2016_SUNY_Optometry_PRR

These data were presented and analyzed at meetings of the IRPC, President’s and Dean’s Council and Curriculum Committee. In 2014 ‐ 15, the Curriculum Committee developed and passed a detailed proposal to address the shortcomings of clinical medicine education. This proposal consolidates much of the clinical medicine didactic instruction into a single instructional unit that consists of lectures and laboratories ( Appendix 5.17 ). The proposal was approved by the Office of Academic Affairs and instituted in the 2015 ‐ 16 academic year as a course entitled Clinical Medicine. It is taught in the second year of the curriculum and consists of 18 hours of lecture and 10 hours of lab. The topics covered are taught by several instructors including ODs, MDs, DOs, and NPs and involve discussion of interprofessional interactions and collaborative practice. Exit surveys and NBEO performance will continue to be monitored to assess the effectiveness of this intervention. Electives in the Professional Degree Program In response to student requests and the desire to provide more opportunity for students to customize their professional degree education by adding material that they find particularly interesting and valuable to them, after several years of planning we implemented an elective program in AY 2013 ‐ 14. The electives provide opportunity for deeper treatments of special topics in small group environments and may contain both didactic and clinical training opportunities. The College continues to assess student interest periodically and expands its elective course offerings accordingly. Expansion of the Fourth ‐ Year Externship Program Since at least 1995, fourth ‐ year optometry students have typically participated in up to two off ‐ campus clinical rotations as part of the externship program. As part of the planning process for the increased student enrollment that commenced in 2012, the College analyzed patient flow at its on ‐ campus clinic, the University Eye Center (UEC), and determined that the increased enrollment could potentially reduce the number of patients seen by students rotating through the UEC. Student exit surveys indicated strong student satisfaction with the externship program, and the number of patients seen by students at these sites was high as tracked by the Meditrek system used for this purpose. These results helped inform the College’s decision to increase the number of external rotations from two to three during the 2014 – 2015 academic year. The exit survey conducted in 2014  ‐ 2015 showed continued strong student satisfaction with the externship program, and the number of student ‐ patient encounters at these sites remained high. Examples of Use of Assessment to Improve Student Learning in the Residency Program (Post ‐ doctoral Clinical Education)  As the result of a recommendation for the West Point Military Academy residency program by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education, the specialized accreditor of optometric residency programs, additional advanced clinical opportunities based at the University Eye Center were added.  Due to an assessment of the Friday didactic program, which indicated an interest in increased exposure to private practice, several of the Friday programs are now scheduled to be held in private practices.

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