Search

Things I’d tell my medical school self, had I known my first year on the job would be during a global pandemic

In a conversation with his younger self, a foundation doctor reflects on the contrast between his expectations of medicine at university and the reality of working during the coronavirus pandemic. Every doctor arrives at medical school with nervous anticipation, yet...

Novel changes during COVID-19 – transforming a walk-in Eye Casualty to a telephone triage service

With the current pandemic climate due to COVID-19, out of the norm approaches have been adopted in different hospitals across the UK to ensure patient safety. At our Eye Casualty (EC) department at Northampton General Hospital (NGH), we felt the...

Dementia and visual impairment: what is the relationship and are we providing the best care?

Carla Maden discusses the implications of living with both dementia and visual impairment, and how general medical junior doctors and ophthalmologists can help to alleviate this burden and improve the quality of life of such patients. Dementia and visual impairment...

Does vitrectomy increase the risk of glaucoma? A retrospective review from a UK hospital

The authors investigate what proportion of patients undergoing pars plana vitrectomy subsequently developed ocular hypertension or a diagnosis of glaucoma. A systematic review carried out in 2017 including seven studies found that there is evidence that pars plana vitrectomy (PPV)...

Insects, swelling and sight loss: a case of orbital inflammatory syndrome

Despite being the most common cause of painful orbital mass in adults and the third most common orbital disease, orbital inflammatory syndrome still proves to be a difficult ocular condition to diagnose, treat, and manage. A 41-year-old lady presented to...

Doing a systematic review: a users’ guide for foundation doctors

Research is increasingly important for junior doctors and systematic reviews (SRs) are a great place to start. Carrying out an SR can help a doctor demonstrate commitment to a specialty, develop research skills and get results quickly. This article aims...

Reflections on designing and delivering an undergraduate ophthalmology teaching programme

Dr Alexander Strother reflects on his time designing and delivering a classroom-based programme to ensure that medical students know how to take comprehensive ophthalmic histories from patients. Working as a clinical teaching fellow, in 2021 I had the great privilege...

My top five: Uses of artificial intelligence in ophthalmology

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a prominent topic of discussion within the field of ophthalmology, captivating researchers and practitioners alike. Although recent attention has been drawn to the integration of AI in ophthalmology, it’s important to recognise that AI...

The Escape Room and gamification of ophthalmology teaching

Recently, there has been an interesting development in medical education and its ‘gamification’. Educators are constantly looking for new ways to engage their students by adding a friendly element of competition, as evidenced by the great success of online education...

Report on preoperative visual acuities of patients from two AMM surgical trips to Magdalena, Northern Bolivia

The Andean Medical Mission (AMM), founded in 2012, recently celebrated 12 years of dedicated service in the Bolivian Amazon, aiming to eliminate avoidable blindness. Over this period, AMM has successfully performed over 1700 surgeries, including for children with congenital or...

Life in the glaucoma laboratory

When people ask me what life in the laboratory is really like, I often pause. On one hand, it is the romantic notion of pushing back the boundaries of science with the daily rhythm of experiments, data and easily obtained...

Addressing diabetes-related complications in Tanzania and Eswatini: A comprehensive approach to eye and foot screening

Diabetes is rising globally, particularly in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs), where healthcare systems are under resourced [1,2]. Among its complications, diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic foot disease are preventable yet frequently overlooked [3-6]. These problems often develop together due...