Is the Australian Optometry Workforce big enough to provide for the eye care needs of all Australians?
Apparently not.
This is the view of the Immigration Department which has, against the advice of the Optometrist Association, put optometry on the register of occupations which are in short supply.
There is a shortage of many skills in Australia, particularly in the trades and resources sector. The commodities boom in the growth states of WA and Queensland has led to overall shortage of skilled and unskilled workers. This is evidenced by the wages explosion, caused by employers out bidding each other for scarce workers.
Given that there is an overall skills shortage, and an aging population is it surprising that optometry businesses are having difficulty acquiring staff. Clearly these businesses are the one who have influenced the actions of the Immigration Department.
But is there really a shortage of Optometrists?
One thing is for certain there is no shortage of optometry businesses. Pop along to the local shopping centre and there will be two or three practices there. The larger centers have more.
If we look at the academic research, a study by Horton et al in 2005 found that the average optometrist did 1825 eye exams per year. That equates to about 8 consultations per day. They assumed that the average exam would take 45 mins. This means that the average optometrist spends 6 hour per day consulting with patients.
So clearly there is spare capacity. But even this spare capacity is understated.
Horton et al assumed, without any evidence to back up the assumption, that an exam took 45 mins in total. The reality is that most experienced optometrists work to a 30 min appointment schedule. The means that he average optometrist completes the 8 exams per day in 4 hours not 6 hours. They have overestimated the consultation time by 50%!
What does this mean? It means that there are enough Optometrists in Australia to service a population of 40 million, which is double the current Australian population. It also means that half the optometrists in Australia could be run over a by a bus tomorrow and the population would still have no problem obtaining an eye test.
The so called shortage of optometrists is simply an over abundance of optical businesses. Each of those businesses needs an optometrist in order to operate effectively. If you were to look inside the average business you would find an under employed optometrist yawning and twiddling their thumbs waiting for a patient to arrive.
