In view of popular press coverage of controversial approaches to treating learning disabilities, the article briefly reviews evidence concerning the following: neurophysiological retraining (patterning, optometric visual training, cerebellar-vestibular remediation, and applied kinesiology); and orthomolecular medicine (concerning megavitamins,…

A curriculum model for various schools and colleges to use in assessing the scope of their individual pharmacology programs is presented. The Council on Academic Affairs of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry prepared this model because of modifications in state laws to allow the use of pharmaceutical agents in the practice of…

A mechanism for using personal computer spreadsheet software to generate unique laboratory and problem assignments in optics for each student and provide corresponding solutions that can be checked quickly is described. The method minimizes some students' tendency to inspect others' solutions without solving problems themselves. Another…

Guidelines for proposed residencies in optometry are presented for pediatric, rehabilitative, and hospital optometry. Their significance in terms of costs, patient population, faculty expertise, and critical mass are discussed. (JMF)

Considerations to be made in designing an optometry curriculum for treating patients with eye diseases are reviewed, including the scope of practice and specific areas of instruction in the biomedical, basic vision, and clinical vision sciences. (MSE)

The role of optometry in the study of learning difficulties and the problems of interpreting research results in the fields of optometry and ophthalmology are discussed. Limitations of school visual screening are described, and it is suggested that many children with learning difficulties should be referred for a full clinical visual examination.…

Optometry educators can be assisted in making complex concepts understandable to students by using rhetorical devices such as metaphors, similes, analogies, parables, and allegories. As an example, the difficulties in communicating everyday but complex clinical concepts regarding inflammatory disorders are discussed and use of rhetorical devices…

Directors of clinics in 16 optometry schools and colleges were surveyed concerning cardiopulmonary resuscitation certification requirements for faculty, student clinicians, and nonprofessional staff. Only half the respondents required students to be certified, one-fourth required faculty to be certified, and none required certification of other…

Methods for reevaluating student admission, clinical preparation, and clinical performance evaluation in optometric education are suggested. (MSE)

A pediatric optometry clinic teaches students how to provide appropriate services for school-aged children who present, because of reduced visual acuity, unstable binocularity and perceptual skill disorders, and teaches about half the students the fundamentals of care of preschool children and strabismics. (Author/MSE)

The use of standardized course syllabi and behavioral objectives requires the commitment and acceptance of faculty and administrators, but it can also help schools of optometry establish standards for evaluating students and improving instructional quality. Classroom, laboratory, and clinical instruction all lend themselves to writing clear…

Described are several experiments, for a course in geometrical optics or for a college physics laboratory, which have a bearing on ophthalmic optics. Experiments include the single thin prism, crossed prisms, and the prismatic power of a lens. (Author/DS)

An outline for a professional development and administration course in an optometry curriculum model is provided. It is designed to develop organizational, communicative, and management skills so the optometrist can become successful in the development and administration of a professional practice. Legal and professional development bibliographies…

Two aspects of optometric preceptorships (off-campus field experience supervision programs) are discussed: the process of defining goals (long-term, specific learning, and general attitudinal and value); and the process of developing the program (initiation, site selection, preceptor selection and recruitment, participant selection, program…

The hardware used in microcomputer/videodisk systems and the applications of videodisk technology to developing and using educational modules in optometric education are outlined and discussed. (MSE)