The EyeCare Industry #Ophthalmologists

Most often than not people confuse Ophthalmologists with Optometrist and end up being confused more when you try to explain to them the differences between the two. It is quite simple and easy, all you have to do is open your mind to understanding. So lets make this analogy. It you have ever been to the hospital you would notice that there are departments within hospital setting, no one just gets up and start doing something, it has to be the right person and it has to be in the right order, so the pregnant women would be directed to the obstetrics department, whereas people with brain or nerve related injuries would be directed to the neuro department. In the same vain people with ocular related issued would be directed to the eyecare department.

Let’s break it down further, when you enter the obstetrics department, there are further segregations or better still lets me use the word separation of powers, we have the obstetrics surgeon, the fetal surgeon, the midwife, the general nurse, the paediatric surgeon just to mention a few. Now in the Visual Healthcare department we have the Optometrist, Ophthalmologist and the Ophthalmic Nurse, the simple difference is the fields of specialty and the years of studies. So the Optometrist typically studies for 6 years straight to get the Doctor of Optometry (OD) certification then a licensure to enable them practice, the Ophthalmologist on the other hand specializes in the eye after completing medical school with MD certification, the ophthalmic nurse is a general nurse who has specialized in the eye after completing nursing school. The ophthalmologist is a surgeon and is the only one that has the authorization to perform surgical procedures on the eye, although some states are training optometrist to be able to perform some of the simple and less invasive procedures.

So there you have it, the workers within the eyecare industry, I would not say is an exhaustive list though, we will talk about the others in the subsequent posts.

What is @bettervision about?

@bettervision is is a project initiated by @nattybongo and friends to give back to the society the knowledge and skill acquired through the Optometric Studies in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana.It is an outreach system where we visit the less privileged communities to offer free eye screening services and education to the people within the community

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
To reduce or prevent vision loss through diseases such as glaucoma, cataract and refractive errors.

To enlighten the majority of the Ghanaian population about the importance of proper visual care.

To conscientize people on the need for regular eye checks

To get more people to have their wards screened within the Critical periods of a Child’s Vision Development; thus from ages 3 to till about 10 years.

To help the blind and people with low vision live a better life within the society through education of the general public to stop stigmatization.

Our greatest gratitude goes to @fundition @surfyogi @girlsfoundation @bleepcoin @ackza and @wafrica for helping to make the aims and objectives of @bettervision a reality.

This is me @nattybongo reporting for @bettervision. Thanks for your time