Tag: students
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Newly Qualified Optometrist? The Advice I Needed on Day One
The moment a newly qualified optometrist walks into their first solo clinic is unforgettable. I remember my moment vividly. It was a potent mix of pride, excitement, and a healthy dose of sheer terror. The safety net of your supervisor is gone. Suddenly, every clinical decision rests squarely on your shoulders. I recall being plagued…
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Optometry Revision: Spotlighting the Skill Centre Resources
It may seem a little in the acdemic year to be considering optometry revision. Concepts are just being introduced and your understanding developing each session. But when it came to starting a clinical session – or preparing for an exam – I always wished that I had revised everything I had learned from the start.…
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Optometry Clinical Skills: 10 Tips to WOW Your Supervisors
As a pratising optometrist and an educator, I have the unique privilege of seeing our profession from two distinct angles. I see the seasoned clinicians navigating the complexities of daily practice, and I see the bright, eager students taking their very first steps on that same path. I know that the university clinic can be…
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Seeing Your First Patient: A Student’s Success Guide
I still remember it. The mix of pure excitement and absolute terror. After two years of lectures, labs, and practising on long-suffering friends, the moment had finally arrived: seeing your first patient. It is, without a doubt, the most transformative rite of passage in any optometrist’s career. It’s the moment the theory becomes real, the…
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Optometry School Tips: Ways to Maximise Your Learning
As we approach a new semester and, for some of you reading this, the start of your journey into eye care, I felt it would be a great time to share some optometry school tips to help you all prepare. I remember my time as an optometry student vividly; the excitement, the pressure, and that…
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Starting Optometry School? Your Guide to a Great First Year
If you’re reading this, you’ve likely just had your A-Level results and have your place confirmed. First of all, a huge congratulations! The journey of starting optometry school and becoming an optometrist is about to begin! I can still remember that mix of feelings – the excitement, the relief, and definitely a fair bit of…
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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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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…