Nearly Quit Optometry. Now He's Redefining It." — Anthony Josephson

Here's a podcast description with pull quotes drawn directly from the transcript:He Nearly Quit Optometry. Now He's Redefining It. — Anthony Josephson | The Optician ShowThis week's episode is one you won't forget.Anthony Josephson is an optometrist based in Altrincham, South Manchester. On paper, he runs a premium, technology-first independent practice specialising in complex contact lenses, dry eye, myopia control and advanced imaging. In reality, he's one of the most honest, deeply human and quietly extraordinary clinicians working in optics today.In this conversation, Anthony takes us from a childhood lazy eye and a Crohn's diagnosis at 15 through a Master's in Optometry, a pre-reg at the legendary BBR Opticians, solo practice ownership – and the period that nearly broke him entirely.💬 Quotes from the episode:"When you're 15 with a nasogastric tube in and your mum's coming to school to feed you a couple of times a day, you start to see the world a little bit differently.""I turned from a relatively introverted person to somebody who just went — sod what you guys think, I'm doing what I want. But never in an angry or aggressive way.""Covid destroyed me. The ongoings of 2020 and 2021 absolutely crippled me.""All the good stuff was being massively outdone by a few small bad things. I was ready to throw in the towel.""The passion is not only rekindled — it's better than it was.""My patients are on the whole an extension of my family. If one of them is devastated by something, I'm devastated for them.""Life is too short and the world is too miserable to be doing anything that you don't enjoy.""AI will take over a huge chunk of the profession. But what it won't do is take on the specific individual personalities that we as clinicians can give to our patients."In this episode we cover:Growing up with amblyopia and how lived experience shapes clinical empathyWhy he nearly chose animation over optometryTraining under Nick Rumley at BBR — the experience that lit the fireThe brutal reality of Covid, furlough, and a two year employment tribunalHow joining the Hakeem Group saved his career and rekindled his passionComplex contact lenses, dry eye clinics, OCT and myopia controlThe technology he's excited about right now — including Dr Noon's cardiovascular screeningWhy independents in the middle of the market are disappearing — and what that means for the futureThe role of human connection in a world increasingly s