Welcome to The Eye Care Advocate

Your Trusted Resource for Eye Care

Expert insights for eyecare professionals, optometry students, and the public.

Latest Articles

A purple-toned watercolor illustration of a person holding a medical penlight horizontally below their eyes. Centered pink text reads: "Introducing Beyond PERRLA: Decoding the Pupil. A course by The Eye Care Advocate."

Why “PERRLA” is Often a Lie: How to Master Effective Pupil Assessments

Have you ever seen “PERRLA” written in a patient’s notes, only to realise they are…

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A featured image showing a GP on the left handside using a phone to shout at an optometrist on the other end of the phone. The GP is in white coat and wearing a stethoscope and the optometrist is female in purple scrubs and holding on to a snellen chart. The caption states: Professionalism in Primary Care Conflict: Clinical Respect

Professionalism in Primary Care Conflict: Clinical Respect

The landscape of UK healthcare is changing, and with it, the way professionals interact. A recent vi…

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Introducing the Optometry Community by The Eye Care Advocate

Introducing the Optometry Community by The Eye Care Advocate

The wait is finally overI I am proud to announce that The Eye Care Advocate has officially launched …

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The Open Skill-Centre: Changes for 2026!

The Open Skill-Centre: Changes for 2026!

As we approach the start of a new year, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on what it means to be…

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About The Eye Care Advocate

a portrait photograph of Jason Searle BSc(Hons) MCOptom Prof Cert Glauc. It is of a man in his late thirties, with dark brown, short to medium length hair and a relatively short dark brown beard speckled with grey. He is wearing dark plastic glasses and a black and white gingham oxford-style shirt. He is smiling at the camera

Hello, and welcome. My name is Jason Searle, and I’m the optometrist behind The Eye Care Advocate.

My passion for this field started back in 2008, when I worked as an ophthalmic photographer at Bristol Eye Hospital (yes, that is a very young me on the website banner!). Seeing the clinical side of eye care up close inspired me to study optometry at Cardiff University in 2010.

Since qualifying in 2014, I’ve worked in over 55 different practices, from small independents to hospital departments. This has spanned over 8 counties and 2 countries, with the majority falling in Bristol, Gloucestershire and the surrounding counties. I’ve seen some of the best of our profession – but I’ve also seen the challenges: the gap between idealistic theory and the messy reality of clinical practice.

It’s frustrating to see profit put before best practice. In a world full people wanting to work purely to make money, I felt a pull to create something different: a source that is open, honest, and guided by a moral compass, not a capitalist mindset.

That’s why I started The Eye Care Advocate. This is my passion project – a place for affordable (and mostly free!), trustworthy content for professionals, students, and the public. It’s currently run at a financial loss, and I promise to be completely transparent about any sponsorships, which will only ever be accepted if the sponsor’s values align with mine.

This isn’t just my platform; it’s for the whole community. I warmly invite others in the industry to share their own insights as guest writers. If you have a topic you’re passionate about, please reach out. Likewise, if you want to sponsor the work that I do and/or wish me to review or promote a product, service or company that may align with the core values of The Eye Care Advocate, I would also like to hear from you.

I hope the platform provides you the information and the value that it was created for – and I am always open feedback or suggestions on areas that you would like to see covered.

Thank you for visiting,

Jason Searle BSc(Hons) MCOptom Prof Cert Glauc.

History and Symptoms: The Eye Examination book cover - it is of a purple book with an image of an optometrist taking a case history from a patient. The cover reads "History and Symptoms: The Eye Examination. With 20 fictional characters to aid history taking. Jason Searle BSc(Hons) MCOptom Prof Cert Glauc. )

I have also written the following study guide for optometry students:

History and Symptoms: The Eye Examination

This book has proven useful to many student and pre-registration optometrists wishing to improve their history taking skills during an eye examination and reviews have said it is a must read for all students at optometry school.

You can buy a copy on Amazon here: