Over the years I’ve been asked thousands of times, why I won’t become an optometrist.
And I’ve thought about this a lot.
It would be easy. Go back to school, enjoy a nice campus, socialize, go to parties, flirt with cute students. Somewhere in California, when I daydream about such things. Sounds fantastic.
And of course, the instant credibility that would go along with “Dr.” Guru Jake Steiner.
Not being an outsider, not having the first thing that optometry doctors say to me being, “oh well you’re not part of the club anyway, not-doctor-Jake.”
I’d love to be all properly titled and vouched for.
But I can’t. Why?
Accepting that title of “optometrist” is more than most people realize. I couldn’t say all the things I’m telling you here, and also hold that title (at least not without a lot of problems). Let me explain.
Imagine buying a McDonalds franchise.
You can’t open a McDonalds and start talking about how fast food is bad for people.
You can’t open a McDonalds and sell locally grown, organic veggies.
Nope. You open a McDonalds, and it’s whatever stuff they ship in, prepared exactly by their methods, sold at exactly their prices, with exactly their vocabulary and branding. You’re just a cog in their big machine, you get their branding, their blessing, and you get paid.
Tow the line.
If you become an optometrist, you raise your hand a swear that you are part of the brand, the things that they endorse. You better be prescribing maximum minus, and prescribe it with a smile. And if you won’t, you’ll pretty quickly realize that you’re not free to practice how you might see as ethical.
I’m not exaggerating. Let’s have Steve, my favorite behavioral optometrist in Hong Kong with first hand experience defying the institution, tell the story for you (English is Steve’s second language, allow for the peculiarities of expression).
My question, to Steve:
“To say that we cause heated tempers and flying arguments among the optometry crowd on a regular basis, would be an understatement. What is your own experience in interacting with the profession? Do you see any change in perspective, increasing curiosity, any encouraging trends?”
Steve: “The experience in interacting with the profession???