Isabel Nibbs is a clinical technician at Specsavers in Crowborough, East Sussex
Why did you choose an optical career?
After finishing my A-Levels I was inspired by friends and family working in the eyecare sector. As a long-term customer of Specsavers, I thought it would be a great place to work.
Being part of a team launching a new store – we opened in November 2022 – has empowered me to become more confident in how I am with our patients.
How did you become a clinical technician?
I completed an optical assistant apprenticeship but I was hungry to carry on learning and do more to support our customers and my colleagues.
Clinical technicians set up some of the specialist equipment used to examine the eyes. Supervised by a qualified optometrist, we carry out certain pre-assessment procedures, including performing scans. We explain to our customers what happens throughout the appointment.
What do you start with every day?
First, we make sure our devices are at the correct settings and ready to be used.
- The Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) scanner takes a 3D image of the back of your eye to help spot serious eye conditions, including glaucoma.
- The tonometer also checks for glaucoma, measuring the pressure inside your eye.
- The visual field screener checks your all-round vision.
We sit down as a team to go through the previous day and what we could do to improve, or discuss anything that either the optometrist or our management have noticed. We do our final checks of the diary to ensure all the appointments are booked correctly and the clinic will run smoothly.
We usually assign roles for the day. I always like to try and pre-test – that might be answering customers’ questions or letting the optometrist know that they have certain things to talk about.
What are the main challenges?
The knowledge and skills I have gained as a clinical technician and the support I have from Specsavers has been very empowering. Sometimes I’m asked questions that need to be handled by colleagues with the relevant training. Queries about visual field testing, for instance, must be passed onto an optometrist.
What do you love about what you do?
I love being able to make a connection with our customers and make them feel comfortable and welcome – gaining that trust and being able to give them the correct information. Knowing that we are helping our customers alongside the optometrists is a wonderful thing.
How do you wrap up your day and prepare for the next one?
We turn off all the machines and talk about how the day went and how we can improve as a team. After almost two years of the store being open, we have started to get a lot of recalls for customers we saw when we first opened.
Welcoming customers back and being confident and happy within our store is a great feeling for the whole team. With the knowledge that I have learnt through the clinical technician course, it allows me to help those customers more and further underpins their confidence in us as a team.