Survey on allied health personnel in Canadian ophthalmology: the scalpel for change.

Objective: To determine the recruiting and training needs for ophthalmic medical personnel (OMP), assess the value of their certification, and compare the ophthalmic practice productivity and performance of non-certified and certified OMP, as rated by both ophthalmologists and OMP.

Design: Comparative analysis.

Participants: One hundred and sixteen Canadian ophthalmologists and 98 OMP.

Methods: An invitation to complete an online survey on OMP recruitment, training, certification, and productivity performance in a clinical setting was sent to 1081 ophthalmologists and OMP.

Results: Fifteen percent of ophthalmologists and 31% of OMP completed the survey. Ophthalmologists (61%) reported difficulty hiring OMP; employee referrals was the best method (40%). Awareness of formal OMP training programs was high and 50% of respondents supported developing additional training programs; 55% of OMP were encouraged by their employers to obtain certification. Personal challenge and achievement (79%) and improved skills (71%) were the main reasons for OMP to obtain certification. The majority of OMP and ophthalmologists felt that certified OMP enhanced most practice productivity measures. Higher wages associated with certification were reported by 73% of respondents.

Conclusions: Training of qualified OMP was identified as a need by ophthalmologists. Ophthalmic practices can increase their overall productivity by adding certified OMP to their staff.