EyePod: The optometry podcast

College Clinical Advisers Denise Voon MCOptom and Daniel Hardiman-McCartney MBE FCOptom talk to Simon Berry MCOptom, an optometrist who owns and runs his own practice which specialises in working with people with autism and learning disabilities.

They discuss accessibility for autistic people in eye care including the importance of acclimatisation visits, what adjustments you can make in practice, and how every autistic patient is different.

Further information

College Clinical Adviser Denise Voon MCOptom talks to Fiona Jazayeri, Consultant Ophthalmologist at Buckinghamshire Health Trust, about the external eye.

They cover areas including how to conduct an external eye examination, what to look out for when examining a patient, and best practice for referring patients into the hospital eye service.

Further resources:

As we come towards the end of another busy year College Clinical Advisers Dr Paramdeep Bilkhu MCOptom, Denise Voon MCOptom, and Daniel Hardiman-McCartney FCOptom MBE discuss their individual highlights from the year and what we can expect going forward into 2025.

Further information:

College Clinical Adviser Denise Voon MCOptom and Mike Horler, Consultant Optometrist at Sussex Eye Hospital and College Assessor and Council member, answer your questions about age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Among the topics discussed were the treatment options for AMD including the role of supplements, photobiomodulation, and Syfovre.

Further information:

College Clinical Adviser and Optometric Adviser to the GOC Denise Voon MCOptom talks to Kayleigh Allen, Head of Fitness to Practise Legal; Roma Malik, Optometric Adviser at the GOC; Sue Blakeney, Registrant Case Examiner for the GOC; and Bobby Fida, Optometrist and member of the GOC's Hearing Panel about the role of the GOC.

Using a fictitious case, they discuss the fitness to practise process and how they decide on the final outcome involving a member who has altered patient records.

Further resources:

In the second part of our anxiety podcast, Ruth Bennett, Deputy Lead Assessor on the Scheme for Registration, Dave Burke, Mental Health First Aid Instructor, and Neil Constantine-Smith, an optometrist with over 30 years' experience, answer questions from supervisors and trainees on the Scheme for Registration.

They answer questions on managing your work/life balance, how to prepare for exams, and how to deal with disappointment if things don't go your way.

Further resources:

Ruth Bennett, Deputy Lead Assessor on the Scheme for Registration, talks to Dave Burke, Mental Health First Aid Instructor, and Neil Constantine-Smith, an optometrist with over 30 years experience, about the rising number of young people suffering from anxiety.

They discuss the possible reasons for this trend and provide helpful strategies and advice for dealing with anxiety.

Further resources:

In this WebinarXtra podcast, College clinical advisers Daniel Hardiman-McCartney FCOptom MBE, Denise Voon MCOptom, and Dr Paramdeep Bilkhu MCOptom discuss the latest changes to the Guidance for Professional Practice.

They answer all those questions there wasn't time to cover during the live webinar including about dilation and driving, cycloplegic refraction and children, and the difference between a sight test and a eye examination.

In the second part of our special podcast, College Clinical Adviser Denise Voon MCOptom talks to Mike Bowen, Director of Knowledge and Research at the College, about the issues surrounding LED headlights.

They also discuss the current research and evidence regarding them and how our members can help shape the work of the College on this important topic.

In the first part of this special podcast, College Clinical Adviser Denise Voon MCOptom speaks to Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town, Member of the House of Lords, about her campaign for stronger regulation and guidance on the use of LED headlights.

They discuss how Lady Hayter became involved in the campaign, the effects of headlight glare and how it affects other motorists and pedestrians, and how members can get involved in the campaign.

In this WebinarXtra podcast, College clinical adviser Daniel Hardiman-McCartney FCOptom MBE talks to Dr Jeffry Hogg following his webinar on artificial intelligence in optometry. Jeffry is an ophthalmology registrar and NIHR Doctoral Fellow working between Newcastle University and NHS trusts in Newcastle, Birmingham and London.

Jeffry answers all those questions there wasn't time to cover during the live webinar which provided a practical exploration of the near-term realities of AI. The subject of the questions include the Turing test, macular age versus retinal age, and clinical governance of AI and optometric practice.

