Case study - UCLan Ophthalmic Dispensing Portfolio
| Title of case study/example of best practice: | UCLan Ophthalmic Dispensing Portfolio |
Lead Author(s):
| Peter Black, Haleema Younas |
| Co-authors: | N/A |
| University: | University of Central Lancashire |
| Details of the activity undertaken | |
| UCLan promotes inter-professional development between ophthalmic dispensing and optometry students. Ophthalmic dispensing students act as patients for eye examinations and contact lens fitting. Ophthalmic dispensing students learn the underpinning theoretical knowledge relating to optometric practice which is formatively assessed in discussions immediately prior to their appointment exploring what constitutes an eye examination and how optometrists decide which tests to do / not do. Ophthalmic dispensing students ask questions from an informed standpoint that can be challenging for optometry students to answer, testing their communication skills. Afterwards ophthalmic dispensing students reflect on their expectations and experiences as a group. This feedback is collated and delivered later to the optometry students. | |
| Impact of the activity | |
Ophthalmic dispensing students reflected that as patients, when they compared their experiences, they felt that inconsistent procedures were applied, and some felt that they did not receive as thorough an eye examination as others. Whilst optometry students were able to justify what was clinically necessary based on age and clinical risk profile, they became aware that in the real-world patients do compare experiences and this can lead to difficulties if, for example, a previous practice routinely screened for pressures and fields, whereas another practice only conducted these investigations in response to patient history or clinical signs.
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| This case study relates to the following GOC outcomes: | |
Outcome 1. Person Centred Care ☒ Outcome 2. Communication ☒ Outcome 3. Clinical Care ☐ Outcome 4. Ethics and Standards ☐ Outcome 5. Risk ☐ Outcome 6. Leadership and Management ☐ Outcome 7. Lifelong Learning☐ | |