raise her. And I wouldn’t hire a nanny this time (that didn’t happen til 2003 mind you).

Describe your perfect day.
Sightseeing on a clear sunny day in Europe with my family & our optometry travel group. Ending the day with a 10 course chef’s table tasting menu with full wine pairing.

Rate:

Aussie Chain Bailey Nelson Plans 50 Stores in Canada

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

Bailey Nelson (BN), the Australia-based optical upstart (2012) has set their focus on expanding presence in the Canadian market, according to an interview with Nick Perry, co-founder and managing director of North American business.

The chain plans to grow to “50 stores over the next few years”, Perry disclosed in an interview with Strategy C-Suite. In 2014 the company opened its first Canadian stores under a licensing agreement, but made the decision to close them three years later.

The company re-entered the market later that year (2017) as fully corporate owned stores in 17 locations with plans for an additional 3 stores before end of June. Seven stores are in the lower mainland of BC, 5 in Alberta and 4 in Ontario.

Every Bailey Nelson store to have an Optometrist The new locations will be in Victoria, Toronto and London Ontario. The Canadian market presents some challenges compared to Bailey Nelson’s sun-blessed (or cursed) Australian home-base. The chain has strength in the sunwear market and benefits from the Australian government’ generous coverage of eye examinations, which serves to reduce the purchase cycle.

According to Perry the company will need to overcome these obstacles by working with North American eyewear designers and focus on consumer education. “One of the opportunities for us is to educate our consumers on how important regular eye health assessments are in terms of your overall well-being and that they should engage with us on a professional and more regular basis”, said Perry.

On the chain’s strategy, Perry indicated they will:

Focus on Optometry – have an OD in every store
Build engaged and staff that are passionate about vision
Deliver quality differentiating product

Bailey Nelson is seeking Optometric leasehold partners in many cities across Canada.
Click here to find more detailed information.

View full article on Perry’s discussion with Strategy C-Suite.

Rate:

Pursuing a CL Residency: A Conversation with Dr. Rosa Yang

NextGenOD, PathFinders

Young Optometry residents in conversation

By Jaclyn Chang, OD

As graduates approach the final stretch of optometry school, the decision to spend an additional year immersed in a residency program might come into view for some near-to-be optometrists.

Dr. Rosa Yang

While a residency provides the advantage of specialized training in a unique clinical setting, it may also defer the process of landing a job or starting your own practice.

Dr. Rosa Yang graduated from the University of Waterloo School of Optometry in 2019. She interned at various clinics in Canada and in the USA, including Houston Eye Associates in Texas, where she worked closely with ophthalmologists specializing in cataract, glaucoma, and corneal diseases.

Dr.Yang pursued a post-graduate residency program in Cornea and Contact Lenses at the University of Waterloo.

Dr. Jaclyn Chang discussed Dr. Yang’s residency experience.

Jaclyn: I really admire anyone who has done a residency and I’ve never heard anyone say they regret doing one. Can you comment on the opportunity that residency provides?

Rosa: For sure! Residency gave me the platform to meet people and experience a variety of opportunities. I was able to connect with eyecare specialists not just in Canada, but on an international level. Some of them became my mentors and friends. Now, when I need help to tackle a difficult case, they are my go-to people.

I have always loved teaching and residency allowed me to TA in labs and provide clinical supervision for students. I got to write case report, oral presentations, and conference posters. Through the process of preparing for them, I feel like I became a stronger critical and independent thinker – these are important traits for a clinician to have. I also travelled to so many places to attend conferences – I think I flew to five difference places in half a year, imagine how many more places I could have gone to if COVID did not happen.

Overall, it is such an enriching year with memories that I will never forget!

Jaclyn: That’s awesome! How did you feel about jumping in and doing things that we didn’t necessarily have a lot of experience with? For example, teaching, being a clinical supervisor and presenting at conferences.

Rosa: Of course, I was nervous. I am the type of person who thinks I need to be 100% prepared and execute with perfection. That is not how real life works. More often, you learn along the way, but only if you have a good attitude and put in the hard work. I feel extremely lucky and thankful of my residency mentors. They have always believed me even when I doubt myself. Their encouragements have meant a lot to me and I think have been monumental for my growth!