In this WebinarXtra podcast, Martyn Jones, Head of Curriculum Development and Dr Rebekah Stevens, Lead Assessor at The College of Optometrists, answer questions following their webinar 'Preparing for ETR – the new route to qualification as an optometrist." This webinar provided an introduction to the GOC’s new education and training requirements, focussing on how the College will partner with universities and employers in future, and the differences between the current Scheme for Registration and future arrangements.

Martyn and Rebekah address a range of questions which were asked during the live webinar, including why these changes are happening, how standards will be upheld and the arrangements employers will need to make with students for the new Clinical Learning in Practice placements.

In this WebinarXtra podcast, College clinical adviser Denise Voon MCOptom Prof Cert Med Ret talks to Simon Frackiewicz MCOptom DipTp(IP), optometrist and orthoptist working in private practice and the hospital eye service in Somerset, following his webinar on binocular vision. This webinar gave practical advice for optometrists to help regain confidence in binocular vision, which may have been affected by the altered ways of working during the pandemic.

Simon answers all those questions there wasn't time to cover during the live webinar including assessment, low vision, and prisms.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Paramdeep talks to Mike Horler BSc FCOptom DipTp(IP) Higher Cert Med Ret, Consultant Optometrist in Medical Retina at Sussex Eye Hospital, following his webinar on now and future retinal treatments. The webinar provided an overview of treatment strategies used for late wet AMD, diabetic macula oedema and retinal vein occlusions.

Mike answers all those questions there wasn't time to cover during the live webinar.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Denise talks to Dr Gordon Hay, Clinical Director for Emergency Care at Moorfields Eye Hospital, following his webinar on best practice for optometrists' written and telephone referrals. The webinar provided guidance on how to make clear and effective referrals to eye casualty.

Gordon answers all those questions there wasn't time to cover during the live webinar.

College clinical adviser Daniel Hardiman-McCartney MBE FCOptom speaks to optometrist Bhavin Shah MCOptom MBABO FBCLA about how he provides help and support to patients with dyslexia in his practice, the difference between dyslexia and visual stress, as well as his views on colour and tinted lenses.

In the first part of this podcast, College clinical adviser Dr Paramdeep Bilkhu MCOptom talks to Dr Rudrani Banik M.D. about visual snow syndrome. They discuss the potential causes of visual snow, how it affects patients, and the current state of treatments and research.

Dr Rudrani Banik is the Co-Director of Neuro-Ophthalmology at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai and Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Icahn School of Medicine, also at Mount Sinai.

In the second part, College clinical adviser Daniel Hardiman-McCartney FCOptom MBE speaks to Caroline Gill, who has recently been diagnosed with visual snow syndrome, about her condition and how it affects her.

College clinical adviser Daniel Hardiman-McCartney FCOptom MBE talks to principal optometrist at Moorfields Eye Hospital Jay Varia BSc(Hons) MCOptom DipTp(IP) Prof Cert Glauc about the advanced clinical practice course.

They discuss what the course entails, who it is aimed at, the skills that you learn, as well as what the course could lead to after completion.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to optometrist Dr Rebekka Heitmar MCOptom Prof Cert Med Ret following her webinar on OCT in optometric practice for beginners, where she reviewed different OCT scans as well as evidence from research and emerging guidance on clinical practice.

In this special podcast for Black History Month, clinical adviser Denise Voon MCOptom first speaks to Dr Roxanne Crosby-Nwaobi postdoctoral ophthalmic nurse researcher, lead nurse for research at Moorfields Eye Hospital and honorary Associate Professor at UCL and secondly, Sylvia Chengo, visually impaired digital creator and disability advocate.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to ophthalmologist Kam Balaggan about the macula.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to ophthalmologist Kam Balaggan about floaters and the vitreous.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to ophthalmologist Kam Balaggan about pseudoexfoliation and lens implants.

In the second part of our myopia guidance review podcast, College clinical adviser Daniel Hardiman-McCartney MBE FCOptom speaks to optometrist Dr Bhavin Shah MCOptom MBABO FBCLA about offering myopia management in his practice since 2016, the impact of the pandemic on children’s vision and how he communicates complex topics to parents and children.

College clinical advisers Dr Paramdeep Bilkhu MCOptom and Daniel Hardiman-McCartney FCOptom MBE discuss the latest updates on myopia management guidance including the recommendations for ensuring best practice. Dr Bilkhu, who co-led the guidance review, also discusses the importance of explaining risks and benefits as well as how the different management options compare.

