Joshua Soggi
Introduction
The eyes can be somewhat of a challenge for many of the non-specialist doctors. It certainly was for me and that’s the reason I attended The Edinburgh Focus course. The course was founded by Dr. Vikas Chadha, Dr. Vijay Hegde, Dr. Shyamanga Borough, Dr. James Cameron and has been operating since January 2007. It was designed at the time to teach the basic practical skills which are essential for doctors starting their first job in ophthalmology. Alternatively, teaching those who want to learn the basic ophthalmological examinations skills to improve their day-to-day practice (1).
Who is the course aimed at?
The course is aimed at foundation doctors, GP/A+E trainees and anyone else looking to expand upon their knowledge of ophthalmology. This can either be improving their physical examination of the eye, ophthalmic history taking or even understanding some of the commonest eye presentations and how to manage these. The course I attended certainly had a good mixture of people. They ranged from medical students, foundation doctors, internal medicine trainees and ophthalmological pharmacists.
Do I need to do any preparation before the course?
There is no preparation necessary before attending this course. So, if you haven’t read anything relating to the eye since medical school (like me) then don’t worry, you won’t feel out of place! The teaching throughout the 2-day course was beautifully organised to build your basic knowledge from the ground up. On the first day for registration, a folder was provided which had clear printouts of all the lectures given throughout the course which was extremely useful (had I known, I wouldn’t have brought my own notebook and pen). Lectures are given to cover the theory and then practical sessions are taken place giving you the chance to actively implement what you learnt. The faculty members were all extremely friendly and very approachable whenever anyone had any questions.
Course venue
The 2-day course locations are split between the main eye hospital in Edinburgh, the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion and the nearby hotel Novotel Edinburgh Centre (1). All the main lectures are done within the conference room of the Novotel hotel. From here, it’s then a 2-3 minute walk to the Eye Pavilion which is where all my practical sessions and patient interactions took place.
The Novotel hotel provide a discounted rate on their rooms for all those attending the Focus Edinburgh course so it’s definitely something worth booking in advance if you can. They provide a very good breakfast, have an adequate gym as well as a swimming pool and spa. You also get discounted drinks at the hotel bar which was handy. Given the start of the course on both days is at the Novotel hotel itself, staying there is just a lot more convenient. Especially if you value your sleep like me; you can wake up last minute. However, if you feel that this is out of your price range, next door to the Novotel is a Premier Inn which is a very good, more affordable alternative.
One thing worth mentioning is parking. There is limited parking within Edinburgh city centre so this can be challenging. In addition, it’s also not free. The Novotel Hotel offers underground parking for a fee which again, is convenient if you are thinking of driving to Edinburgh. If not, it’s probably worth thinking about public transport services.
Course content
If you’ve made it this far, you’ve probably got a good mix of ideas for what the course offers. I’m going to make it even better for you by explaining exactly what was taught throughout the 2 days below:
Day 1:
In the morning once everyone had registered and received their welcoming pack, we were taken through an introduction and housekeeping. This was a chance for attendees to introduce themselves and their reasons for attending the course as well as the faculty members hosting the course.
After the introduction we were taken through lectures on the basic clinical anatomy of the eye and testing visual acuity. We were then able to have a little coffee break to relax for 20 minutes before being transferred to clinical rooms for patient interactions. First, we practiced using the slit lamp and testing visual fields on one another in our groups of 4 prior to seeing patients.
When patients arrived, we were encouraged to illicit a history before testing out our practical skills we had learnt which was really beneficial. We were then able to directly visualise the anatomy we had learnt through examination with the slit lamp. I was able to see 4 patients, all presenting with different eye pathologies which was great.
After this we were then escorted back to the Novotel hotel where we were provided with a lovely lunch. Once everyone had finished, we then had lectures on ophthalmoscopy, pupil examination and ocular motility. Again, once the theory had been taught, we were then transferred back to the clinic rooms to test out our knowledge on real patients.
In the evening around 20:00pm there was a course dinner which had been pre-booked in advance. A couple of weeks prior to the course starting, an e-mail was sent out with food menu options from which we could pick our starter, main and dessert. The food was lovely, and it was a really good chance to socialise with everyone, especially the people you hadn’t been able to talk to during the day because of all the busy learning! It was also a really good chance to ask questions to the current trainees for any advice and tips on anything ophthalmology related.
Day 2:
To kickstart the second day (after a nice hit of caffeine kindly provided by the Novotel hotel) we had lectures on ophthalmic history taking, loss of vision and the acute red eye. I thought these were all excellent lectures but my favourite from the whole course was on the acute red eye. We were then separated into groups and went though some case discussions on acute red eye presentations. I thoroughly enjoyed this part – it was very interactive and really got you thinking about the possible differentials/treatment that was discussed in the lecture beforehand.
After a coffee break, we then had lectures on paediatric ophthalmic emergencies and common ophthalmology drugs until lunch in the afternoon. After, we then made our way sluggishly to the clinic rooms. We then went through the different types of eye drops used and their indications as well as an applanation tonometry practical. Next, we then had the opportunity to practice removing corneal foreign bodies with aid of the slit lamp. This wasn’t done on actual patients but on a plate of agar jelly instead. It was embedded with a bunch of dirt/gravel inside to produce a close to real life situation. Nonetheless, it was incredibly fun!
Following on, we then made our way back to the Novotel for lectures on recognising common lid abnormalities. Once this was finished, we were given a choice for the last session of the day. This was between either revisiting the slit lamp examination or attending a presentation on the ophthalmology application. As expected, everyone opted for the latter.
The presentation was extremely useful, going through the portfolio requirements for the application and how to go about maximising these points. Time was allocated to ask questions after the presentation so if you had anything to ask regarding the application process then this would be the time. They were very patient in answering the questions and gave some really great advice. I would highly recommend taking part in this talk if ophthalmology is something you are considering applying to.
I can honestly say, for saying I knew very little about ophthalmology as a whole before the course, I felt a lot more confident in it after. The overall teaching throughout I thought was well structured and covered the more detailed things in an easy to digest way.
Would you recommend the course?
I would definitely recommend the course for anyone who wants to brush up on their practical skills and knowledge of ophthalmology or are thinking about starting a job in ophthalmology. It gears you with the simple necessities you need to have when coming across eye related problems, which I personally think is invaluable.
The faculty team organising the course were all so friendly and approachable from the very first day which set a tranquil atmosphere for the whole course. It’s also worth mentioning that basically all of the faculty members hosting the course had previously been a delegate on the course themselves. This was pleasant because they shared their experiences of not knowing much when they first attended. I think this was comforting for the majority of attendees, especially me, who felt they had gaps of knowledge in ophthalmology. It didn’t discourage people from asking questions that they may have considered to be simple or silly.
For anyone looking to apply for ophthalmology, I genuinely believe this will help ease the passage into this incredibly niche field. Given that the Edinburgh Focus course always seems to score points for your ophthalmology portfolio, it’s a nice little addition too!
How do I apply?
The course is usually hosted once year and the dates can be found on their website at https://edinburgh-focus.com. The fee to participate is £400 which includes all the lectures and practical teaching sessions alongside a folder with copies of all the course material. Also covered is lunch on both days at the Novotel hotel as well as a sociable dinner on the evening of day 1. There is incredibly high demand for places so it’s best to enquire early regarding potential release dates for the applications. Inquiries can be made from their website, but they also have a Facebook group and instagram page available as-well.
Further contact information for the course
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/focusedinburgh/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edinburghfocus/
Website: https://edinburgh-focus.com/
References
(1) https://edinburgh-focus.com/