Who Is An Optometrist?

Who is an Optometrist?
- Adhikary Rabindra,
Nepal Optometry Students' Society

In the context of increasing blindness in the word, Nepal has also been committed to the campaign of vision: 2020: right to sight. But for developing countries like Nepal, it is almost a challenge to step forward competitively amidst the developed countries owing to the fact that these countries rely on shoestring budget and expect the maximum yield for limited investment. The major underlying causes might be first complicated topography and second inability to implement human resources for health (HRH) produced within the nation.

Contextual to this is notion of optometrist, a mid-level HRH who, working within community health service system bridges the existing gap between primary health service provider and tertiary level ophthalmologist.

Optometrist is an independent primary health care professional who specializes in the examination, diagnosis, treatment, management and prevention of diseases and disorders of the visual system, the eye and associated structures as well as diagnosis of related systemic conditions.

Looking here in Nepal, so mentioned mid level HRH are produced on yearly basis by Institute Of medicine (IOM), Maharajgunj campus starting from 2001 A.D by the name Bachelor of Optometry. Revised 4-year- curriculum has made it more public service oriented. What is more is the field of work of optometrist is mainly rural community where people are living in the vicious circle of illiteracy and poor health conditions. Which is why with skillful clinical expertise, optometrists are well known for timely diagnosing, treating, and referring when necessary of the eye problems arising within basic social structures.

Optometrist has got high degree of academic background and excellent clinical caliber on diagnosis, treatment and proper management of refractive errors, low vision, binocular vision, amblyopia, contact lens problems, perimetry, squint and many more. They are also actively involved in scientific research on eye related issue. They have to accomplish a project work under research methodology in their final year span. Currently, final year student are rotationally posted out-of- valley hospitals like Sagarmatha Eye Hospital(Lahan). From second year and onward they are involved in various community clinical set-up once in a week. In each week an optometry student (of 2nd professional phase)and MD resident (1st year)go in community field visit in the satellite clinic within valley like Ram Mandir eye center in Suryavinayak and Korean Hospital at Thimi. They are also engaged school screening program with health education to the students of government school.

In the course of worldwide campaign of vision 2020, the apex body for eye health under ministry of health has clearly stated the role of optometrists in the elimination of preventable blindness in 2001.

On the another front, by the initiative of IOM (TU) bachelor of optometry

program has been approved in Baisakh 2061 under mediation of the then-section officer Prem Kumar Shrestha. Moreover, the authorized report of vision 2020: workshop conducted on October 2005 A.D vividly that the ophthalmic team in each district hospital must consist of at least an optometrist. In this way the importance of optometrist had been well understood from time to time but again to our bitter reality Government of Nepal has not yet been able to accommodate these HRH under its health system. In one hand, there is increasing tendency of graduated optometrist to go abroad as Government of Nepal fails to utilize them within the nation. And thousands of Nepalese people are going blind each year being deprived of appropriate eye health services. What can be more anxious to this?

Out of 22 optometrist graduated from TU from a total of 5 batches, most have disappeared abroad, some are working in hospitals under contract and a few are working in private setting for ophthalmic dispensing. If these HRH are proportionately utilized all over the nation, it will certainly pave an efficient way to get through the goal of vision 2020 more quickly and if not, nation as a whole will have to suffer a great loss ever in flourishing health sector.

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