Description

Throughout my career as an
optometrist, I often wondered
whether I could possibly go back
and do medicine and go into
ophthalmology.
It was about 3 years ago that I was reading
about medical schools taking 2 years off the
training for postgraduates. I wondered if this
would be my last chance to do what I always
wanted. I went down to St George`s Hospital
at Tooting to attend an open day and looked at
the course. At the same time a circular from
Rila came through the post advertising a
Postgraduate Diploma in Ophthalmology that
was going to be available later in the autumn of
that year. I went to see a local Consultant
ophthalmologist, at Stoke Mandeville Hospital,
and discussed the Rila programme with him.
He felt that despite the shortened medical
model it would still be a long slog before I could
enter ophthalmology and felt that the
postgraduate diploma in ophthalmology was
ideal. The climate was also changing as regards
to optometrists being allowed to do a lot more
in hospital based clinics commensurate with
their clinical skills and expertise