Trainees archive for 2021
Innovation update: key advances in eyecare transformation in the last year
Vishal Shah and his co-authors reflect on examples of innovation in eyecare delivery published in the last year and the implications for the future of eyecare services. The “new normal” is an overused phrase to describe extraordinary measures that have...
The power of the full blood count
Vishal Shah walks us through his thought process whilst highlighting the importance of routine investigations when dealing with unusual retinovascular presentations. Retinal changes can arise in anaemia, leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloproliferative and myelodysplastic syndrome. They are often the first manifestation of...
Ophthalmology specialty training applications: a costly affair?
Ophthalmology is one of the most competitive specialties to pursue training in worldwide. In the United Kingdom, the ST1 entry national selection competition ratio for the past few years has ranged between four to five applicants per post [1]. The...
The Duke-Elder exam: A medical student’s head start into ophthalmology
The Duke-Elder exam is a specialist ophthalmology exam intended for medical students to sit during medical school. It is named after Sir Stewart Duke-Elder, a pioneering Scottish ophthalmologist who was active in the first half of the 20th Century by...
“Beware of the pigment”
Using some captivating artwork, Iheukwumere Duru describes key features of pigment dispersion syndrome. Pigmentary dispersion syndrome (PDS) leads to pigmentary glaucoma (PG) in approximately 35-50% of patients with the condition [1]. PG is the leading cause of non-traumatic blindness in...
Sustainability in eyecare: Are virtual clinics the way forward in the diagnosis and monitoring of retinal disease?
Virtual clinics can be used successfully in screening and management of ocular conditions such as diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity and age-related macular degeneration. Virtual clinics should be a considered as a more clinically appropriate modality of consultation, diagnosis and...
Digital eyecare – enabling better communication between primary and secondary care
Alexander Chiu and his co-authors highlight innovations influencing healthcare advancement and how trainees can get involved. Hospital eye services (HES) were under great pressure to meet demand, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. This pressure has increased with the cancellation and...
Should it be a mandatory requirement for medical students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to attend clinical attachments?
The vast majority of medical students have positive attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine for themselves and patients, however, what about the small inevitable minority who resist it? Should they be prevented from attending clinical attachments in the NHS? It is...
Proning and the pandemic - ocular complications seen in critical care
Priyanka Sanghi and her co-authors explore the ocular complications seen in critical care units throughout the country as we treat patients through this challenging time. The SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has placed the NHS and critical care services under immense strain,...
Understanding vasoproliferative retinal tumours
Syed Irtiza Ali Shah explores this rare and unusual condition through a fascinating case presentation. Vasoproliferative tumours of the retina (VPTR) are a vascular mass with an associated exudative retinopathy alongside the presence of minimally dilated feeder vessels. This is...
The adverse effects of COVID-19 on undergraduate ophthalmology education: An opportunity to reform ophthalmology training
The steady erosion of undergraduate ophthalmology teaching, which has been acutely exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis, has led to a lack of basic ophthalmology examining skills and knowledge amongst clinicians of other specialities. Concurrently, there has been a rise in...
