Optometry for Special Populations PG (10329.2)

Students completing this unit will consolidate their foundational knowledge in the competencies defined by the Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand (OCANZ) to a more complex level. Students will develop an advanced consideration of the anatomy, physiology and modelling of normal and abnormal eye movements, developmental aspects of infant and children's vision and investigation of congenital and acquired binocular eye movement disorders. The unit also explores the diagnosis and management of ocular and vision problems in the elderly including electronic, optical and non-optical low vision appliances. Examination procedures for contact lens practice, the optical principles of contact lenses and recent advances in contact lens design will also be covered.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Assess parameters for, and the fitting of, contact lenses in rigid, hybrid and soft materials (corneal, scleral, orthokeratology, keratoconic and therapeutic/prosthetic designs) demonstrating handling and infection control, with appropriate clinical reasoning and patient management;
2. Perform a complete binocular vision analysis using principles of differential diagnosis and understand methods of assessing developmental visual information processing;
3. Examine, diagnose and manage various binocular vision anomalies (associated with aniseikonia, non-strabismic, and strabismic patients), and common childhood ocular and systemic conditions;
4. Describe and demonstrate how to examine, diagnose and manage patients with age-related changes or vision impairment; understand prescription considerations and demonstrate how to train patients with the use of low-vision devices; and
5. Sequence and perform eye and vision patient examinations into an efficient and accurate clinical routine with appropriate case assessment.

Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
1. UC graduates are professional - work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate, and resolve conflict
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas

Prerequisites

None.

Corequisites

Must be enrolled in the Master of Optometry, 374JA.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.