According to a June 2022 Women In Optometry Pop-up Poll, more than 50 percent of the respondents are looking forward to planned trips this summer. After social distancing for the past few years, many are ready to hit the beach, the mountain or anywhere else that isn’t home. Fifteen percent say they will travel but continue to keep their distance from large crowds, and another 15 percent want to travel but haven’t made any set plans.
It’s not just ODs who take some personal time in the summer—everyone on the team usually wants their time away. The spike in outdoor temperature and school summer recess may bring staffing shortages for some ODs.
A quarter of ODs said that they have more difficulty with staffing in the summer due to staff vacations or lack of steady childcare. Almost two-thirds of the respondents who said they have children said that their summers didn’t differ from the rest of their year regarding childcare nor spur-of-the-moment trips. Under 10 percent actually said that their summers are easier or more relaxed, while over 60 percent were fortunate enough to report that their summer scheduling doesn’t vastly fluctuate than the rest of the year.
Approximately 72 percent of respondents were female ODs and 16 percent were male ODs. Approximately 12 percent were female, not an OD.
