Industry Insider is a timely chat with an ophthalmic industry thought leader.

Flora Azucena

Flora Azucena is CEO of Alchemy Vision Project, founded in 2020. AVP is a fully online platform that offers video-based educational courses and training specifically for practices that subscribe to its service, which helps train in-house entry-level eye technicians. Its flagship product is the ENTRY curriculum, which has more than 200 enrolled students as of this summer.

Ophthalmology Management: What is the mission of Alchemy Vision Project?

Flora Azucena: I have worked in the field of ophthalmology for more than 15 years, representing the industry in various segments and was consistently provided appropriate educational training for my job. Over the years I’ve visited countless practices, and I’ve seen how in almost all cases the clinical staff, closest to the patient, didn’t receive the same specialized training I did. I’m on a mission to change that.

The pandemic presented an opportune time for AVP to embark on said mission and cement the foundation of our leadership in modern ophthalmic technician training. We are positioned to support practices hire new talent, cross-train their staff and retain great talent through ongoing education.

OM: What educational materials are available through Alchemy Vision Project?

FA: ENTRY, our flagship product, is an affordable, turn-key, self-guided and self-paced curriculum, making it easy to implement in any office. Its structure was built around critical technical and non-technical skills, with learning outcomes measured by module quizzes, course assignments, exams and impact on job-performance. Our goal is to bring consistency, efficiency and accountability to technician education.

ENTRY is comprised of eight chapters and more than 75 lessons. The curriculum is rich in proprietary high-quality video production and animated graphics designed to engage the student. We’ve also established a working relationship with the company Rendia to offer our students narrated 3D motion graphics to enhance learning and complement our lessons.

Our courses offer technicians an amazing opportunity to learn the fundamentals of ophthalmology from world-renowned ophthalmologists and optometrists. Lessons are taught by Inder Paul Singh, MD; Nicole Fram, MD; Mitchell Shultz, MD; Eduardo Besser, MD; Stavros Moysidis, MD; Felicia Lew, OD; and a team of highly specialized COAs, COMTs and COTs.

In addition to ENTRY curriculum, every Friday we live-stream classes with our resident faculty. This is a tremendous learning opportunity for new and seasoned technicians alike to engage with our faculty and dive deep into what being a skilled technician requires.

OM: Have you seen a greater interest in online learning since the pandemic?

FA: The pandemic forced many businesses and schools nationwide to embrace online technologies for communication and learning. It seemed like almost overnight everyone in the country learned of Zoom and Google Classroom. As a result, the online learning model is now widely accepted by the general public. This has definitely benefited the Alchemy Vision Project.

The practices we serve enjoy the convenience, consistency and affordability of being able to hire someone and getting them up to speed quickly with our product. OM