Jaclyn: Can you talk a little bit about why you decided to go into residency?

Rosa: In my fourth year, I worked with a corneal ophthalmologist. Many of his patients had dysfunctional lives because they had corneal diseases and saw very poorly. With surgeries, many of them saw vision improve, but I wondered “I don’t do surgeries, is there anything that I can do for these patients?” The surgeon often told his patients “I do surgeries, but there are these special contact lenses that will probably make your vision even better. I don’t do them, but I will send you to the right people.” The surgeon was referring to us – optometrists, and he reminded me that specialty contact lens is a niche thing that optometrists do.

Then, I was mentored by a specialty contact lens optometrist. We saw a patient who had keratoconus. He started out desperate and very hopeless – he was struggling with his vision and he was told by several doctors that the only option was corneal transplant. We told him about scleral lenses and I can never forget the change in his facial expression the moment he looked around the room after we inserted the lens. The change was a total 180. I thought, this is something I really want to do.

Jaclyn: It’s cool how people who we encounter throughout our school, especially our supervisors in fourth year, really influence us on where we want to go.

Thank you so much for your insight. It’s always great to learn more about residency and your experience is very encouraging to other prospective students. I can’t wait for you to share your expertise with us on how we can better incorporate specialty contact lenses into our practice with our next talk!

JACLYN CHANG, OD

Editor NewOptometrist.ca

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 Foresight magazine and contributed to Optik magazine. She is excited to bring valuable resources to Canada’s next generation of optometrists with NewOptometrist.ca.

Rate:

Zero to Five Pathfinder: Spotlight Courtney Fan, OD

NextGenOD, PathFinders

NewOptometrist.ca puts the spotlight on Zero to Five Pathfinders

PathFinder Spotlight:

Courtney Fan, OD

Undergraduate Studies
University of Waterloo Biotechnology/Chartered Accountancy

Post Graduate
University of Waterloo Masters of Accounting

Optometry:
University of Waterloo – 2018 Graduating Class

Tell us about your education background. You have an interesting path to optometry.
I went to the University of Waterloo for my undergrad program in Biotechnology/Chartered Accountancy, which is a split co-op program. I learned both science as well as accounting at the same time.

I knew I wanted to go into healthcare, but I also wanted to try out other new things. The UW accounting program looked great.

And graduating from my Biotechnology/Chartered Accountancy Program, I did an extra year of Masters of Accounting at UW, just to finish all the accounting courses.

This also gave me the time to make sure that I wanted to go into optometry for sure.

Why was optometry appealing to you?
After shadowing multiple doctors, optometrists and other health care providers, I really felt like optometry was a great profession for me.

I wanted to have a work-life balance. And I thought that optometry was a great fit.

Let’s go back to your 4^th year rotations. Tell us about them.
One of my rotations was in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was there for four months as part of my ocular disease, therapeutics rotation under Dr. Robert P. Wooldridge.

His clinic was built on a lot of glaucoma patients, dry eye, as well as macular degeneration. He worked with ophthalmologists as well. It was a really great experience.

I also worked in Sarnia and Mississauga. One of my last rotations was in Kingston, Jamaica, where we did exams and worked with Marilyn Smith, Optician from UW. Marilyn hosted the entire program, and we were able to provide services to Jamaicans. It was a really great experience and a little bit different than some of the practices that I worked at in Ontario!

What about after graduating? Bring us up to date.
After graduation i moved to the small town of Tillsonburg in SW Ontario (near London) as a full-time associate optometrist at “Optometrists On Broadway”.

It’s been great ever since; the clinic is super busy. We have an OCT, fundus photo, visual fields, just to name a few of the available equipment. I can practice to the full extent that my Ontario optometry license allows.

After almost three years of working full time, and working through the pandemic, things are still pretty good. We get a lot of seniors, a lot of people who still want to be seen because they have eye issues. We have been keeping busy throughout the pandemic.

Have you been able to draw upon your clinical disease rotation experience now that you are in practice in Ontario?
Definitely. The practice in Utah was mainly focused on glaucoma patients. We did a lot of OCTs, photos and visual fields.

I learned a lot about how to best manage and treat patients, even though a lot of times the drugs were not the same, the concepts were all the same.

