William Butler Yeats said, Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. With this notion in mind, Review of Optometry presents this Optometric Education Report with the aim to not only satisfy our readers desire for information, but also to inspire their pursuit of continuing education. Yes, you can earn Continuing Education credits through three of these articles. But more importantly, we hope you can use this information as a launching pador at least a leg upin your journey of lifelong learning.
Why should you pursue further learning? Ultimately, by acquiring the latest and most thorough knowledge, youll continuously improve patient care. But, you probably have an underlying goal: the satisfaction that comes through gaining knowledge. Its that little psychological pat on the back you give yourself when something new clicks in your mindthat a-ha! moment. Hopefully, youll experience that a-ha! feeling at least a few times as you read the following pages.
Here are brief descriptions of whats included:
Anatomy of a Curriculum Overhaul. Most, if not all, colleges of optometry are completely redesigning their curricula to make their students better learners. Four years ago, editor Jane Cole (ne Haseldine) reported on one particular schoolPennsylvania College of Optometryas it threw out the academic rulebook and started its curriculum anew. Now, with PCOs first graduates of this curriculum entering the workforce, we revisit PCO to find out if the school did the right thing.
Ocular Allergy: New Perspectives on a Growing Problem. More than half of all Americans have some form of allergy, not the least of which is ocular allergy. Optometrist Arthur B. Epstein reviews the current theories behind allergies and focuses on the diagnoses and therapies used to treat ocular and systemic allergieswhich may not be as straightforward as you might think. This course is supported by an unrestricted grant from Alcon.
New Options for Patients With Astigmatism and Presbyopia. Baby boomers have now entered old age, and with this growing older population comes an increasing demand for satisfactory visual improvement. Indeed, more than 100 million Americans are presbyopic, and at least one-third of these have significant astigmatism. One less-than-satisfactory solution is to fit these patients with monovision contacts and prescribe readers for better near vision. Optometrist Deepak Gupta describes a more advanced solution whose time has come: multifocal toric contact lenses. This course is supported by an unrestricted grant from CooperVision.
How to Manage Ocular Infection. To paraphrase Tolstoy: Happy eyes are all alike, but every unhappy eye is unhappy in its own way. Thats the problem with ocular infection: Theres a myriad of organisms that cause infection and theres a multitude of topical anti-infective and combination agents used to treat them. Optometrist Alan G. Kabat sorts through the pharmaceutical armamentarium and reveals which drugs work best for which presentations. This course is supported by an unrestricted grant from Alcon.
Our Optometric Education Report isnt meant to provide all the answers about these topics. Rather, we hope this information motivates you to learn more than whats written on these pages.
Last but not least, Review thanks the corporate sponsors who supported this special education report.
