Associated Optical are hosting one day courses in Low Vision Practice launching in April 2012.

Full details on course content and booking may be found on the Associated Optical Website here.

Courses are CET Accredited for both Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians.

Detail to follow!

YES there is still time, it is still that time of year when new beginnings and New Year Resolutions are still fresh and unbroken so an opportunity to try something new in terms of re-charging your “batteries” in 2012.

Look no further listed below here are some of my ideas:

Consider attending a training day specifically focused on a new subject, and enjoy! Find a link between the material presented and your practice. Ask a question to reinforce what you learned, which will help you remember. If you have a patient who has the condition being discussed, think about how what you learned applies to your patient, or the next patient you haven’t even seen yet.

Talk to a colleague about a case (real or hypothetical). Research has shown that a clinician’s preferred method of obtaining knowledge is through podium presentations or discussion with colleagues. So, take the time to pick a friend’s brain, or why not join a “peer review” session, over a drink or via WebEx.

Commit to managing dry eye disease. Okay, this is my pet subject. But even if it wasn’t, the uptake of dry eye by optometry has been remarkable in the last few years. It’s time to join the crowd. Optometrists are people-people who are willing to spend the chair time required to grow their practices. Practice management experts time-and-time again can show you the way to make dry eye a practice profit centre. Other ideas involve low vision – such as those provided by Associated Optical.

See one, do one, teach one. Have you mentored anyone lately? Mentorship comes in all shapes and sizes.   Mentor a staff member, a junior colleague, consider taking on an optometry student even if only part-time.  Mentor someone, and your own skill set will grow — whether it be personal or professional.

Think about enrolling for a higher qualification. If I can at my age and with my hectic schedule, so can you. Specialist certificates, higher diplomas, MSc modules are all option available to all.

Review your Work / Life Balance Circle.  Recently a friend showed me their work/life balance circle — a drawing they kept posted in their office. It is good to take some time to reflect on the things that matter to you. Create your own work/life/balance circle, and post it somewhere so that you can see it and someone can ask you about it.

Find your passion. I count myself fortunate to really love what I do in teaching, lecturing and consulting, yet there are so many other things I like and hope to find more time in 2012 to further appreciate, many of which involve my family.

Most of all, enjoy what you do in 2012!

Caroline

Researchers at Georgia Tech produced the app – to be made available on Apple and Android devices – based on the Braille writing system.

It is claimed typing with the app is up to six times faster than existing methods for texting without sight.

Access to technology for the visually-impaired is a growing issue due to the proliferation of touchscreens.

Experts say currently available tools, such as Apple’s Voiceover technology, are functional but too slow to be used effectively.

Brailletouch, which the team hope to release in the next couple of weeks, uses a system that is controlled with six fingers and, crucially, does not require any movement of the hands.

“Users who know how to type Braille well never move their hands,” explained Mario Romero, lead researcher on the project.

“When users hold the phone they hold the phone with the screen facing away from them in landscape mode.

“They wrap the index, middle and ring finger in each hand around the phone.

“It’s not like the Qwerty keyboard where you move up and down. That’s why this thing works – we can get away with only six keys.”

Read the rest of the story here

Anthony has had experience in supervising pre-registration optometrists, both as a College supervisor and in his capacity as a specialist optometrist in the Hospital Eye Service.  He regularly provides clinical tuition to junior ophthalmologists, medical students, and visiting pre-registration optometrists.  He also returned to Aston University for a brief period as a visiting clinical demonstrator.  Anthony has written a number of optometric articles, which have appeared in Optician magazine and more recently for CLEARVIEW Training.

As well as being a member of the College of Optometrists and the GOC, Anthony is a member of the UK & Eire Glaucoma Society and the BCLA.  He is also the Glaucoma Lead for the Leicestershire & Rutland LOC.

‘My mum tells me that eating lots of carrots helps you to see better in the dark.’

Whilst I would in no way wish to cross another parent’s comment on the importance of eating vegetables, especially with the great uphill battle of geting our children to eat their daily 5-a-day, I just had to tell the class about one of the greatest urban myths that still persists today.

We all know that eating carrots is important for the normal functioning of the retina, but as to whether or not eating additional quantities of carrots can improve our vision is one of those tales which has amused me greatly since I discovered its true origin whilst teaching on a pre-reg course a few years ago.

In the Second World War, British intelligence started a rumour that our boys in Bomber Command were consuming large quantities of carrots to improve their night vision.  What the RAF were really trying to cover up was that the increased success of the pilots’ flying capabilities at night, together with an sharp rise in the number of enemy bombers brought down from the coastal night skies, was due to the development of Al: Airborne Inception Radar.

