Aim/Purpose: Digital health is increasingly being utilized in clinical practice given its ease of accessibility, but it lacks emphasis from universities and accreditation bodies. This study attempted to better understand the digital capabilities of optometry students. Background: With technological advancements transforming the Australian…

Academic motivation enables students to face challenges in their studies and is important for student performance. Academic self-concept refers to students' perceptions of their competencies and ability to learn. The goal of the study was to evaluate academic motivation and self-concept of undergraduate optometry students. We used a mixed methods…

Understanding orbital anatomy is important for optometry students, but the learning resources available are often fragile, expensive, and accessible only during scheduled classes. Drawing on a constructivist, personalized approach to learning, this study investigated students' perceptions of an alternative learning resource: a three-dimensional…

Among the faculty of Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee, it is perceived that optometry students often enter their clinical assignments with poor clinical judgment. To address this, "Understanding the Cranial Nerves"--an online-self paced instructional intervention of approximately two hours' duration--was developed. In…

The VARK learning style is a pedagogical focus in health care education. This study examines relationships of course performance vs. VARK learning preference, study time, and career plan among students enrolled in an undergraduate anatomy and physiology course at a large urban university. Students (n?=?492) from the fall semester course completed…

From 2003-2007 at the New England College of Optometry, the Integrative Seminar Course (ISC) was used to facilitate students' learning of clinical reasoning. To examine students' perceptions and experiences regarding their learning, an end-of-year Likert-style survey was administered to 96 first-year students after completion of the ISC. Analysis…

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…

A survey of second and third year students (n=1,092) at 16 optometric schools found 5.5 percent admitted to cheating in optometry school (and 13.9 percent admitted cheating in college), a finding similar to that found for medical students, whose self-reported cheating ranged from 4.7 percent to 10 percent. (Author/DB)

Team teaching can be successfully used in first-year optometry. Conditions for success include a strong coordinator, mutual respect and participation of team members, and agreement about course philosophy, goals, and objectives. If organized well, a team-taught course offers consistency and integrity of topical areas and conceptual continuity.…

The purposes of this study were to determine if (1) the attitudes of optometry students could be changed with structured experimental treatments; (2) any attitude change that did occur could be maintained over a short period of time; (3) differential treatment effects would occur due to different types of treatments. (Author/MLW)

Surveyed entering optometry students (n=404) and again during their fourth year (n=314) for knowledge about and attitudes toward HIV/AIDS. Analysis indicated significant improvement from pre- to post-test for general HIV/AIDS knowledge and optometric-specific HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudes. For universal precautions implementation, no change in…

A survey of second- and third-year students at two optometry schools investigated how many students bought required textbooks, utility of the book, prices students were willing to pay, feelings about book price in relation to tuition, and reasons for not buying the text. Class size was also considered. (MSE)

The study examined the effectiveness of the use of nonoptical tinted (Irlen) lenses with 44 children (ages 9-16) with reading disabilities. Evaluation after 6 and 12 months indicated a significant improvement in attitude to school and to basic academic skills. Reading comprehension and accuracy, but not rate, were also significantly improved.…

A study investigated the extent to which University of Missouri (St. Louis) optometry students' grades correlated with their evaluations of faculty over a period of five years. A small but statistically significant correlation was found. Other relationships and factors are also discussed. (MSE)

A Southern California orientation program involves a new optometry student immediately by having the student see an actual clinic patient in a college clinic. The program gives students a feeling of belonging to the profession and also demonstrates the relevance of basic and visual sciences to practice. (Author/MSE)