Trainees
A trainee’s guide on how to prepare for the digital age of ophthalmology
As the pandemic rolls on, the past year has left many ophthalmic departments in disarray with ever-lengthening patient waiting-lists and increasing challenges in service delivery. Areas such as virtual clinics, telephone / video consultations have had to mature rapidly to...
Understanding vasoproliferative retinal tumours
Syed Irtiza Ali Shah explores this rare and unusual condition through a fascinating case presentation. Vasoproliferative tumours of the retina (VPTR) are a vascular mass with an associated exudative retinopathy alongside the presence of minimally dilated feeder vessels. This is...
Tips for the Online Proctored FRCOphth - Part 1
The FRCOphth Part 1 examination is a difficult exam in itself, testing candidates on a wide range of theoretical and biomedical ophthalmology. This used to be a two-part pencil-on-paper written examination, which was then digitalised for October 2019 and January...
The adverse effects of COVID-19 on undergraduate ophthalmology education: An opportunity to reform ophthalmology training
The steady erosion of undergraduate ophthalmology teaching, which has been acutely exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis, has led to a lack of basic ophthalmology examining skills and knowledge amongst clinicians of other specialities. Concurrently, there has been a rise in...
Will COVID-19 impact the selection of ophthalmology as a career choice by medical students?
The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound effects on medical education and has called for large shifts in the medical curriculum. Clinical attachments were suspended at the height of the pandemic and examinations were cancelled or were moved to an online...
Cancer associated retinopathy
Abdul Muhyemin Tarin reviews the presentation, pathophysiology and management of this paraneoplastic syndrome. Case presentation A 60-year-old hypermetropic female patient presented with several months’ history of painless blurred vision. Visual acuity (VA) was 6/24 and 6/9-1 in right and left...
Keep calm and cut the carbon – improving sustainability in ophthalmology
As I dump my tenth pair of gloves into a non-recyclable clinical waste bin; dispose of another handful of plastic minims; or print another wad of single-sided discharge paperwork after a cataract surgery, the inconvenient truth of how these seemingly...
The fragile p-value
Abdus Samad Ansari explores the limitation of the p-value and the application of the fragility index in clinical trials. Clinical trials and tribulations? The restoration of vision or more purely the gift of sight is an aspect of care that...
‘Getting a head start’: ways medical students can boost their chances of entering ophthalmology training
Ophthalmology is one of the most competitive medical specialities in the UK, with 3.74 applicants per place in 2018 [1]. Given the competitive nature of this highly specialised field, medical students who are interested in pursuing a career in ophthalmology...
The paediatric cataract: an overview of the diagnosis and management
In this second article (see first article here), Samuel Aryee and Rhys Dumont Jones review the challenges involved in managing this condition. Examination and diagnosis Cataracts in children can appear in a variety of forms, each presenting in a different...
How the other half live – ophthalmology training around the world
Ophthalmology speciality training is currently seven years in the UK without an additional fellowship. UK trainees are privileged to have a training programme that is held in high esteem across the world, but did you ever wonder what other trainees...
Radiation retinopathy
The authors review the current treatment options for this condition. Radiation retinopathy (RR) occurs as a complication after exposure to any type of radiation (external beam, plaque brachytherapy and stereotactic radiosurgery) in the orbital or adnexal region. These include nasopharyngeal...
