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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...

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...

Cornea teaching techniques: one cornea donor tissue for two purposes

There is a national shortage in the UK in corneal graft material [1,2]. The majority (69%) of corneal transplants in the UK are partial thickness, with 35% being Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) [2]. During the preparation of the donor...

Vitreomacular traction: natural course vs. vitrectomy vs. ocriplasmin

Over time, the vitreous gel completely separates from the retina in a process known as a posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). In some instances, however, the vitreous does not detach entirely and remains adherent to the macula. The term vitreomacular traction...

Ophthalmology specialty training applications: a costly affair?

Ophthalmology is one of the most competitive specialties to pursue training in worldwide. In the United Kingdom, the ST1 entry national selection competition ratio for the past few years has ranged between four to five applicants per post [1]. The...

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...

Sclerochoroidal calcification masquerading as ocular malignancy

Case 1 A 68-year-old Caucasian gentleman was urgently referred to eye casualty by his optometrist after seeing an unusual incidental finding of protruding lesions from the retina, suspecting choroidal melanoma. He was asymptomatic and this was his first eye test...

Human factors in the operating room

The importance of minimising human error in surgery is well established. This was initially sparked by lessons learned from the aviation industry in the 1970s after several fatal flight accidents [1]. This became a catalyst for a movement on training...

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...

In conversation with Salman Waqar

Hari Kaneshayogan interviews Salman Waqar, a Consultant Ophthalmologist with a keen interest in medical innovation. He is the inventor of the Waqar suture removal forceps, which combines suture cut and removal in one instrument. He has also created an injection...

On becoming a man

It was at the height of the gender debate, with Donald Trump banning transsexuals from serving in the US army and parts of the first world indulging in controversies on whether separate transgender toilets are needed, that a 40-year-old lady,...

“Herr Doktor, I can’t see but I am driving”

This 56-year-old lady was quite puzzling. With her own glasses and the pinhole she merely managed to see the 1.3 and 1.0 logMAR lines with her right and left eye, respectively (I am currently working in Germany again, so goodbye...