MSCHE/ACOE Self Study

The first-year integrative seminar includes clinical observations in the University Eye Center (UEC) followed by discussions in which students link observed cases to basic science principles. Students participate in vision screenings in the spring semester. During second-year integrative seminar, students participate in vision screenings and act as scribes to more senior students in the UEC. After a student has successfully completed certain requirements for the second-year spring-semester Optometric Theory and Procedures course, including a comprehensive clinical practical examination (Strategic Plan Goal 1.2), he/she is assigned patients in the UEC. This generally occurs in the middle of the spring semester. The second-year integrative seminar discussions place greater stress on problem solving and case presentation while continuing to encourage linkage to underlying basic science concepts. Patient communication is emphasized by having UEC patients participate with students in small group settings to allow students to work on interviewing skills. Students also perform practice exams on each other which are recorded and discussed within groups. In the third-year integrative seminar, which is scheduled on the same day that students are assigned to clinic, students present and analyze their cases with the faculty who supervised them on the cases. Students are required to make a presentation on a topic of interest that incorporates basic and clinical science information. In their fourth year, students participate in Senior Seminar, which is structured as a highly interactive, evidence-based grand rounds approach to clinical education. It consists of presentations of current clinical research topics, case discussions and clinical presentations of cases managed by the students. It is offered during one quarter of the senior year during one of two in-house clinical rotations and consists of a one-hour pre-clinic discussion and a post-clinic 3 hour grand rounds. Each week, a current clinical topic of interest at the forefront of clinical research is introduced and discussed. Students are expected to consult and critically analyze peer reviewed publications during class discussions, clinical presentations, and case analysis. Part I of the standardized national examination administered by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) tests student knowledge of the physical, biological and behavioral sciences. SUNY College of Optometry students have consistently performed above the national average on this examination, which is discussed in more detail on page 36. 2.7. Clinical instruction and practice consists of didactic, laboratory, and supervised clinical experience in the examination, diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients. With the establishment of the new curriculum, early direct clinical experience has increased while at the same time there has been a heightened emphasis on teaching students to integrate what is being learned in the basic sciences classroom with what is seen in the clinic and to develop critical thinking and life- long learning skills (Strategic Plan Goal 1.3). Clinical experiences begin in the fall

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