Trainees archive for 2019
Understanding and confronting bacterial endophthalmitis
Abdus Samad Ansari highlights the importance of early recognition of this condition using an unusual presentation. Endophthalmitis is a medical emergency with devastating consequences. Despite adequate treatment, severe cases frequently result in permanent blindness. Endophthalmitis involves inflammation of both the...
An interview with Professor John Forrester
What made you choose ophthalmology as a career and how did your interest in academia develop? During Medical School at Glasgow University, I was getting progressively disillusioned with the career options while my colleagues and friends all seemed to quickly...
SOS (Simplified Ophthalmic Statistics) Part 4: How to present your statistical analysis
This is the last in this series of short guides which we hope provide some guidance in relation to statistical issues researchers may encounter when conducting research, audit or indeed quality improvement projects. Here we focus on an issue that...
Survey of current undergraduate ophthalmology teaching in the United Kingdom
Is there a crisis in ophthalmic education? The British Undergraduate Ophthalmology Society surveyed medical students and junior doctors to evaluate current ophthalmology teaching across medical schools in the UK. British medicals schools are currently not obligated to include ophthalmology within...
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...
Case series of toxic anterior segment syndrome
Herein we report two cases of toxic anterior segment syndrome (TASS) following uneventful cataract surgery. Both patients presented 24 hours after their uneventful operations with painless blurred vision in the operated eye. The inflammatory reaction was controlled successfully with an...
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)....
Understanding amniotic membrane grafts
Safa Elhassan gives a brief review of amniotic membrane grafts and their application in theatre and clinic-based settings. Amniotic membrane (AM) transplant has been an established adjuvant treatment for many corneal, conjunctival and scleral disorders in ophthalmic clinical practice with...
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...
End of an era: completing training. Tips for survival, fellowship applications and how to CCT
Tafadzwa Young-Zvandasara shares the things he wishes he had paid more attention to when approaching the end of training. It is the end of an era, you are now ready to move on. Training has been filled with a structured...
A near miss
A 55-year-old gentleman presented with a ‘blurry patch’ to his left eye which he had noticed for the past two months. The visual acuity with correction was 6/5 in the right eye and 6/6 in the left eye on the...
