OPB656 Assessment of Vision 6

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

This unit provides the theory and practical skills knowledge in the use of advanced clinical techniques used in eye examinations to assess ocular health (slit-lamp biomicroscopy, ophthalmoscopy, tonometry, gonioscopy) and visual function (visual fields).  It introduces the theory guiding these techniques, and develops the procedural and communication skills required to accurately, efficiently and safely perform these techniques. The unit develops your skills in the recording and interpretation of the clinical data obtained from these techniques to inform patient advice and management.  The ability to accurately, efficiently and safely perform these clinical techniques in eye examinations is a requirement for clinical practice, forming the basis for assessment and management of patients in optometry practice.  This unit builds on the clinical techniques developed in OPB556 Assessment of Vision 5, and will be further developed during the clinical units in OP85 Master of Optometry.

This is a designated unit which is essential to your course progression. Designated units include professional experience units, units requiring the development of particular skills, and units requiring demonstration of certain personal qualities. If you fail to achieve a satisfactory level of performance in a designated unit, you may be excluded from enrolment or will be put on academic probation. If you fail a designated unit twice within your course, you may be excluded. Supplementary assessment is not available on designated units.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Explain the concepts and principles that underpin the clinical techniques for assessing visual function and ocular health;
2. Demonstrate the necessary procedural and communication skills to accurately, efficiently and safely perform the clinical techniques to assess visual function and ocular health on fellow students;
3. Record, interpret and integrate the clinical information obtained from the clinical techniques, to inform potential advice and management for patients with visual or ocular disorders.

Content

Learning Approaches

This unit is taught through online and live lectures, practical work, video demonstrations and case based examples. You will learn how to perform techniques in practical sessions conducted in a clinical environment, acting as both optometrist and patient during the sessions. The practical work is conducted in small groups in clinical settings, and the techniques learnt in this unit will be put into practice with patients in the Master of Optometry course. The unit's Canvas site includes study materials and activities to aid your learning.

The units further develops students towards achieving the Optometry Australia entry-level competency standards for Optometry (2014) in the competency units 2. Communication and patient history 3. Patient Examination, 4. Diagnosis and management and 5 Health Information Management and the appropriate competency performance criteria and indicators within the competency framework.

The unit requires students to demonstrate satisfactory performance of a range of clinical skills critical to the practice of optometry in order to progress through the course.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Formative Assessment
Formative assessment will include feedback on the development of your clinical and communication skills in clinical procedures through the practical sessions, and through discussion of examples of problem solving for clinical case based problems during lectures and case reports.

Assessment

Overview

There are 2 pieces of summative assessment in this unit.

Practical assessments will be authentic evaluation the acquisition of the skills needed to be an optometrist in practice and their integration into a standard clinical  exam. 

The written examination will be authentic assessment of students understanding of clinical procedures and their findings. 

Satisfactory performance in each of the assessment items is a condition for passing this unit. This means that at least 50% must be obtained on the end of semester examination and in the practical components for a passing grade to be awarded.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Clinical Skills Assessments

These will assess the necessary procedural and communication skills to accurately, efficiently and safely perform a series of clinical techniques.

Assessment: Examination (written)

This will include a range of questions pertaining to the theory and application of clinical procedures, and the solving of clinically related problems using case based examples.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Resource Materials

Recommended text(s)

Elliot, D.B. (2020). Clinical Procedures in Primary Eye Care.(5th.ed.) NY: Elsevier/Butterworth Heinemann.

Risk Assessment Statement

This unit will involve practice of clinical techniques on fellow students. High standards of hygiene and safe practices will be required. You will be informed of relevant Standard Operating Procedures of the School of Optometry and Vision Science as they pertain to this unit.

Standards/Competencies

This unit is designed to support your development of the following standards\competencies.

Entry-Level Competency Standards for Optometry 2014

1: Professional Responsibilities

1. 
   Relates to: Examination (written)

2: Communication and Patient History

1. 
   Relates to: Clinical Skills Assessments
2. 
   Relates to: Clinical Skills Assessments, Examination (written)

3: Patient Examination

1. 
   Relates to: Clinical Skills Assessments
2. 
   Relates to: Clinical Skills Assessments
3. 
   Relates to: Clinical Skills Assessments, Examination (written)
4. 
   Relates to: Clinical Skills Assessments, Examination (written)

4: Diagnosis and Management

1. 
   Relates to: Clinical Skills Assessments
2. 
   Relates to: Examination (written)
3. 
   Relates to: Clinical Skills Assessments, Examination (written)
4. 
   Relates to: Clinical Skills Assessments, Examination (written)

5: Health Information Management

1. 
   Relates to: Clinical Skills Assessments

Course Learning Outcomes

OP45 Bachelor of Vision Science

1. Theoretical knowledge in optometry and vision science, introductory clinical and technical skills
   Relates to: Examination (written)
2. Apply critical thinking and knowledge of vision science, ocular anatomy and clinical methods to generate solutions in clinical and scientific settings
   Relates to: Examination (written)
3. Apply clinical or technical skills to conduct a safe and effective assessment, data collection, experimental protocol
   Relates to: Clinical Skills Assessments