Optometry : An interesting choice of study     When do you need the services of an Optometrist?
    Optometry : An interesting and dynamic profession     The Holistic Approach to Eye Care System
 
Optometry : An interesting choice of study
 
Optometry is the study of clinical application of vision science. The course curriculum of this stream is so designed that it provides you an education on basic physical and life science as they relate to human visual system. The study also includes knowledge about visual process including color perception and form perception, eye focusing and eye teaming properties. There is also an input of basic computer science and practical approach to problem solving abilities. In addition to courses on ocular anatomy, ocular physiology, optics and vision science, it also improves your communication, empathy and practice management skills. While the study of optometry is far away from the brain storming puzzles of mathematics and statistics, it maintains the direct focus on to the professional practice all through the program. By graduating with B Optom, you will be well prepared with the knowledge, expertise and experience required to embark upon the practice and roll on to your professional career. This is unlike other course curriculum where you can enter into your professional career quite early. B Optom is an undergraduate degree which is four years full time set program. It is also possible to complete M Optom and Ph D in optometry at post graduate level, which bridges the gap between an Optometrist and other eye care professionals and opens the doors to enter into research work. The key strand of the science is clinical practical studies on sophisticated and very advanced instruments used to diagnose eye and vision related symptoms. The science also provides an opportunity to elect various specialized studies which can be completed during your professional practice only to provide you an edge over your peer group.
 
Be an Optometrist and let the world see clearly.
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Optometry : An interesting and dynamic profession
 
Optometrists are the major providers of primary eye care in U.K, U.S.A and other developed countries. They are trained professionals who examine eyes to detect sight defects, ocular diseases and signs of general health problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes. They also prescribe and provide glasses, contact lenses and low vision aids and if required they refer patients to other health care professionals and can co-manage the patient’s condition. Some Optometrists prefer to specialize in fields like Sports vision or Vision therapy or Low Vision or others. Many Optometrists are forming group practices in which each group member specializes in a specific area while still remaining full scope practitioner. Teaching is another respectful avenue open for them.

India has approximately 6000 qualified Optometrists which is grossly inadequate for a billion populations. Ideally, at least 50,000 qualified Optometrists are required to achieve the objective of providing optimum eye care to the population of India.

A professional career as an Optometrist could be tremendously rewarding. Sight is often taken for granted. Therefore, helping to improve or correct eye sight defects can bring you a lot of job satisfaction. In U.S.A, it’s one of the highest paid professions and in U.K; Optometrists enjoy a very comfortable income. In India, qualified Optometrists have great potential with many optical chains nationally and internationally expanding the size of their chains. Job prospects are very good and there is a possibility of flexible working arrangements. In addition to the professional practitioner, an optometrist may seek the job

  • As lens consultant
  • Training department head in an organization
  • In Research & Development section in lens manufacturing industry
  • As Researcher in eye hospital
  • As Optical Retail Manager,
  • As Head for professional affairs in eye care industry,
  • General Manager of an eye hospital
  • Manager cum Optometrist of an Optical Retail Store
 
On top an optometrist also gains the respect of medical practitioner
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When do you need the services of an Optometrist?

1. Primary Eye examination
Your Optometrist will perform a battery of tests for your external and internal eye examination, assess vision and ability to focus on and discern objects, as well as other tests to diagnose before advising you the suitable remedial measures. All people should have periodic and thorough eye examinations as part of routine primary care, especially since many eye diseases are silent or asymptomatic.

2. Vision Correction
The presence of refractive error- myopia, hypermetropia, astigmatism or presbyopia is to be treated with suitable non surgical or surgical procedure. Spectacle and contact lenses are the non surgical modalities and LASIK, PRK, Clear lens extraction, Lens implants are the surgical procedure. Your Optometrist is the professional consultant as to advise you the suitable mode of correction for you.

3. Contact Lens Fitting
Contact lenses are the smallest and least visible plastic discs that are worn on the cornea to correct your refractive error. Correct design and fitting of the lenses are essential for comfort, safety, and accurate correction. A long list of contact lens varieties is available to suit your specific purpose and your optometrist specially trained in fitting contact lenses is the professional consultant to advise and fit a suitable contact lens for you.

4. Double Vision
If you are experiencing double vision, you should be evaluated by an optometrist, ophthalmologist, neurologist or other medical professional immediately. Double vision may be treated with surgery, medications, vision training or therapy. A prism, a special lens that bends light rays, can also be included in an eyeglass prescription.

5. Low Vision Aids
When conventional spectacles and contact lenses do not work and surgery or medical treatment is not considered appropriate, then it is time to consider low vision aids. You need to visit an Optometrist who is specially trained in low vision practice to help you utilize your residual vision to become functionally independent.

6. Computer Vision Syndrome
If you are working on computers for more than two hours at a stretch and experience eyestrain, headaches, blurred vision, visual fatigue, dry eyes, foreign body sensation, visual stress and reduced efficiency at work, you may be suffering from one or more Computer vision syndrome. Optometrists have found out that most of these symptoms can be relieved through a combination of correcting workstation, posture, specially designed lenses and in some cases through improving visual skills with vision therapy.

