Pupillary Pathways

2015 has been nothing short of exciting and eventful for the optometry community! These 5 stories were some of the most buzzed-about topics relating to our profession this year. 

As you begin preparing your holiday dinner menus, make sure to add in a few foods that are rich in nutrients that keep your eyes and body healthy!

Get the most out of what you eat by choosing a variety of colorful produce that has a plentiful amount of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, and try to stay away from certain foods that are are full of saturated fats and sugar (even though that can be difficult this time of year!).

We’ve put together a list of the top 10 foods that you should attempt to incorporate into your holiday meals for healthy eyes:

Dr. Brooke Messer, OD, FSLS received her doctor of optometry degree from Southern California College of Optometry, and subsequently went on to specialize in Cornea and Specialty Contact Lenses by completing a one year residency.

She is a highly trained optometrist in fitting specialty contact lenses for keratoconus, post surgical corneas, and other corneal diseases, as well as multifocal contact lenses, orthokeratology contact lenses for myopia control and pediatric contact lenses.

Dr. Messer has authored articles for publications such as Contact Lens Spectrum and Review of Optometry, and enjoys teaching other doctors complex contact lens fitting techniques in classroom and clinical settings.

Dr. Messer is a member of the American Academy of Optometry, Scleral Lens Education Society and the Contact Lens Society of America.

You’ve made the decision to apply for a residency, now you need to take the following steps to ensure that you are registered for the match, you apply to each program you are interested in, and that you have all of the materials necessary to send to each residency coordinator. 

Regardless of the training you will receive in optometry school, the fainting of a patient is a very stressful situation for the doctor, patient, technician, and anyone else involved.

These are often unpredictable occurrences, but by simply understanding the warning signs of an impending vasovagal episode, knowing preventative measures that can be taken, and reviewing the necessary steps that should be taken if a patient does faint will help you to safely and confidently handle the situation when it occurs.

Because if it hasn’t already, it will. Likely many times throughout your career as an optometrist. 

You’ve been studying hard over the past few months to prepare for this test, you’ve had many late nights trying to juggle study time and your clinic schedule, an you’ve sacrificed spending time with your friends and family, all to make sure you are fully ready for this big day. And you are! You are smart. You are prepared. And you will do great! 

We’ve put together a few tips for you to keep you on top of your game come test day, help you manage the inevitable stress and nervousness that will ensue, and to increase your chances of successfully passing the NBEO Part 2. Good luck!

You’ve just finished a nice big plate of juicy turkey, flavorful stuffing, creamy mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet homemade cranberry sauce, and deliciously spiced pumpkin pie, all washed down with a hearty glass of Pinot Noir.

As you are helping your mother clean up the kitchen, while continuing to engage in conversation with your aunts and uncles you haven’t seen in a while, you start to feel a bit sleepy. Your cousin makes a joke about how everyone is about to fall into a food coma because of all the tryptophan that was eaten, but you let him know that this is a myth. Other family members side with him because that’s something that they have heard for years. 

So who is correct? Is the tryptophan on thanksgiving in the turkey really to blame for tiredness after dinner? Is there truth to the tryptophan theory, or is it really a myth?

With NBEO Part II fast approaching, we want to ensure that you are completely prepared for what to expect during the PAM (Patient Assessment and Management) exam so that there aren’t any surprises come testing day!

Where/When to Report

All candidates will receive a verification email from Pearson VUE indicating the date, time, and location of their examination. The Part II exam is offered to each student on one of two dates, either December 1st, 2015 or December 3rd, 2015. The starting time for the exam will vary depending on the appointment you have scheduled with Pearson VUE. Each candidate should arrive to the exam center 30 minutes prior to their scheduled appointment to allow adequate time for the check-in procedures. Candidates who arrive more than 15 minutes after their scheduled appointment times will be denied admission and are not eligible for a refund of the exam fee. 

Over the last twenty years, the delivery of healthcare has changed significantly in many ways: from the conversations doctors have with their patients in the exam room, to how information is exchanged and delivered, and to how insurance companies have placed more of a financial burden on the patient. As a result, both healthcare providers and patients alike have had to learn how to adjust to these changing times.

Fortunately, these changing times also bring about significant improvements in the way we deliver healthcare. As optometrists, we specialize in the delivery of eye care. Like other healthcare specialties, our industry has seen much advancement in technology that allows us to provide a significantly higher level of care to our patients. We now have tools to help evaluate the eye in more detail, with more accuracy, and with more confidence to detect diseases than ever before.  

Last Thursday night sparked an unexpected controversy for colorblind fans of the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets football teams as they were unable to distinguish between the all-red and all-green team uniforms.

The Color Rush campaign is an initiative by the NFL (and designed by Nike) that “combines current and historic uniform colors and designs into one new uniform, honoring the franchise and energizing the fan base.” The NFL is piloting this new idea for four games this season and plans on unveiling the full line up for all teams in 2016. 

Photo Credit:  AP Photo/Seth Wenig