I was able to witness surgeries for the glaucoma patients and do a lot of the follow ups that an ophthalmologist would usually do in Ontario. In Utah I was able to see them firsthand.

The surgeon would have had the patient come back to our office the day after surgery, and we would see a lot of inflammation, things in the eyes that we normally wouldn’t see in a one week or a six-week post op follow up.

I definitely learned a lot through all of my rotations.

In what ways do you now have the freedom to do your own thing compared to your clinical rotations? How is it different?
Yeah, there is a funny story. In Utah we were able to remove concretions in patients, and we always try to gain as much experience as possible. All the interns were fighting to get these experiences, but not everybody had a concretion, but we all tried to at least remove one.

Coming back to Ontario, I did not realize that we were not allowed to remove concretions. There was just a little bit of pushback in terms of the things that I could practice as an intern versus now.

On the other hand, I do have a lot more freedom to do things the way that I would like them to be done.

For example, back in my other rotations, my supervisor might follow up in six months or every year. If I feel uncomfortable leaving certain diseases, I can follow up more frequently.

I do have the freedom to see patients as often as I want to make sure that things are going as smoothly as I would like or as I have planned.

What specifically were you looking for in a Job? And did you find it?
Yeah, for sure. I was looking for something that was full scope practice and gave me the freedom and autonomy to practice the way that I wanted to.

While I was job searching, I was mostly only looking for full time positions, so that I can follow up on my own patients and build a patient base. It was important for to find a full scope practice with all the technology that I would like.

Also, it was important for me to find a really positive working environment and have everybody was working together as a team.

What about your longer-term plans? Do you have any ideas of what type of practice you want to ideally be in?
I’ve definitely thought a lot about owning my own practice.

My fiancé is also an optometrist, so it would be a dream for us to open our own practice and have that autonomy to do whatever we wanted and to practice the way that we think is best. We are thinking that it will be in the next five years.

Okay, that’s awesome. Let’s do some of the fun questions.
Honestly, I forget what I do for fun, because now that we’re just staying in all day. I’m thinking, “What did I do before with all my time?”

At the end of the day, I just want to relax and just give myself some alone time. After work I used to go to the gym every day, but now I just do a little light workout at home.

Recently, I started playing the guitar. My fiancé recently got me a guitar for my birthday, so I’ve been practicing.

I used to go skiing in the winter. In the summer I love to travel and spend a lot of time outdoors hiking.

It is important to make sure that we get enough vitamin D, because every working day we don’t get to see the sun too much in a dark room. I try to make sure that my lifestyle is healthy and active and balanced.

Is there any advice that you’d want to offer to new graduates? any insight you can offer into to help others?
I think one of the things that I want to tell new grads is “Don’t lose your passion for what you love, and what you love to do.”

A lot of times we get caught up in our life just trying to make money, trying to pay back our student debt. But I think it is also important to remember what made you so excited to be an optometrist in the first place, what really excites you!

Okay, awesome. That’s really good advice. It was really nice to catch up in this way, because I didn’t know what you have been up to now that we are both busy working every day.

Rate:

Episode 19: The Optometric Family CFO – Roxanne Arnal

Eyes Wide Open, Podcasts

Roxanne Arnal, OD and Certified Financial Planner® discusses her unique skill set as a family Chief Financial Officer specifically for optometrists. She charts her path from Optometry School, through personal health challenges and becoming a financial planner focused on Optometry practices and their families.

About the Guest

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.

Episode Notes

Roxanne Arnal and Glen Chiasson, classmates from the 1995 UW School of Optometry graduating class, discuss Roxanne’s path through her early years’ post grad activities, ultimately leading to full ownership of an optometric practice in rural Alberta.

She shares how she came to the decision to stop practicing optometry and launch herself into an entirely new career direction in financial advice and planning. Roxanne outlines her strategy to bring her unique skill set and expand services to optometrists and their families across the country.

She relates how a very serious health challenge abruptly derailed her plans, but also motivated her to pursue a new mission: To share the mental health side of her cancer journey by writing a book.

Along the way, she and Glen reminisce about their student days, particularly the challenges of Physiological Optics 109!