7. Squint Eyes
Squint eyes –also known as crossed eye or wall eyes is the condition when the eyes are not in alignment. One eye may turn in or out, up or down, or may wander in several directions. Many a times only the symptoms of strabismus are present. It may appear sometimes and the rest of the time the eyes may be straight, appearing only when the eyes are tired. Treatment for crossed-eyes include eye glasses, prisms, vision therapy and surgery. The complexity of condition can be dealt successfully upon co-ordinated efforts of Optometrists and Ophthalmologists.

8. Amblyopia
Ambyopia , also known as lazy eye as one eye or both eyes stops functioning properly. The condition is not due to any pathology in the eye but because of poor eye- brain connection. The brain, for some reason, does not fully acknowledge the images seen by the amblyopic eye. Every amblyopic patient , whether he is a child or an adult, deserves an attempt at treatment by specially trained Optometrists.

9. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has been diagnosed in both children as well as in adults. Individual suffering from AD(H)D should have complete eye evaluation by a Behavioral Optometrist. Vision is more than seeing clearly on the test chart and is the combination of learned skills, including tracking, fixation ability, focus change, binocular fusion and others. When all these skills are developed, the person can sustain attention, read and write without careless errors, which give meaning to what they hear and see. An optometrist trained in vision therapy can work to improve many of such skills.

10. Repeatedly same mistake in your chosen sporting activity
You are a very good player. Your coach is the best. You have worlds best of sporting kit and best of other sporting facilities. But when you compete at international level, you lose marginally by fraction of seconds or scores. And when you analyze the reason for the same you find that you made similar mistake which you have been making during your practice session. During your practice you did not give importance to it. Today if you want to compete at the international level, you can not compromise with slightest of error. We work on all aspects to improve our skill, stamina and endurance, but we seldom give due importance to vision. Remember more than 90% information which we get is through our vision and vision is not just seeing clearly on the test chart. A slightest of delay in getting information may delay your response and can ruin your entire career in your chosen sport. In fact difference between good player and great player is vision. Your Sportvision Optometrist is the qualified professional to help you remove this barrier.

11. Optometrists and Dyslexia
Dyslexia means poor word recognition. Although vision is involved, it is mainly a language processing problem. Eye fixation is the link between the physical environment and the visual observation. Both of which may be dynamic. That is why dynamic fixation serves the task of prescribing a reference point in the world. Dynamic fixation is the function of extra ocular muscles. A slow time on dynamic fixation, therefore, may indicate a pre-disposition to dyslexia. A behavior optometrist may be consulted to rule out the visual related problems before a diagnosis of dyslexia is made.

12. Children Eye Examination
Optometrists are schooled in the developmental (behavioral, functional or environmental) aspects of vision. Optometrists are more apt to use lenses, prisms and Vision Therapy to enhance and improve visual function. These interventions often improve children's academic and other abilities. Specially trained in pediatric optometry, a pediatric optometrist checks the child’s eyes in a holistic manner because vision is the global process. Seeing clearly on chart is only one part, which is also ineffective to assess a child’s vision. Special charts and tools are needed for the purpose and the pediatric optometrist is specially trained in the use and application of the same.

13. Optometrists and Vision Therapy
The popular saying – glasses solve only a part of the problem. If provided with vision therapy, the problem related to vision and visual system will be no more. Vision therapy is vision training procedure for the eyes and brain and is a highly effective non-surgical treatment for most of the common visual problems such as lazy eye, squint eyes, double vision, convergence insufficiency, accommodative insufficiency and some reading and learning disabilities. An optometrist trained in vision therapy can treat most of the above problems to enable an individual to treat his symptoms.

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The Holistic Approach to Eye Care System
The holistic approach to the entire eye care system establishes the well defined role of three distinct professionals. They are Opticians, Optometrists and Ophthalmologists

Opticians are the eye care professionals who make, adjust, verify and deliver eye glasses and other fabricated optical devices, upon the prescription to the intended wearer. The prescription which they follow is served by another group of professionals known as Optometrists and Ophthalmologists. They are trained to grind and fabricate ophthalmic lenses and to select a suitable eye glass for his lifestyle. Some states provide regulations to license opticians in the form of certified training.

Optometrists are the primary health care provider. They are the trained professionals with certified degree and are the first contact for any symptoms of eye and vision related problem. They specialize in the examination and diagnosis of various eye ailments, prescribe glasses, fit contact lenses and also specialize in low vision practice or vision therapy. They do not perform surgery but can co-manage a patient before and after surgery together with Ophthalmologists. Becoming an Optometrist usually takes 4 years of professional degree course.

Ophthalmologists are the Doctor of Medicine and are primary and secondary eye care provider. They can prescribe medicine to treat eye diseases and perform surgery. Only a MBBS graduate can opt for this course as his post graduate study and can specialize as an Ophthalmologist.

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