"Whether myopia is within your scope of practice or not, you should make sure that you have the relevant knowledge and can hold a discussion with patients and their parents about myopia, how it is treated, the supporting evidence and the costs and benefits of myopia management. This will help them make an informed decision."

In this second episode of the OPO special edition podcast, Daniel speaks to two OPO journal authors; Paddy Gun MCOptom, Principal Optometrist for  Education and Training at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, and Emily  Charlesworth MCOptom, Clinical Research Optometrist at Bradford  University.

In the first half of the podcast, Daniel talks to Paddy about the results of the second national survey on the scope of practice of optometrists working in the UK Hospitals. In the second part, Emily tells Daniel about her investigations into the advice optometrists give their patients on target refraction when discussing cataract surgery.

In this two-part special OPO edition of the podcast, Daniel and Martin speak to College scholars, Associate Professor Keziah Latham FCOptom and  Doctor Jane Macnaughton FCOptom from Anglia Ruskin University. They discuss their research paper, asking if patient-identified ‘comfortable’ print size is a useful clinical parameter for low vision reading assessment.

Look out for the second episode with three more OPO journal authors, celebrating the work of College PhD scholars.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Paramdeep talks to Dr Manbir Nagra MCOptom following her webinar on contact lenses. In her webinar, Dr Nagra provided a summary of recent developments in the field of contact lenses and considered the groundwork required to ensure ECPs are prepared for the expected changes. Dr Nagra answers all those questions there wasn't time to cover during the live webinar.

Dr Nagra is an optometrist, educator, and researcher working mainly in the fields of myopia, contact lenses, and health technologies.

Our Clinical advisor Daniel Hardiman-McCartney talks to Elaine Styles optometrist and co-founder of Vision Care for Homeless People, about eye exams, dispensing, glass repairs and referrals for the many different groups of people without a home. They discuss: the barriers to receiving eye care; the most common reason for homelessness, specific factors important to dispensing glasses; working with other health professions; the impact of the pandemic; and the many ways you can help.

Professor Leon Davies FCOptom, Editor of OiP, and Professor Shahina Pardhan MCOptom, Director of Vision and Eye Research Institute at ARU, discuss the impact of COVID-19 on eye health and eyecare. They look at the evidence around the link between COVID-19 and sore eyes, photophobia and watery eyes, and the effect of the pandemic on contact lens wearers. They also focus on the need to inform patients of COVID-19-related eye health issues and how and where they can seek advice when suffering from an eye complaint.

Professor Pardhan is co-author of the paper: COVID-19 and its impact on eyecare: a review. To read the paper head to:

After optometrist Tanjit Dosanjh's own father was imprisoned for a serious criminal offence 2003, he knew that he wanted to do all he could to change the lives of those entering the system. He used his own knowledge and skills to set up The Prison Optician Trust, which provides offenders with training in optics and a brighter future away from crime. He believes that other professions should do the same.

In this episode, Daniel talks to Tanjit and one of his trainees - an ex-offender who has just qualified as a dispensing optician, and who now has a thriving career in optics. 

In this episode, Daniel has a fascinating conversation with Professor Jose-Luis Jimenez, aerosol expert and fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder, USA.

In July last year, Professor Jimenez was one of 239 experts in multiple scientific fields who signed an open letter to the CDC and WHO (1) urging them to recognise inhalation as the main mode of transmission of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.

Daniel and Professor Jimenez’s conversation covers the difference between droplet and aerosol transmission, why it matters and how to reduce the spread, plus Jose’s publicly available modelling tool, which you can use to estimate the transmission risk in your practice (2).

Professor Jimenez shares his own personal recommendations on specific mask types. The College continues to align its views and recommendations on masks with those of Public Health England.

Resources mentioned

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to Consultant Ali Yagan following his webinar on common optic neuropathies, where he presented cases on different types of optic neuropathies and optic nerve swelling, to help optometrists identify urgent situations and when patients need to be managed as an emergency. Ali answers all those questions there wasn't time to cover during the live webinar.

Ali is the Consultant, Education Lead and Clinical Supervisor at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital.