Pupillary Pathways

With the continued growing popularity for surgical options to correct one’s refractive error, you are likely to encounter patients that will ask you if LASIK surgery is a good option for them on a daily basis.

In order to properly answer this question, careful patient history, evaluation, and discussion are essential pieces of determining a patient’s candidacy for LASIK surgery.

Mark E. Wilkinson, OD wrote an article that appeared on Review of Optometry called "Sharpen your Subjective Refraction Technique". This article has some great advice on maximizing efficiency and accuracy, and on minimizing common mistakes that can slow you down through you off during your refractions.

On Monday we reviewed the most important concepts associated with prostaglandin analogs and beta-blockers.

Today we will continue on with reviewing the mechanisms of action, dosages, side effects, contraindications, and preparations of topical alpha-2 agonists, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, miotics, and combination medications. 

Last week I attended a continuing education course in which we reviewed several difficult glaucoma patient cases. These were all patients with moderate to advanced glaucoma who showed progression and the subsequent need for adjustment of their current glaucoma treatment plans.

Additionally, most of these patients also presented with complicated medical histories, had allergies to certain classes of medications, responded poorly or ineffectively to prior topical glaucoma treatments, and had difficulties with compliance when multiple medications were needed. 

With NBEO Part I fast approaching, we want to ensure that you are completely prepared for what to expect during the ABS (Applied Basic Science) exam so that there aren’t any surprises come testing day!

We want you to know what to expect on NBEO Exam Day!

You’ve registered for the Optometry Residency Match (ORMatch), sent in all of your application materials to residency coordinators, interviewed at residency sites, and now comes the HARDEST part of the entire process, submitting your ORMatch Rank Order List!

This part can be extremely stressful as it determines the next pathway that you will take in your optometric career. 

Where you end up for your residency year is a huge stepping stone that will help you determine where you want to practice, what type of setting you will practice in, and which specialty that you will focus on within the profession. 

We are all very aware that light is made up of electromagnetic particles that travel in waves. These waves emit different amounts of energy depending on the length of the wave. Shorter wavelengths emit higher amounts of energy, while longer wavelengths emit less energy.

Each wavelength is represented by a different color and is grouped into a certain category based on its range of wavelengths. These categories include gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet (UV) rays, visible light, infrared light, and radio waves. All of these groups combined make up the electromagnetic spectrum. 

Are you finding yourself feeling overwhelmed by the length of the NBEO and the amount of knowledge you’ll be tested on for the upcoming Part 1 exam?

Does test anxiety tend to keep you from achieving the results that reflect how much effort you put into your studies? We all know that the best way to improve your chances of success is to study carefully and fully understand the material; however, even well-prepared students can make silly mistakes on a multiple-choice exam, or can fall prey to distractors that appear very similar to the correct answer.  

 As I’m sure you have all seen in your clinical rotations, meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is an extremely common condition found in many of our patients. Meibomian glands play an important role in the health of the ocular surface by secreting lipid and proteins into the tears, thus preventing evaporation of the tear film.

Dysfunction of these glands will compromise the natural balance of the tear film, often resulting in signs and symptoms associated with evaporative dry eye. 

Just the thought of interviewing for residency positions can bring on a lot of stress and anxiety. Optometry residency programs have become very competitive as there are typically many students interviewing for only a few open positions at each site; some residency programs even only accept one student each year. Additionally, every year there are typically several optometry students who don’t match with any residency site. Also, is an Optometry residency right for you?