OPTOM 520A/B : Advanced Clinical Optometry 2
Medical and Health Sciences
2024 Semester One (1243) / Semester Two (1245) (30 POINTS)
Course Prescription
Course Overview
Course Requirements
Capabilities Developed in this Course
| Capability 1: | People and Place |
| Capability 2: | Sustainability |
| Capability 3: | Knowledge and Practice |
| Capability 4: | Critical Thinking |
| Capability 5: | Solution Seeking |
| Capability 6: | Communication |
| Capability 7: | Collaboration |
| Capability 8: | Ethics and Professionalism |
Learning Outcomes
- Apply appropriate and efficient clinical techniques, and discuss the accuracy of the clinical findings based on clinical reasoning and evidence based research. (Capability 3, 4, 6 and 7)
- Perform competent sub-specialty optometric exams and identify when referral to tertiary care is required. (Capability 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8)
- Explain clinical reasoning and evidence based research behind selecting the diagnosis from the differential diagnoses for specialty optometry examinations (Capability 3, 4, 5 and 8)
- Create effective management plans based on clinical reasoning and evidence based research for specialty optometry examinations. (Capability 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8)
- Deconstruct patient cases/records and debate (using clinical reasoning and evidence based research), the differential diagnosis, diagnosis, management and patient advice. (Capability 3, 4, 5 and 6)
- Demonstrate excellent patient and inter-professional communication skills. (Capability 1, 6, 7 and 8)
- Demonstrate reasoned sensitive and professional ethics to your practice of Optometry. (Capability 1, 2, 6, 7 and 8)
- Apply cultural awareness and equity guidelines for all patient and professional encounters. (Capability 1, 2, 6, 7 and 8)
- Critique specialty clinical optometry encounters and apply self-reflection. (Capability 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8)
- Apply the change in thinking and new concepts revealed in self-reflection to future clinical optometric encounters. (Capability 1, 2, 3 and 4)
Assessments
| Assessment Type | Percentage | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework- speciality clinic | 14% | Individual Coursework |
| Coursework- case report/presentation | 24% | Individual Coursework |
| Test | 20% | Individual Coursework |
| Test | 30% | Individual Coursework |
| Quizzes | 2% | Individual Coursework |
| Coursework-online patient analyses | 10% | Individual Coursework |
| 6 types | 100% |
| Assessment Type | Learning Outcome Addressed | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| Coursework- speciality clinic | ||||||||||
| Coursework- case report/presentation | ||||||||||
| Test | ||||||||||
| Test | ||||||||||
| Quizzes | ||||||||||
| Coursework-online patient analyses | ||||||||||
Workload Expectations
For this course, you can expect 7 hours of lectures, 20 hours of tutorials, 150 hours of clinical practice, 40 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 40 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.
Delivery Mode
Campus Experience
Attendance is required at scheduled activities including tutorials/workshops/presentations/clinics to complete components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including case presentations/clinics/tutorials/workshops will not be available as recordings.
The course may include blended learning components such as online tutorials and online case presentations.
Attendance on campus is required for the tests.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.
Learning Resources
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
Student Feedback
At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.
Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.
Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.
Here’s what you said you liked about the course:
Overall 80% were satisfied with the quality of the course.
Students reported:
• The highly research based nature of the case reports and presentations was helpful and the ideal amount to keep up involved in the paper.
• Canvas resources, case presentations were helpful for learning.
Here’s what you said you would like to see improved:
1. More support from contact lenses if people do not have a case.
2. Content heavy.
3. That reflections are not graded as they as personal thoughts and feelings.
4. Not getting individualised feedback on our tests.
These are the changes I/we will make for the next delivery of the course:
1. Investigate why some students may not have seen a patient with a contact lenses fit during their 4.5 clinic, externship or in the Optometry clinic before the due date. Investigate possible alternatives such as old patient files to be used for students not having a contact lenses case.
2. This final year does involve putting the knowledge base and theory gained and assessed in the year before into the various specialty clinics. Also encompassing putting theory into practice with online case analyses and quizzes, doing your own case analyses and presenting and seeing patients in specialty clinics. To meet the Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand to practice Optometry, graduates must be competent in all of the specialty areas and unfortunately as there are quite a few specialties it does make the content heavy. For next year we will investigate moving some of the online case analysis start dates earlier so that they could be completed from the workshop week. The online case analyses and quizzes can already be completed within a 2-3 week period.
The workshop week has already been moved to the week before the semester starts to reduce the workload and to facilitate revision and learning in the different specialties.
3. Self reflection is a skill required over an Optometrists lifetime and required to practice as an Optometrist. Self reflections are required when submitting continuing professional development points to apply for your annual practicing certificate to legally practice Optometry. The Optometry and Dispensing board requires a submission of at least 50 words on each professional development activity and advises that reflections should consider whether this activity would influence or improve your practice, has it increased your understanding on the subject and was it relevant to your own professional development?
At next year’s course orientation, the purpose of self-reflection and the requirement of it to practice as an Optometrist will be highlighted as well as the explanation of self-reflection and an example of what is expected in the self-reflection component of the assignment.
Details on self-reflection and an example are given on the learning outcomes and reflection to assessment page on CANVAS as shown below:
Self-Reflection is a skill that enhances self-development and up-skilling as a person and Optometrist over one’s lifetime. It involves thinking about one’s previous encounter, analysing the strengths and weaknesses, finding out more information on the strengths/weaknesses of the encounter (why that happened, why that worked well) and creating new ideas and concepts for how to deal with a similar situation in the future.
Example of self-reflection, applying change in thinking and new concepts to future clinical Optometric encounters: I learnt that many patients don’t consider lighting an essential aid to help them with their goals. Although this patient’s visual acuity didn’t improve with lighting, she felt more comfortable when a 14 Watt LED , 1400 Lumen task light was on. On reflection, the patient would have likely gone from reading at just threshold to reading more comfortably and for longer, as fluency (2x ER) would have been achieved with the LED task light on. For this patient and for future patients, I should test their fluency with lighting and emphasis they use their task light to solve their goals. Also on reflection I could have emphasized that this patient upgrade all her house light bulbs to 14 Watt LEDs to prevent falls and hospital visits.
4. Due to the copyright of the images in the semester one test, the general feedback for each of the specialty weaknesses is posted afterwards. The marks given are broken down into each specialty so students can see which specialty areas they are weaker or stronger in.
Academic Integrity
The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.
Class Representatives
Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.
Inclusive Learning
All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.
Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz
Special Circumstances
If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.
If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.
This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.
Learning Continuity
In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.
The delivery mode may change depending on COVID restrictions. Any changes will be communicated through Canvas.
Student Charter and Responsibilities
The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.
Disclaimer
Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.
In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.