Resources

- Roxanne Arnal’s Website: Clarity Financial Services
- Free Consultation – Contact Roxanne

Dr. Glen Chiasson

Dr. Glen Chiasson is a 1995 graduate of the University of Waterloo School of Optometry. He owns and manages two practices in Toronto. In 2009, he co-hosted a podcast produced for colleagues in eye care, the “International Optometry Podcast”. He is a moderator of the Canadian Optometry Group, an email forum for Canadian optometrists. As a host of “Eyes Wide Open”, Glenn looks forward to exploring new new technologies and services for eye care professionals.

Dr. Chiasson enjoys tennis, hockey, and reading. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons.

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

Rate:

5 Key Lessons Taught By COVID

Finance|Wealth, Human Resources, Practice, Resources

The unprecedented coronavirus pandemic has caused changes in mindset, attitude, direction, and behaviour for practice owners. It changed for employees too. One year later, we can all agree that important lessons have been learned – not always by choice but by necessity.

Lesson #1: Learning to be agile.
We all had to respond quickly to changing events. Sometimes with only a couple of days notice. This made us realize how
important it is to be comfortable with change and willing to shift gears when necessary. A sub lesson in learning to be agile was also recognizing the gaps in the way things were being done. Because we had to change, perhaps some of these changes had positive outcomes.

Lesson #2: Appreciating technology more.
So many of us have had to change the way we do business. The face-to-face meetings, attending events/conventions and how
patients needed to be looked after are just some of the many examples. Corona emphasized the importance of technology. Think of all the virtual learning opportunities we have had to embrace or tele-medicine that became a necessary and by default option. I for one was forced to embrace webinars and Zoom calls. Prior to the pandemic, these were never an option for me because I was not comfortable. Simple applications like LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram have enabled me to meet new people and stay connected to those I already knew. I must admit, until the pandemic, I never appreciated the value of these tools.

Lesson #3: Being more empathetic.
In these trying times, clear communication with all stakeholders of your practice—staff, partners, advisors, and patients are
critical. There is no doubt that the stress of the pandemic on owners is massive. The key towards sustaining your business
in this situation is being transparent with your stakeholders and prioritising their needs. Apart from supporting your staff and
understanding the situation, you must support your workforce by encouraging them to learn and give them opportunities to join Zoom training and courses.

Lesson #4: The essential nature of social interaction.
While digital collaboration tools have become critical to remote work and will remain post-pandemic, the new way of work also emphasized the need for social interaction for humans. Suddenly a trip to your office during a lockdown may possibly be a real treat or outing. People miss human contact with those outside of their homes. Never underestimate the positive effect you have on the people who walk through your doors. For the staff, as stressed as people may be, the ability to laugh or participate in banter can mean so much. For example, when I was at my office a few weeks ago, four of us, while social distancing, had the most frivolous conversation that left us simply laughing. It was such a wonderful feeling, one that has been missed from our daily lives.

Lesson 5: Keeping a cash buffer.
The period from mid-March 2020 to mid-June 2020, taught all of us the importance of fiscal responsibility. Certainly, our credit cards took a beating as evidenced from the multitude of Amazon packages, however, for owners of practices as well as the associates, these were very scary times. Even with the various government programs, the major lesson learned by all was that we must have something in reserve. It is why banks are being tough on purchasers today because they must be confident that this person could withstand another lockdown if it ever happened. The good thing we have seen is that healthcare is recession resilient and now pandemic resilient. The pandemic has taught us the importance of having a cash buffer. Hopefully, it has also taught many of us to be grateful for what we have. So many have fallen on economic hardship and forced with extremely difficult decisions.

The pandemic has been an unforeseen situation for the whole world. It has brought about crisis and problems we never experienced before and has exposed us to many unknown vulnerabilities. This has been a period for all business owners to take a closer look at how their practice was run pre-pandemic versus now. However, along with the many challenges we faced due to the pandemic, it has also given us an opportunity to align, adapt and amend businesses as well as reinforce the strategies to make the most of the ongoing situation. Clearly, it has also taught all of us lessons that shall be both applicable and beneficial in the long run. A wise man told me that we do not need to embrace the reason for the change, but we must embrace change!