Challenging, inspirational and highly amusing was the verdict on Dr Frank Dick’s presentation at this year’s British Contact Lens Association Clinical Conference in Manchester. The Friday night Patron’s Event was a huge success, with a capacity audience of more than 400 delegates gathering to hear the former British Athletics Federation Director of Coaching and President of the European Athletics Coaches Association deliver his motivational speech, ‘Get a Clear Advantage’.
BCLA President Shelly Bansal welcomed guests and Claire Ferguson, General Manager for Johnson & Johnson Vision Care UK and Ireland, introduced a specially developed mood film, Why Partner. Frank then impressed the audience with anecdotes, insights, learnings and examples of how to win, at home and in business. He identified six key areas of personal and professional development:
- The winning difference: creating the right motivational atmosphere in the workplace
- Team talk: understanding and developing strength of diversity and not encouraging uniformity
- Coaching matters: developing the individual into an effective, inspiring and educational manager
- Leading edge: understanding that being part of a team is more effective than just leading it
- Talent: from potential to performance: performing better today than yesterday by doing different things and doing things differently
- Prepared to win: choosing and changing our attitudes
The Patron’s Event was among the highlights of this year’s conference (26-29 May) and accompanying exhibition. Patron Sponsor Johnson & Johnson’s theme was ‘The Difference is Clear’ as it discussed a study comparing 1•DAY ACUVUE® TruEye® against a new benchmark, the naked eye. The company showcased its products in the exhibition hall using an interactive digital wall for delegates to learn about the four dimensions of eye health.
From the lecture halls, THE VISION CARE INSTITUTE™ team reported on the key themes at this year’s conference to provide insights to use in your practice. Delegates heard that changing wearer behaviour would improve contact lens comfort and safety and help reduce dropout or failure. Researchers had now reached a consensus on the importance of complying with hygiene issues such as hand washing, case hygiene and rubbing and rinsing lenses. Non-spectacle correction of presbyopia was another topic attracting interest this year.
With 150 first-time BCLA delegates attending free of charge courtesy of the sponsoring companies, the event saw 1,100 registering over the four days of the conference. Visitors came from 49 different countries with just under half from the UK. BCLA 2012 will be held at a new venue, the ICC in Birmingham, from 24-27 May. For details, visit www.bcla.org.uk.
