Ana Valimaña has just been certified as a Clinical Partner of SIODERV and shares how this process has allowed her to pause, reflect, and become aware of the value of her daily practice. From her beginnings in optics to the opening of her own center in Zaragoza, her journey reflects a constant pursuit of rigor, knowledge, and commitment to visual therapy.
You have just certified as a Clinical Partner of SIODERV. What motivated you to take this step?
I'm always driven by the desire to keep growing! After years of investing time, training, and energy in providing quality visual therapy based on clinical reasoning and scientific evidence, it was the next step I felt I needed to take.
I saw it as an opportunity to analyze more deeply all those pieces of knowledge that we apply in our clinical work every day and that we often have automated.
What has your experience been during the Clinical Associate process?
Intense but very enriching. The day-to-day makes us go at an outrageous pace and without the opportunity to stop and think as deeply as you need to in order to present a good case, which sometimes made it difficult to find the moment, but it is definitely worth it.
Has this process changed the way you view your professional practice?
This process has given me the opportunity to truly realize all the knowledge we apply every day in our work; showing me the complexity of each of our diagnoses and making me aware of my strengths, but even more importantly, of my blind spots, where I need to keep working, since working alone until now has made it more difficult to bring awareness to them.
What has been your professional journey in the world of optics-optometry and Visual Therapy?
I started in optics, with glasses, contact lenses, and the feeling that something was missing. My change in mindset, like that of many of my colleagues, was guided by Dr. Sanet and Pilar Vergara with their magnificent advanced specialization course in optometry and visual therapy.
In that new discovery of thought and whirlwind of mixed feelings (it was inexplicable, a mix of eagerness to learn and a great frustration for feeling that I knew nothing, that my work up to that point had not been as good as I would have liked) but I knew that I had found my path.
After the first seminar of the course, I was lucky to work alongside Ana Lázaro. I worked with her for 3 years, during which she helped me at every step I took to continue growing as an optometrist. After that time, due to personal circumstances, I had to return to Zaragoza, my hometown, where after thinking it over a lot and considering the different options, I decided to take the step of setting up my own center "advanced optometry Valimaña," which has now been 4 years ago.
In your opinion, what added value does this type of accreditation provide?
In my opinion, it adds rigor; it reflects that your approach to visual therapy has clinical criteria, that you carry it out in a structured and thoughtful manner, highlighting the professionalism we apply in each case.
How do you see the role of SIODERV in your development as a professional?
SIODERV has allowed me to connect with great professionals who speak my same language. I feel that I belong to a group that not only wants to work well but also to elevate the profession and give it the professional rigor it deserves, which would be impossible alone.
Additionally, they are always willing to help you with any professional inquiries you may have and they try to find engaging training opportunities so that we can continue to grow as professionals.
Did your expectations regarding this process get met? What aspects would you improve?
The truth is yes, in fact I believe they have been surpassed. For me, they have meant self-evaluating, giving me the opportunity to make some changes in my daily practice to continue growing and evolving, thus providing the best service to my patients.
What would you say to other general partner professionals to encourage them to undertake this process?
Allow yourselves that time, as in our daily lives we have everything very automated and there are moments when we don't stop to think. This process gives you that space for thought and self-analysis.
Will you attend the IX Congress of SIODERV? What role do you think these events play in the consolidation of the professional community in our sector?
Of course! I'm already registered! And unless a higher power prevents me... I'll be there! And probably accompanied by my new mini.
