Accepting Students in Fall and Spring Quarters Only.

The student spends 2/3 of time at Castle Point and 1/3 at Montrose (about 30 minute drive).

This is a full scope optometric program with heavy emphasis on the diagnostic assessment and therapeutic management of ocular disease.

Externs will have significant exposure to all severities of glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. Given our patient population, externs will also gain experience in corneal pathologies (i.e. herpetic keratitis), neurologic disease (TBI, stroke), and medication induced pathology. Externs will directly perform all aspects of patient in-chair and auxiliary testing, including non-invascive procedures, visual fields, fundus

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• To implement and apply didactic knowledge in patient/hospital care setting and toward clinical care.

• Enhance clinical knowledge, exposure and understanding

• Develop clinical competency in basic and advanced examination techniques.

• To cultivate independent and efficient clinical detection, management, treatment and follow up skills

• To develop competency in the use of ocular diagnostic and therapeutic pharmaceutical agents.

• To gain exposure to advanced diagnostic procedures, i.e. fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, OCT.

• To become familiar with commonly used medications and their systemic and ocular side effects.

• To utilize other hospital resources i.e. laboratory, radiology, to assist in the diagnosis of primary ocular disease and associated systemic disease.