The spotter test is an assessment that has been used widely to test practical knowledge of anatomy. Traditional spotter formats often focus solely on knowledge recall, in addition to being an onerous marking burden on staff where consistency in marking free text responses can be questioned. First-year optometry students at the University of…

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…

This article presents a critical review of the literature surrounding the potential impact of undiagnosed and untreated vision impairment on reading development in the early years of primary school. Despite pre-school screening programmes, it is still possible for children to enter school with undiagnosed, uncorrected vision impairments. This can…

Students enrolled in the Optometry program at the University of Manchester are required to take a functional anatomy course during the first year of their studies. Low mean scores in the written examination of this unit for the past two academic years energized staff to rethink the teaching format. Interactive sessions lasting 20 minutes each were…

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…