The People Behind the Lenses: Dr. Lynette Johns

The Visionary Optics team is made up of experts in their field and is always ready to help eye care practitioners and patients find the perfect fit for scleral lenses.

Dr. Lynette Johns has been an integral part of the Visionary Optics team since joining earlier this year. As our Director of Clinical and Scientific Affairs, Lynette offers one-on-one consultations tailored to OD’s specific needs through Learning with Lynette. With almost 20 years of scleral lens fitting experience, Dr. Johns is passionate about two things: scleral lenses and education.

Q&A with Dr. Lynette Johns

 

What made you want to start Learning with Lynette and have that resource available to ODs?

As someone who thrives in 1:1 environments, Learning with Lynette started from this idea of working individually with ODs to help them learn more about the industry, connect them with the best resources and work through complex cases.

Each session is completely tailored to the practitioner’s skill level. For some, it’s a complete introduction to scleral lenses where I show photos and videos to give more context to scleral lens fittings. For more advanced fitters, we talk through more complex cases and troubleshoot designs.

Previously, I had the pleasure of training cornea and contact lens optometric residents and optometry students and it was rewarding to hear their perspectives. I would show them a challenging case and hear their thoughts, and, together, we would walk through the best ways to help the patient.

Throughout my career, I have always had mentors that I could reach out to, and hopefully this is my way of giving back to the industry. We don’t have all the answers but it is so helpful to work together to find them.

 

What are some of the best ways that new scleral lens fitters can increase their expertise?

There are quite a few great resources for scleral lens fitters – we feature many of them on the Visionary Optics website.

Online, the GP Institute has an abundance of webinars and publications available to help fitters of all levels. I also highly recommend that practitioners join the Scleral Lens Education Society which is a great resource at no-cost to ODs.

I personally love attending and recommending that ODs attend Global Specialty Lens Symposium, International Congress of Scleral Contacts, and American Academy of Optometry. These conferences offer great resources to practitioners and often offer hands-on workshops during the events.

Finally, Visionary Optics provides 1:1 workshops to many of our ODs. During these sessions, I will personally help you fit your patients, look at lenses together and assist with lens design. If you’re interested in doing that, please reach out to us!

 

We know that you have vast experience as a clinician, what makes working at Visionary Optics different than other scleral lens companies?

Visionary Optics is known for its personalized service and customized lenses. In fact, Visionary Optics pioneered the classification and understanding of scleral shape!

More than that, though, are the relationships that Visionary Optics builds with their ODs. Our team of consultants work so closely with the ODs, and we’re happy to share that many ODs choose Visionary Optics exclusively because of their great relationships with our consultants.

 

What do you find that scleral lens practitioners are most concerned about these days?

When it comes to scleral lens fit issues, I’m finding that many ODs are concerned about ocular physiology and overall eye health. Because of this, there are certain ways to fit lenses without compromising the health of the eye. An example of that is how the Europa Tangent provides the ability to customize the limbus.

Another concern is midday fogging. Midday fogging is very common and frustrating for patients and practitioners. To reduce this, there are different modifications for lens fitting. Anecdotally, I have heard a few practitioners stating that the new Tangent lens is helping reduce this problem.

Staff training is very helpful for practitioner success. I personally offer supplemental training to staff members who work closely with the practitioner. During these trainings, for example, I explained when and why you would use a scleral lens along with some basic fitting concepts. During trainings, I have shown staff members how to put in and take out the lens, along with how to teach the patient to do the same. Basically, the practitioner lets me know what they would like their staff members to learn more about and I do my best to accommodate their needs.

 

As a global leader in the scleral lens industry, what made Visionary Optics the right fit for you?

Visionary Optics is continuing to evolve their product line and presence within the industry. The ability to customize the Europa Tangent lens is an example of that and is almost unrivalled with other lenses. By being able to tweak the lenses, we can customize the lens to each patient’s needs, but also keep the process as simple as possible for the practitioners.

Working with Visionary Optics has been one of the most positive experiences in my career. The team is very open-minded and collaborative, which makes the implementation of new ideas easy. Everybody in the organization is so positive, and it’s one of the healthiest work environments I’ve been a part of. I look forward to work every day at Visionary Optics!

 

For more resources and to schedule a Learning with Lynette session, click here.