The carrot story was widely covered in the press and as a result, the general public began eating significantly increased quantities of carrots and root vegetables to help them get about at night in the blackout.

How ‘Cat’s Eyes’ helped change the world: WWII fighter pilot John Cunningham.

We thought we would make it easier for you to keep in touch and swap books, articles advice and.. whatever.

Join the discussion on our Bookswapshop! Page!

The ability to communicate bad news to patients in an empathic and understandable way

This competency deals with the capability of the trainee to discuss subjects with patients that may be of a difficult and often a distressing nature.

Best Form Evidence

In an ideal situation the Assessor would probably prefer to witness this via Direct Observation but in reality this is unlikely to happen.  The most likely methods of sign off are via Role Play / Case Scenarios, examination of Patient Records and Questioning.

Communication is the keyword here.  The Assessor will search for evidence of usage of appropriate language, both verbal and non-verbal.

Example of possible scenarios:

From the Patient Episode Request sheet you should be able to demonstrate this competency with a record of a patient with either an immediately sight threatening condition or irreversible visual loss of vision as a result of, for example, ARMD.

Other such examples which would be suitable include,

• Having to tell a parent that a child has an eye problem (e.g. strabismus)
• Having to tell a patient they have ARMD
• Having to tell a nervous patient that a referral is needed
• Having to tell a patient they no longer are legally satisfying the vision standards for driving
• Discussing a referral for an tumour
• Telling an optimistic patient that “new spectacles” will not improve acuity
• Telling an older child that they have a colour deficiency and may not be able to pursue a chosen career

Unacceptable Evidence

This competency examines the ability to discuss bad news in an empathetic and sympathetic manner as necessary.  If there is no demonstration of compassion and consideration for the patient’s feelings or emotions (without disruption of the patient-practitioner relationship) then this will ensure a fail.

It is difficult to annotate a record card with empathy so consider appropriate phrasing.  For example “Explained to Px : no longer fulfils driving standard.”

Though dealing with sensitive subjects here the trainee should consider that overdramatic hand gestures, crossed arms, towering over the patient or excessive shaking of the head may cause the patient further distress.

Competency 1.9

The ability to communicate with patients who have poor, or non-verbal, communication skills, or those who are confused, reticent or who might mislead

This competency examines your capability to deal with patients who may be more difficult or challenging to communicate with.  You need to be able to conduct a thorough eye examination and elicit the relevant information to complete all tests, and then be able to successfully communicate the results or onward management decisions with the patient and carers.

This competency also examines the trainee’s ability to communicate and complete an examination with a patient who may be confused, or malingering or not forthcoming with responses for whatever reason.

Best Form Evidence

In an ideal situation, the Assessor would probably prefer to witness this via Direct Observation but in reality this is unlikely to happen.  The most likely method of sign off are via Role Play / Case Scenarios, examination of Patient Records and Questioning.  You should have at least two patient records ready for the Assessor from the third quarter Patient Episode Request sheet.

This competency also investigates the use of non-verbal communication such as body language.  The Assessor may discuss or look for signs in your body language.  For example, you should consider details such as chair height; it may be better to sit at eye level with the patient rather than look down at them.  Remember eye contact is important and making sure the mouth is visible for those who are lip reading.  Trainees should also remember that a cross-legged or cross-armed pose may be intimidating or even defensive and may make a patient nervous.

As verbal communication is also important, this competency also covers the type of questions that you use (open, closed, funnel etc), together with elements such as tone of voice and clarity of speech.

Example of possible scenarios:

A malingering child:

• How would you detect that the child is malingering?
• How would you phrase your questions?
• What test could you use?  e.g. use of plano lens as a “magic lens”
• How you would explain to parent that the child is malingering and not suffering from a visual problem?A person with learning difficulties (adult or child)

A person who is hard of hearing:

• With or without lip reading skills

A person who does not speak English or other language spoken by the trainee

• With or without an attending interpreter
• Be sympathetic to uncommonly encountered cultures: for example a hand gesture in one culture may translate differently into another

A shy, nervous or frightened patient
A patient with senile dementia

Unacceptable Evidence

Trainees should ideally have evidence that they have actually examined real patients from these patient groups or the Assessor may fail them merely from lack of experience.

In the role-play/case scenarios ensure that the patient is treated with respect and not ridiculed.

Consider that as non-verbal communication is important, over-emphatic hand gestures may appear aggressive; respect the patient’s body space.

If you are a locum wishing to register, please visit: www.locumregister.com