2016_SUNY_Optometry_PRR

o Apps for smartphones and other electronic devices o Dedicated electronic devices  Recommend appropriate non ‐ optical aids, such as typoscopes, appropriate lighting and glare reduction  Make specific recommendations regarding factors that impact upon ambulation and fall prevention, including lighting  Provide rehabilitation (optical and non ‐ optical) for limited visual field loss  Perform a distance refraction, including a trial frame refraction, and determine whether consultation for distance vision low vision services is warranted  Assess vision for legal purposes o Driving standards o Legal blindness  Provide counseling regarding vision loss o Recognize the need for mental health services and make an appropriate referral o Recognize the need for specialized services (e.g., orientation and mobility, social work, specialized low vision) and make an appropriate referral  Bill and code for low vision services The prescription of telescopes, particularly for distance, is generally not considered to fall within primary care practice. The graduating optometrist should, nonetheless, have a basic understanding of various types of telescopes and how they can be used by patients. Additional guidance on low vision learning objectives may be found in the document Entry Level Competencies and Learning Objectives in Visual Impairment and Low Vision Rehabilitation , which was developed by the ASCO Low Vision Educators SIG. This document may be found at http://www.opted.org/files/EntryLevelCompetencies_LowVision.pdf. Recommendation It is recommended that at least 12.5 consolidated lecture hours and 5 lab hours be devoted to low vision. 1 Inclusion of this material within the curriculum should not result in an increase in the number of curricular hours of instruction. To ensure that students receive an integrated approach to this clinical discipline, instruction should not be spread across courses or semesters. While a broad overview should be provided, the emphasis must be on primary care aspects of low vision, particularly near vision. Keeping in mind the low vision curricular learning objectives, the following should be covered:

Lecture (12.5 hrs)

1 The number of hours to be included in this curriculum was determined by assigning a time value to each topic. The sums of these values were 12.5 hours of lecture and 5.0 hours of laboratory. The worksheet used to arrive at these values is included as Appendix A . This appendix is intended to be neither prescriptive nor limiting, but to serve as background material.

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