Meet a Council Member: Corrina McElduff
Tell us a bit about yourself:
I have been an optometrist for over 10 years now with most of my time being spent in independent practice. I have been very lucky to have been exposed to great clinical practices and encouraged to develop my skill set which has allowed me to develop my passion for contact lenses and in particular myopia management where I was one of the first practitioners in the UK to have access to MiSight. I now work as a Professional Services Consultant for Coopervision covering the South West and Ireland, a perfect combination for someone Irish and living in Bristol. When not working I am most likely up a mountain or on a beach and planning my next adventure race.
Why did you join the BCLA?
When I first joined, I was working for a multiple and found that I really enjoyed contact lenses, but I wanted to know more and really offer the best clinical practice to my patients. After I attended my first BCLA conference I never looked back. I met such fantastic people doing wonderful things in practice and it really supported my clinical knowledge and further increased my appetite to do more.
What encouraged/inspired you to apply to be on BCLA Council?
I have enjoyed being a BCLA member for years but many of my peers and friends are not. They don’t always seem to have the same excitement about contact lenses as I do, and I want to help change that by helping to shape the education and profile of the BCLA. There are so many changes occurring in the world of optometry, and it is moving quickly, if I can help direct that information so a practitioner knows what it means for them, their patients, and their practice then I will have done what I wanted to do.
Apart from the membership benefits, what else do you get from being a member of the BCLA?
Having just joined the council I can see already that there is a huge variety of skill sets within the organisation which I am eager to learn from. The opportunity to meet people who geek out on contact lenses and anterior eye as much as I do.
What is it like being a member of the BCLA council?
So far everyone I have met has been so welcoming and patient with my questions and short comings in how some of the processes work. Any trepidation I had at the start is long gone and it is great to see how many of us are so passionate about the BCLA.
What message would you like to give to members / non-members?
Without the members there is no BCLA, and we will strive to do our upmost to represent the profession both here and internationally. It really is incredible how internationally recognisable the BCLA is for its clinical excellence and knowledge, being a member, you are at the fore front of excellence in clinical education. To any non-members, simply put, you are missing out.
What do you think will be the biggest change in contact lenses and the anterior eye over the next five years?
Myopia Management is rapidly accelerating globally and with the World Council of Optometry updating its policy this year to include that practitioners have a duty of care to inform and discuss options with parents we will see more and more practices actively offering their young myopic patients some form of myopia management.
Biography
Corrina is a qualified optometrist with over several years’ experience in both multiple and independent sectors. She has worked for numerous years as a Contact lens lead for a group of clinical independent opticians which involved policy making, education and training, and development of specialist contact lens clinics including myopia management.
Corrina currently works as a Professional Services Consultant for CooperVision where she works closely with practices and eye care practitioners to deliver professionally led education and insight in to contact lens expertise and management.