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Eyes on Rwanda: Lessons from an international ophthalmology experience

On the 26 February 2025, I travelled to Rwanda on the invitation of a former Belfast trainee, Michael Mikhail. Michael is now one of only two vitreoretinal (VR) surgeons in Rwanda, a country with a population of 14 million. Born...

An ophthalmology elective in Kandy, Sri Lanka

On my first day at The Centre for Sight, Kandy General Hospital, I observed an enucleation. The surgeons worked with quiet precision, preserving the extraocular muscles for prosthesis placement. But when the time came, it became clear that the prosthesis...

Everyone has a plan, until their hand goes numb…

Cataract surgery is the most frequently performed surgical procedure in the UK [1]. With financially strained NHS trusts and the rise of independent sector cataract providers, the drive from initiatives like Get It Right First Time (GIRFT) and market pressures...

Applying for ophthalmology ST1 in 2026: What’s new?

Competition for ophthalmology ST1 has intensified steadily over recent cycles, rising from ~9:1 (2022) to ~10:1 (2023), ~14:1 (2024) and ~22:1 (2025) [1]. Against this background, applicants benefit from a structured approach: mapping achievements to portfolio domains early, identifying gaps...

Commonest mistakes during the refraction certificate exam

Ophthalmology specialty trainees are required to pass the refraction certificate exam within the first two years of training. If one passes this exam before entering a training programme, this can add two points to the portfolio during applications. In this...

What's trending Apr/May 2025

A round-up of the eye-related hot topics that have been trending on social media over the last few weeks. #ContactLens #Trapped I started wearing contact lenses in my teenage years and was always worried about them slipping behind my eyes....

The results of the last survey Jun25

The first question refers to whether we check blood glucose levels prior to cataract surgery. Almost three quarters of you do which was interesting. We know that poor glycaemic control (manifesting as a raised HbA1c) has implications for wound healing...

Behind the eyes: Unravelling the mystery of a painless progressive proptosis

Orbital fungal infections have the potential to give rise to serious complications. While these infections typically originate in the sinuses, patients may initially exhibit ocular symptoms. As a result of the diverse and often vague clinical manifestations (especially during the...

Shedding light on Wolfram syndrome: The unveiling of a delayed diagnosis

Wolfram syndrome 1 (WS1) was first described by Wolfram and Wagener in 1938 and it’s a rare neurodegenerative, progressive disorder, also known as DIDMOAD (diabetes insipidus, diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy, and deafness) [1]. We present an atypical case of WS...

Transferring imaging from primary to secondary care (part 2)

Transferring clinical imaging from high street optometrists to secondary care is an increasingly requested option, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. A wide variety of solutions exist to allow this, each with their own merits and shortcomings. In...

Presentation feedback tools

The topic of this issue stems from a desire to find the best free-to-use tool for collecting feedback after a presentation. It is a common requirement for clinicians to collect audience feedback after a teaching session. This feedback contributes toward...

How to maximise points for your ophthalmology portfolio as a medical student

Ophthalmology is an extremely popular and competitive career option, with one of the highest competition ratios at ST1 level entry (10:1 in 2023) [1]. It is also a highly rewarding speciality, involving: a mixture of medicine and surgery in a...