Annual health checks for people with learning disabilities are a concept that was introduced by the Government in 2001 as a catalyst to improve access to health services and identify health needs that have previously gone undetected. Nonetheless, to date, there has been little evidence of the effectiveness of these health checks. This study seeks…

We explored mediating concepts that affect clinical novices shifting between their talk "with" patients in eye examinations and their talk "about" patients in case presentations (nCPs). In a Canadian optometry teaching clinic, patient "chief concern or request", "illness experience", and…

The eyes are the most complex organs in the body. Children's eyes are still developing until they are around 8-9 years old; therefore it is important to check that they are working properly before it is too late to rectify any problems. So how do they work, and why do they sometimes go wrong? In this article, the author explains children's eye…

Vision of 116 students, ages 6-19, with Down syndrome in the Brisbane (Australia) area was screened. Non-cycloplegic retinoscopy successfully assessed all the students for refractive error. Of the 99 children in special schools, about half did not show significant refractive error but 30 percent were farsighted, 14 percent nearsighted, and 21…

A task force of opticians and educators in British Columbia was assembled to determine the knowledge and skills required of dispensing opticians and contact lens specialists. The ideas generated by the task force were analyzed and distilled into the standardized tasks listed in this document, using Krathwohl's taxonomy. The document contains 36…