Clinical Skills and Equipment

Supervised skills may include visual-acuity measurement, preliminary history, basic external-eye observation, lensometry, tonometry assistance, perimetry support, keratometry, instrument preparation, image capture and patient counselling. Each activity requires training, calibration, infection prevention and documentation.

Students should learn safe handling of trial sets, autorefractors, slit lamps, tonometers, visual-field systems and other approved equipment. They must recognise red flags such as sudden vision loss, eye trauma, chemical injury, severe pain and acute redness and arrange urgent escalation.

Competence should be recorded through supervised logbooks or workplace assessment. Watching a demonstration is not the same as being assessed as competent, and access to equipment alone does not authorise independent clinical practice.