Advancing optometry education through global frameworks and international collaborations.

Global curriculum initiatives aim to enhance the education of optometrists across the world. This is done by establishing competencies and frameworks necessary for consistency in education and training. Through collaboration and knowledge exchange between educators and institutions, future optometrists can be equipped with the latest evidence-based knowledge and skills to deliver quality eye care, regardless of geographical location.

Simulation in Ophthalmic Training.

Vision impairment and blindness arise both as a cause, and a consequence, of poverty. Achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in providing universal access and equity in eye care, both within and between among countries, remains challenging. A severe shortage of eye care providers is creating unnecessary blindness and vision impairment in developing communities worldwide.

The influence of a novel simulated learning environment upon student clinical subjective refraction performance: A pilot study.

Background: Optometry students are taught the process of subjective refraction through lectures and laboratory-based practicals before progressing to supervised clinical practice. Simulated leaning environments (SLEs) form part of an emerging technology used in a range of health disciplines; however, there is limited evidence regarding the effectiveness of clinical simulators as educational tools.

Methods: Forty optometry students (20 fourth year and 20 fifth year) were assessed twice by a qualified optometrist (two examinations separated by four to eight weeks), while completing a monocular non-cycloplegic subjective refraction on the same patient with an unknown refractive error, simulated using contact lenses.

The role of optometrists in India: an integral part of an eye health team.

India has a proud tradition of blindness prevention, being the first country in the world to implement a blindness control programme which focused on a model to address blinding eye disease. However, with 133 million people blind or vision impaired due to the lack of an eye examination and provision of an appropriate pair of spectacles, it is imperative to establish a cadre of eye care professionals to work in conjunction with ophthalmologists to deliver comprehensive eye care. The integration of highly educated four year trained optometrists into primary health services is a practical means of correcting refractive error and detecting ocular disease, enabling co-managed care between ophthalmologists and optometrists.

The impact of continuing professional development on ophthalmic dispensing of progressive addition lenses in the Asia-Pacific region.

Background: Discrepancies exist in optometric education, practice and regulation across the Asia-Pacific region and the competence of optometric practitioners in adopting new lens technologies may vary widely. Over the past 10 years, a continuing professional development program, Varilux Academy Asia-Pacific (VAAP), was implemented and conducted in countries across the Asia-Pacific region to improve practitioners' understanding of optometric fitting principles, with special emphasis on progressive addition lenses (PAL). The aim was to demonstrate the effectiveness of VAAP and to compare the competence of practitioners across the Asia-Pacific region in new lens fitting technologies.

Is optimal vision required for the successful execution of an interceptive task?

The importance of optimal visual function in demanding interceptive tasks is far from established. The aim of the study was to determine whether induced myopic blur and hence sub-optimal visual function would give rise to a detrimental effect on performance in the execution of an interceptive task. The batting performance of grade level cricket players was assessed facing a bowling machine whilst wearing contact lenses of four different refractive conditions (plano (nil), +1.