Specialist Certificate in the Management of Low Vision Patients

Please note: Please note there will be no intakes for the Specialist Certificate in the Management of Low Vision Patients in 2021.

This Specialist Certificate is a part-time course for established optometrists seeking to continue their professional development and extend their capabilities in the management of low vision patients.

Offered by the Department of Optometry & Vision Sciences in the School of Health Sciences, this entirely online course provides specialised training in clinical set-up, application and support of patients with low vision. You will gain the skills required for the comprehensive assessment of low vision learn how to prescribe and instruct on optical and non-optical devices, and also gain an insight into how to improve patient's lives through an understanding of the social and personal impacts of vision loss.

This Specialist Certificate covers key topics related to the management of low vision patients, including:

• The epidemiology and geographic distribution of blindness
• Roles and methods within the rehabilitative team for the support and rehabilitation of the visually disabled
• Procedures for comprehensive assessment of rehabilitation of the visually disabled
• Procedures for comprehensive assessment of visual disability and the management of patients with partial sight
• Principles and performance of optical, non-optical and technological aids for the enhancement of low vision.

Through engagement with a wide range of recent literature in health sciences, you will develop a deeper, evidence-based understanding of low vision, and transferrable skills that can assist with education in other eye diseases.

For optometrists in Australia and New Zealand, this Specialist Certificate easily satisfies your annual CPD point quota, as determined by the Optometry Board of Australia.

Please note: Registration to practice in Australia is NOT granted on completion of this course.