Trainees
How good does my vision have to be to drive this thing? Visual standards for various occupations
We can all picture that moment in clinic: you are about to tell someone that they’re no longer legally able to drive, ready to deploy our ‘breaking bad news’ techniques. For some patients this may have been expected, or they...
Innovation update: key advances in eyecare transformation in the last year
Vishal Shah and his co-authors reflect on examples of innovation in eyecare delivery published in the last year and the implications for the future of eyecare services. The “new normal” is an overused phrase to describe extraordinary measures that have...
Sustainability in eyecare: Are virtual clinics the way forward in the diagnosis and monitoring of retinal disease?
Virtual clinics can be used successfully in screening and management of ocular conditions such as diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity and age-related macular degeneration. Virtual clinics should be a considered as a more clinically appropriate modality of consultation, diagnosis and...
Digital eyecare – enabling better communication between primary and secondary care
Alexander Chiu and his co-authors highlight innovations influencing healthcare advancement and how trainees can get involved. Hospital eye services (HES) were under great pressure to meet demand, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. This pressure has increased with the cancellation and...
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...
Optimising an acute eye service in the current COVID-19 crisis
With the current global pandemic of COVID-19 we have all had to redesign and reorganise our normal working practices. Non-urgent hospital work has been postponed to allow redistribution of resources, redeployment of hospital staff and to reduce the risk of...
Thermal injury and false eyelashes
The authors provide a case of cyanoacrylate glue causing a thermal burn on the eyelid and explain how this type of burn should be managed. The use of false lashes as well as the techniques used to apply them come...
The orthoptic report – what does it all mean?
An orthoptist report may well look like a piece of Japanese Shodo, however, it does in fact contain some extremely useful information. This piece will briefly explain some of the common brush strokes seen on a report. There is some...
Certifying patients as visually impaired: the start of a journey
In March 2017 there were 290,475 people registered as either visually impaired or severely visually impaired in the UK [1]. Patients registered as sight impaired benefit from financial support as well as practical help. Practical help is provided by social...
How to pass the Refraction Certificate
Unfortunately, I had the pleasure of getting to know this exam intimately. With adequate preparation this does not have to be the case for most people. The exam has recently changed to consist of 10 OSCE style stations (previously 12)....
A brief history of colour vision
Andrew Want takes a look at how colour vision has evolved in humans and animals and how it differs across species. Colour vision is something that we often take for granted, but it has become so intrinsic to the way...
Useful digital resources for the modern ophthalmologist
In the age of the internet and a smartphone at everyone’s fingertips, here are some free resources I have found to be useful on the job, and hopefully will be of use to you too. Feedly (Android/iOS): Better known as...
