Clinical optometrist, Health Service Executive, Dublin 

Building rapport and trust during an eye exam is crucial, as it means that patients are more willing to take on board advice regarding the need for further investigation or referral. If patients are not keen to have further investigations done or to be referred it’s generally for two reasons: they don’t understand why it’s needed, or they are anxious about what it means. Once you know why they aren’t keen, you can either inform them of the reasoning or allay their fears. Sometimes I let the patient think it over and give them a call in a few days once they have had time to process the information (if non-acute).