The staff you hire is a reflection of how you deliver care to your community. The wrong hire for any position in your optometric practice can create tension between your staff and your patients. When it comes time to hire an associate OD for your optometric practice, you want to ask thoughtful questions that will ensure that the associate OD will get along with your staff and be committed to giving the patients in your community the best care possible.

Hiring an associate OD may require a few rounds of interviews to feel confident that you’re selecting the best candidate for your patients, practice, and staff. Here are a few questions you could ask during the first round of interviews.

5 Questions To Ask When Hiring An Optometrist

Why did you pick optometry?

A good icebreaker question will help make the candidate feel more comfortable and will set the interview up for an engaging, honest conversation. This question not only helps break the ice but also gives you a chance to see what their motives and goals are as an optometrist.

How would you manage your time with a light schedule?

Cancellations and no-shows can bring productivity to a halt in an optometric practice. While you should try not to burn the associate out, figure out how the candidate will use this downtime to help the practice succeed by taking on administrative, marketing, or other tasks around the practice.

What optometry technology have you used and what would you recommend to me?

Utilizing modern technology in the optometric practice setting is becoming more important in the eye care community. Asking a candidate what optometry software and technology they have used in the past and what they would recommend to you could give you insight on the candidate’s tech competency while giving you information on solutions you were considering for your practice.

How will working in this practice help you grow?

Hiring a candidate that is self-aware of their strength as and weaknesses and is self-motivated in developing skills and learning new things is a beneficial addition to any optometric practice. A good follow-up question to this would be to ask the candidate what CE courses they have taken recently and what ones they plan to focus on in the near future.

Where do you see yourself professionally in 5 to 10 years?

Hiring an associate with long-term career goals will keep the OD motivated on expanding their skills and growing your practice. However, if the candidate tells you that they are planning on owning their own practice in five years, then you need to look to see how that aligns with your practice needs. If you don’t plan on turning over ownership yet, then this candidate might not be the right fit for your practice and your patients.

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Originally published in May 2018.