Category: Pre-Registration Optometrists
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AI in Optometry: A Clinician’s Guide to Safe and Ethical Use
When tools like ChatGPT first became widely accessible, I was intrigued. How could we use AI in optometry? The life of an optometrist is a constant juggle of patient interaction, clinical excellence, and commercial awareness. The thought of a tool that could help ease some of that cognitive load was exciting. But then came the…
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Survivorship Bias: Looking For the Evidence You Didn’t See
In this article about survivorship bias, we start by reflecting back to the 1930s. During World War II, the Allied forces wanted to make their bomber planes safer. They looked at the aircraft that returned from missions and carefully mapped out all the bullet holes. The logical first thought was to add more armour to…
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Buyer Beware: Unmasking the OpticX ‘Miracle’ Glasses Scam
Introduction As an optometrist, I’ve dedicated my career to protecting and improving vision. I believe in genuine innovation, but I also believe it’s my professional duty to call out dangerous products that prey on the public’s hope for a quick fix. A product called “OpticX” has been heavily advertised online with extraordinary claims, and I…
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Say Goodbye to Clinical Isolation: Introducing Ask Fellow Optoms
I’m sharing this post about the ‘Ask Fellow Optoms‘ app for one simple reason: it’s an outstanding free resource for our community. This is not a sponsored post, but a genuine recommendation for a powerful tool I believe every optometrist can benefit from. We’ve all been there. It’s the end of a long day, you’re…
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Lost in Translation? How to Talk to Patients Without Jargon
As experts in our field, we spend years learning the complex language of optometry, becoming fluent in anatomy, physics, and pathology. This knowledge is essential, but it can sometimes become a curse. The “curse of knowledge” is a real phenomenon where we forget what it’s like not to know these things, making it difficult to…
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Honest and Trustworthy: Foundation of Your Optometry Career
As you begin your journey in optometry, you will study complex clinical skills and absorb a vast amount of knowledge. But none of it will matter without the foundation upon which your entire career must be built: being honest and trustworthy. The GOC’s Standard 16 (“Be honest and trustworthy”) isn’t just a set of rules;…
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From Health Anxiety to Trust: Handling Patient Self-Diagnosis
We’ve all been there. You’re halfway through an eye examination, and the patient says those familiar words: “So, I’ve been doing some reading online…” In that moment, you know the consultation has taken a different turn, moving into the realm of patient self-diagnosis. In today’s world, patients often arrive with a wealth of information, but…
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How to Use Feedback: Using Constructive Criticism to Grow
Giving and receiving feedback, especially when it’s constructive criticism, can be a real challenge. I’ve noticed this challenge a lot during my time working with optometry students, pre-registration students, and even with many qualified colleagues. We often seem to struggle with taking constructive criticism on board. Perhaps it’s a sign of the times. Maybe it’s…
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Smart Study Advice: Utilising Resources with Care
Being an optometry student or a pre-registration optometrist is a tough but rewarding path. You’re always learning new things. So, it’s natural to look for good study advice to help you along. But with so much information out there, finding guidance you can actually trust can feel like a real challenge. It’s so important to…
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Effectively Breaking Bad News Within an Eye Care Setting
In this post, we discuss a challenging, yet crucial, aspect of our work in optometry: the process of breaking bad news. Our daily practice involves helping patients achieve their best possible vision and maintaining their eye health. Many consultations are routine and positive. However, there are occasions when our examinations reveal unexpected findings. These situations…