Currently the c/o 2013 @ SCCO is learning hand neutralization and how to take a patient case history.
Case History
I was an optometric technician for 4 years, and I was almost always comfortable taking a case history. Taking a case history from a doctor's point of view is very different from what I was used to. My responses are phrases carefully, and I have attending and non-attending behaviors that I must be aware of. We have been practicing in clinical methods lab and outside of lab for our proficiency.
Hand Neutralization
During opthalmic optics lab, we have learned how to hand neutralize spherical lenses, sphero-cylindrical lenses, and bifocal lenses. It is not as easy as it looks. We get the joy of carrying our heavy trial lens cases around campus to the lab and home to practice for our proficiency next week! You feel like a real optometry student carrying your trial lens cases around; they are just really heavy. We practice neutralizing with a power cross, like the one in the photo below. This is a photo of a power cross image in my case.
Lastly, here is a photo from the Corona Vision Screening last Saturday. About 25-30% of our first year class participated in this vision screening. Vision screenings give you a lot of exposure and experience working with patients. It is such a different experience compared to when you were a technician. You are the one in the white coat ask the questions, case history, etc. You don't really do a lot of visual acuity testing, at least not at this screening. It was a great experience! I learned how to do a cover test with an occluder and a pupil response test with a penlight on the spot. We have not learned yet in school, but it was good to learn from the third years that Saturday!
I will try to keep y'all updated! We are starting to get back into our weekly midterms so I will try to post on the weekends.
