Navigating the path to safety, satisfaction and success – tips for consultant ophthalmologists

Paraclinical topics are not widely covered at conferences but are becoming increasing important to the practising clinician. The speakers will share their wealth of knowledge and experience on three topics followed by time allocated for answering questions and discussion with delegates.

The first part will cover the current governance and complaints process. Delegates will be updated on the basic knowledge of guidelines, regulations and the official bodies that are involved at each stage of the governance and complaints process. The two main types of process will be included – namely the incident reporting without involving a complaint from a patient or the response to a patient complaint. This segment will also focus on how such incidents are resolved formally and how to maximise the learning from these incidents regardless of whether they are associated with a patient complaint.

The second part of the session will cover the common factors that contribute towards the development of incidents into a formal complaint. Anonymised examples will be used to highlight the learning points.

The final part will consider future opportunities (and threats) for consultant ophthalmologists. The landscape of the consultant career has evolved and changed significantly over the past 25 years and is set to undergo even more rapid transitions as healthcare providers and systems come under increasing capacity pressures. This part of the session will be of interest to new or younger consultant ophthalmologists facing many years of clinical practice ahead of them. The objective is to inspire consultants by reviewing important factors that can determine a more successful and rewarding career in ophthalmology. The influence of various core factors such good clinical practice, diligent working, human factors, development of acumen – clinical and entrepreneurial, time/energy management will be explored.