“There are continual improvements being made to university programs. Optometry at UNSW is no exception, with the recent addition of an introductory anatomy course in second year to help Optometry students understand systemic diseases affecting ocular health.

In recent years, there have been changes made to develop the curriculum including the restructuring of the first two years of the optometry degree. My personal experience with these changes was that during the first three semesters of my degree, my cohort had the opportunity to do Optics courses, as well as Physics and Introductory Anatomy.

Personally, I believe it’s much more valuable to start the very first semester of our Optometry degree engaging in learning Optometry-specific courses such as Optics, rather than introducing students to Optics in second semester and only learning core science subjects such as Chemistry for entire first semester. This is beneficial because it gives new optometry students an early insight into basic optometric concepts, such as the behaviour and properties of light and how it interacts with objects such as lenses. These key concepts provide a foundation for more advanced concepts studied later in the course such as Dispensing, Radiometry, Photometry and Colorimetry and Optics of Instruments. Albeit stressful, I believe beginning the Optics course at the start of the degree is prudent for preparing students to be able to tackle more difficult / demanding / challenging related courses later on in the degree.

The previously included course, Evolutionary and Functional Biology, being one of the broader science units, only links loosely with Optometry courses and thus isn’t as relevant to the overall study of Optometry as the courses currently included in the degree. Another previously included course, Psychology 1B, covers visual perception and psychological behaviour which relates to later studies on the organisation and function of the visual system. However, I consider replacing these courses with beginning the Optics course at the start of the degree and learning Introductory Anatomy, instead, contributes to a more enriching learning experience overall. This is because it introduces students early on in their degree to useful foundation knowledge more directly related to Optometry.

Integrating the second year course, Introductory Anatomy into the Optometry degree at UNSW endorses useful material concerning the various systems of the human body. This links well with Optometric applications such as cranial nerve assessment, and ocular physiology, anatomy, health and diseases. Unlike other courses in Optometry, Introductory anatomy provides hands-on laboratories as part of learning. Students are able to study prosected human specimens which directly complement their corresponding lectures. It was a very interesting learning experience, and a real eye-opener as it increased my understanding regarding the gross anatomy of the human body. It also allowed me to appreciate ocular anatomy and understand the interrelationships it shares with the visual system, brain and other systems in the body. This, in turn, improved my understanding of the far-reaching effects of the systemic diseases that the human body can have on ocular health, as well as on other body structures and functions so that we can gain a broader picture of how Optometry and ocular health sits in the broader general field of health care. This combined with Optics is useful in laying the groundwork for future study in optometry.

The Optometry program at UNSW which was previously a single degree of four years in duration is now is a combined degree with Vision Science, five years in duration, allowing students to graduate with Therapeutics Accreditation. The University of Melbourne has the OD postgraduate program similar to Canada and USA and UNSW may also be headed towards that pathway.”

More resources on My Health Career:

• What optometrists can do to stay competitive in the jobs market
• Optometry – latest news
• The best and worst parts of being an optometrist
• 10 videos from real practitioners on what it’s like to be an optometrist

Image: optical lenses – Frederick Noronha – flickr
Image: neuron – dream designs – freedigitalphotos.net
Image: human anatomy – geralt – pixabay