Optometrists commonly encounter corneal conditions in practice—such as keratoconus, Fuch’s endothelial corneal dystrophy and recurrent corneal epithelial erosion syndrome. As Professor Sai Kolli explains in this podcast, the management of corneal dystrophies may involve monitoring, therapeutic treatment or onward referral, depending on their severity. Michelle Hanratty also hears from Christina and her son Sam, who discovered that he has keratoconus earlier this year. Their story illustrates the importance of regular childhood eye examinations and why clear, empathetic communication from optometrists is essential when they deliver potential diagnoses.

Professor Sai Kolli is the Consultant Lead for corneal, cataract and refractive surgery at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust. This podcast expands on Docet’s “Common Corneal Conditions: What every optometrist needs to know!”, which was presented by Professor Kolli. Sai answers many of the follow-up questions that optometrists sent in. 

If you have a topic in mind that you’d like us to cover, or if you’ve got an interesting case study you’d like to share, send Docet a message on LinkedIn.

GOC-registered optometrists practising in England, Wales or Northern Ireland can gain 1 CPD point by listening to this podcast and completing the exercise on our website. This episode covers the GOC domains of Communication and Clinical Practice. Docet - dedicated to providing quality optometric education and professional development.

Vision standards and occupational eye testing can have profound consequences on patients and their families, especially when children are weighing up their career prospects. It’s therefore important that optometrists understand how tests are carried out and the implications of their results. In this episode, Michelle Hanratty takes a trip to the vision research centre at City St George's, University of London, to meet Professor John Barbur. John explains how occupational vision standards vary and how different tests are carried out. 

What if a patient doesn’t meet the vision standards for their dream job, though? Optometrists will often need to break bad news to patients, which can be challenging. With this in mind, Michelle receives some tips from Ian Trimmer, a social worker who specialises in mastering difficult conversations. 

If you have a topic in mind that you’d like us to cover, or if you’ve got an interesting case study you’d like to share, send Docet a message on LinkedIn.

GOC-registered optometrists practising in England, Wales or Northern Ireland can gain 1 CPD point by listening to this podcast and completing the exercise on our website. This episode covers the GOC domains of Communication and Clinical Practice. Docet - dedicated to providing quality optometric education and professional development.

As it is a condition that comes on with ageing, presbyopia is something that optometrists very commonly encounter in practice. For most people who develop long-sightedness, their eyesight is easily corrected with spectacles and sometimes contact lenses. But many patients seek to reduce their dependence on spectacles and that’s where refractive surgery can provide a welcome solution.

In this episode, Michelle Hanratty explores how to advise patients on their options and how to manage post-surgery patients with more confidence. Professor Clare O’Donnell, Head of Eye Science at Optegra, talks about her presbyopic journey, which resulted in laser vision correction. Michelle then discusses refractive lens exchange options with Amir Hamid, a cataract and refractive surgeon. Finally, specialist refractive optometrist Sundeep Vaswani and Michelle look at the considerations that need to be taken into account when patients that have undergone presbyopic surgery attend for an eye examination.

If you have a topic in mind that you’d like us to cover, or if you’ve got an interesting case study you’d like to share, send Docet a message on LinkedIn.

GOC-registered optometrists practising in England, Wales or Northern Ireland can gain 1 CPD point by listening to this podcast and completing the exercise on our website. This episode covers the GOC domains of Communication and Clinical Practice. Docet - dedicated to providing quality optometric education and professional development.

Gene therapy is one of the most exciting areas of modern medicine. In eye care, they promise to restore the vision of patients with both rare genetic eye diseases, such as a certain type of inherited retinal dystrophy, as well as more common conditions that have genetic components, like AMD. 

In this episode, Michelle Hanratty uncovers how gene therapies work with Omar Mahoo, a consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital, St Thomas’ Hospital and University College London. Michelle also hears about the first NHS approved ocular gene therapy programme, with Robert Henderson, a consultant paediatric ophthalmologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital. Robert demonstrates the impact that gene therapies can have on patients and how optometrists can play an important role in supporting these treatments.

If you have a topic in mind that you’d like us to cover, or if you’ve got an interesting case study you’d like to share, send Docet a message on LinkedIn.

GOC-registered optometrists practising in England, Wales or Northern Ireland can gain 1 CPD point by listening to this podcast and completing the exercise on our website. This episode covers the GOC domains of Communication and Clinical Practice. Docet - dedicated to providing quality optometric education and professional development.

Half of the population experience menopause, but its effects are wide-ranging and poorly understood. In this episode, Michelle Hanratty investigates how menopause can affect the eye — from inflammatory changes, such as blepharitis, to dry eye disease and even an association with glaucoma. Michelle examines the scientific research with Stuti Misra, an Associate Professor in ophthalmology at University of Auckland. Plus, Julia Sen, a consultant ophthalmologist and oculoplastic surgeon, joins Michelle to explain how understanding menopause will enable more empathetic and effective communication with patients. 

If you have a topic in mind that you’d like us to cover, or if you’ve got an interesting case study you’d like to share, send Docet a message on LinkedIn.

GOC-registered optometrists practising in England, Wales or Northern Ireland can gain 1 CPD point by listening to this podcast and completing the exercise on our website. This episode covers the GOC domains of Communication and Clinical Practice. Docet - dedicated to providing quality optometric education and professional development.

