This resource guide provides a basic orientation to outcomes assessment for optometric educators and provides resource tools that may be useful in an assessment program. (EV)

Outlines eight steps that will help optometry schools transition a faculty from "denial" of the need for assessment to "institutionalization": establish a collaborative environment, establish an infrastructure that makes assessment an integral activity, recruit a leader for full implementation of outcomes assessment, conduct a needs assessment,…

An interview with the new president of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry, John Schoessler, considers issues the president wishes to focus on during his presidency, changes in optometry students over the years, people who influenced his educational ideas, and research currently being conducted at Ohio State University College of…

A summary of Part II of a two-volume study of optometry graduates conducted by the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry is presented. Part II includes the analysis of the graduates' licensure and practice establishment experiences. (MLW)

The organization, history, and goals of the Association of Optometric Educators are highlighted. (JMF)

A survey of the academic officers of optometric institutions suggests that outcomes assessment varies substantially across programs in the areas of curriculum, scholarship and research, faculty, administration, and facilities. (EV)

Describes the external optometric education program at the Sidney Hillman Health Centre (Chicago, Illinois). Discusses the history of the clinic, its administrative and educational philosophy, and its affiliation with two prominent hospitals and the Illinois College of Optometry. (DB)

A study comparing the medically relevant educational requirements of the University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry to that of the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry finds that the curriculums are generally equivalent, supporting the argument for an expanded scope of optometric practice. (EV)

The simulation of the running of an optometric office through the use of computers is described. The addition of class speakers, visits to optometric practices, and instruction in elementary aspects of the use of computers in office settings has been well received by the students. (MLW)

A list of optometric research activities of the University of Waterloo School of Optometry are provided to inform educators and researchers of their activities and to encourage interaction with others with similar interests. Bibliographic information is given. The scope ranges fron single-cell recording to continuing education in optometry.…

Because a number of vision conditions have psychological components and some psychological conditions may be complicated by vision difficulties, interdisciplinary cooperation between clinical psychology and optometry should prove fruitful for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of health problems. (EVL)

Some insights from cognitive science that can be applied to professional education, particularly those relating to sources of dissonance in the traditional, linear educational model, are examined. They concern primarily the availability of information for clinical thinking and problem solving. Curricular structures facilitating implementation of…

Reports data from three consecutive classes of first- year optometry students at the Southern California College of Optometry, who were tested preceding and following completion of a patient communication course. Findings indicated that students improved their ability to respond to patients and were better able to discriminate among various levels…

A five-year evaluation of the admissions decision process at the University of Waterloo (Ontario) School of Optometry found that when primary tools (i.e., university grades, Optometry Admission Test scores) did not differentiate candidates, there was an increased emphasis on secondary tools (i.e., interview, autobiographic sketch, prerequisite…

A simulation of the decreased visual acuity of individuals with amblyopia is used in one optometry program to help students understand how amblyopia patients see. Students act as patient, then as doctor, proceeding through clinical diagnosis. (MSE)