It’s great to be with you again for our July/August edition of Ophthalmic Professional. I hope that you are already making some plans to get the most out of the summer season, both personally and professionally.

As I spent time reviewing each of this issue’s articles, I challenged myself to share a couple of themes that resonated with me in the hope that these may prompt you to think about your own takeaways.

1. Prioritize mental health.

Our annual salary and readership survey summary article, written by René Luthe, associate managing editor, is packed full of insights about the “state of the union” within practices. For example, 91% of respondents agree that workplace stress has increased, as a result of the pandemic.

Taking time to recognize our own triggers for stress helps us be more proactive in minimizing these as much as possible. Showing up for work when you are not in a good place can be counterproductive (for you, your co-workers, and patients), so plan to use your time off during the year rather than stockpiling it. It’s amazing what a long weekend can do to restore well-being.

If you manage a team, encouraging employees to enjoy well-deserved time off may seem counter-intuitive when there’s so much work to do. Yet, in my experience, the team always pulls together to allow others to take the break they need so that they too can have peace of mind when they step away.

2. Keep learning to make an impact.

This month’s OP articles, as always, offer practical learnings and tips to apply in practice, from IOL calculations that lead to better patient outcomes and timely reminders about appropriate coding to understanding the fundamentals of practice financials, and more. Many thanks to our authors (Rhonda Waldon, Jennifer Fleming, Jennifer Stambook, Paul Larson, and Laurie Brown) for such a varied collection of articles.

By choosing to learn and apply something new, we can deliver a bigger, more meaningful impact in our role. It’s a win-win for the practice and the employee, who may reap benefits including greater competence, confidence, and recognition, all of which can help boost productivity and reduce levels of stress. For administrators and managers who face the challenge of retaining staff in a challenging labor market, this means it is critical to find ways to support ongoing education. OP