Complaints are a normal part of a patient-facing industry, like optometry — from problems with prescriptions to quibbles about customer service. Therefore, handling complaints in a professional manner is an essential part of the GOC’s Standards of Practice. In this episode, Michelle Hanratty hears from Dawn Slocombe, a Complaints Resolution Manager at the Optical Consumer Complaints Service (OCCS), about how complaints are processed through their service and why communication is the key. Michelle also asks Richard Edwards, the Clinical Consultant for the OCCS, how to manage your complaints process better, to avoid any issues escalating. In addition, Richard describes how optometrists can reduce the likelihood of a complaint happening in the first place. Thanks also to Roshni Kanabar from the Association of Optometrists (AOP).

This podcast expands on Docet’s “Leadership is not hierarchical” webinar, in which Richard Edwards was the speaker. Richard answers many of the follow-up questions that optometrists sent in. 

If you have a topic in mind that you’d like us to cover, or if you’ve got an interesting case study you’d like to share, send Docet a message on LinkedIn.

GOC-registered optometrists practising in England, Wales or Northern Ireland can gain 1 CPD point by listening to this podcast and completing the exercise on our website. This episode covers the GOC domains of Communication and Leadership & Accountability. Docet - dedicated to providing quality optometric education and professional development.

In optometry, exciting new products or treatments are constantly coming onto the market. As practitioners, we need to keep our knowledge up-to-date, so that we can offer solutions to our patients if they present with an ocular condition. But is the evidence strong enough to make a recommendation or to provide that treatment? 

In this episode, Michelle Hanratty taps into the expertise of IP optometrists Paramdeep Bilkhu and Alan Hawrami. As a Clinical Advisor at the College of Optometrists, Paramdeep explains how he interrogates research evidence to produce Clinical Management Guidelines and how to ensure that clinical practice is evidence-based and patient-centred. Meanwhile Alan, as the director of two practices providing community ophthalmology in Kent, discusses what he would consider before investing in a new treatment or instrument and the importance of clear communication when obtaining patient consent.

If you have a topic in mind that you’d like us to cover, or if you’ve got an interesting case study you’d like to share, send Docet a message on LinkedIn.

This episode covers the GOC domains of Professionalism and Clinical Practice. Docet - dedicated to providing quality optometric education and professional development.

Ocular allergy can be more complicated than the seasonal conjunctivitis that optometrists see frequently in practice. To treat allergic reactions effectively, it’s important to understand how the immune system works. In this episode, Michelle and Dr Peter Frampton, an optometrist at Aaron Optometrists in the North of England, discuss the four types of immune reactions, or “allergies”, that can be expected in practice. Michelle also speaks to Eleaonor, one of Peter’s patients, who had interstitial keratitis as a result of a long-term herpes zoster infection. Peter explains why, perhaps unexpectedly, this case is actually an allergic response. 

If you have a topic in mind that you’d like us to cover, or if you’ve got an interesting case study you’d like to share, send Docet a message on LinkedIn.

This episode covers the GOC domains of Communication, Clinical Practice and Independent prescribing. Docet - dedicated to providing quality optometric education and professional development.

Children with special educational needs (SEN) are 28 times more likely to have a problem with their vision—or how their brains interpret vision—than their peers. It’s essential that optometrists understand how to make appointments as successful as possible for SEN children and their families. In this episode, Michelle Hanratty asks Ellie Hughes, Assistant Headteacher and Sensory Impairment Lead at Chellow Heights Special School, what clinicians can do to help SEN children feel more comfortable in consulting rooms. Plus, Rachel Pilling, a Paediatric Ophthalmologist and Professor at the University of Bradford, explains why “success” in eye appointments should be measured against different metrics for SEN children. The most important outcome should be that patients are put on the pathway to lifelong eyecare. 

This podcast serves as a follow-up to the first Docet webinar in 2024: Assessing children with special educational needs, in which Rachel Pilling was the speaker. Rachel answers many of the questions optometrists asked in the webinar. Find Michelle and Rachel’s recommended reading materials by searching for “Sound Optometry” on the Docet website.

If you have a topic in mind that you’d like us to cover, or if you’ve got an interesting case study you’d like to share, send Docet a message on LinkedIn.

This episode covers the GOC domains of Communication and Clinical Practice. Docet - dedicated to providing quality optometric education and professional development.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of sight loss in the UK, and the dry form is the most common type of the condition. In this episode, Michelle Hanratty visits a community practice in Harborne, Birmingham, to meet optometrist Bradley Warwick. Brad specialises in dry AMD, so Michelle and Brad discuss how to manage and counsel patients with the condition that currently has no treatment options. Later, one of Brad’s patients, Martin, joins the conversation to discuss how he copes with the gradual progression of dry AMD and geographic atrophy. 

Finally, Michelle looks to the future to find some good news: the first treatments for dry AMD became available in the US last year. Clare Bailey, a consultant ophthalmologist at Bristol Eye Hospital, explains how the treatments work, which patients they would be most suitable for and the role that optometrists would play in referring patients. The two treatments are not yet approved for use in the UK, but Clare explains that a decision should be made in 2024.

This episode covers the GOC domains of Communication and Clinical Practice. Docet - dedicated to providing quality optometric education and professional development.