Optometry covers the study and care of the eyes. With the best education from the best optometry schools in Hong Kong, students obtain the information and abilities needed to evaluate vision disorders and provide treatment choices, which may include optical lenses or visual training. The best optometry schools are duly registered and also recognized. Below we have provided the best optometry schools in Hong Kong.
List Of Optometry Schools In Hong Kong
- The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Best Optometry Schools In Hong Kong
1. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
The Hong Kong Polytechnic is the only polytechnic that offers optometry in Hong Kong. Below we have provided a detailed post on the various types of degrees they offer.
A. Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Optometry and BSc (Hons) in Vision Science & Secondary Major
PolyU adopts a department-based admission scheme rather than a program-based in order to offer a wider educational foundation and a more flexible progression route for students, as well as a more agile mechanism to address changing societal manpower demands. These improvements will provide students with more degree programs and specialization options. After completing the graduation requirements, students accepted to the BSc (Honors) Scheme in Optometry will be given one of the following titles:
- BSc (Hons) in Optometry
- BSc (Hons) in Vision Science + AI and Data Analytics
- BSc (Hons) in Vision Science + Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Subject Weightings and Entrance Requirements
The following are the preferred subjects with the maximum weighting for entrance score calculation:
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Mathematics (Extended part – Calculus and Statistics)
- Mathematics (Extended part – Algebra and Calculus)
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Combined Science: Biology + Chemistry
- Combined Science: Biology + Physics
- Combined Science: Physics + Chemistry
Vision Science + AI and Data Analytics Curriculum
First Year
- Advanced Physiology
- Cluster Areas Requirement Subjects
- Healthy Lifestyle
- Human Anatomy
- Human Physiology
- Introductory Cell Biology and Biochemistry
- Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics
- Introduction to Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- Language and Communication Requirements (Chinese)
- Language and Communication Requirements (English)
- Leadership Education and Development
- Ocular Anatomy and Physiology
- Optics
- Visual Science
Second Year
- AI and Data Analytics Subjects
- Applied Microbiology
- Cluster Areas Requirement Subjects
- Foundation Pathology
- Language and Communication Requirements (English)
- Ocular Anatomy and Physiology
- Ophthalmic
- Optics and Dispensing
- Optics
- Psychology in Health Care
- Visual Science
Third Year
- AI and Data Analytics Subjects
- Applied Statistics and Research Methodology
- Cluster Areas Requirement Subjects
- Ocular Pathology
- Ophthalmic Optics and Dispensing
- Professional Studies
- Visual Science
Third Year’s Summer Semester
- AI and Data Analytics Subjects
- Public Health Optometry
Forth Year’s Summer Semester
- AI and Data Analytics Subjects
- Cluster Areas Requirement Subjects
- Integrated Capstone Project
- Management and Prevention of Refractive Errors
- Public Health Optometry
B. Doctor of Health Science (Optometry)
This award is part of the Doctor of Health Science program, which is the first of its kind in Hong Kong. Unlike PhD programs, which focus primarily on research, the DHSc program focuses on the practice of health sciences and care provision as well as research. It is designed for experienced healthcare professionals who want to develop their analytical skills for leadership positions in a healthcare setting. This is a credit-based mixed-mode program with a usual period of study of two years for full-time study and four years for part-time study, with a maximum study duration of eight years.
The curriculum includes eight taught classes (3 credits for each subject), four required and four optional subjects, and a doctorate thesis (24 credits). The mandatory topics are designed to offer students a solid foundation in health care concept analysis, research, and knowledge translation within the realities of the ethical-political-economic frameworks of healthcare delivery.
The optional courses and doctorate thesis enable students to create a personalized study plan for obtaining, assessing, synthesizing, and applying the information in a substantively specialized field. Students must complete a thesis relevant to Optometry as well as a 3-credit Optometry course in order to graduate with a Doctor of Health Science (Optometry). In this situation, students must choose “Independent Study in a Substantive Specialty (HSS6008)” with a focus on Optometry.
The program aims to integrate information from health sciences and other academic disciplines for use in a substantial specialized practice area of a healthcare profession. Design, perform, and direct specialized research investigations. It analyzes and evaluates health-related ideas, theories, and models.
It also aids in the dissemination of knowledge through scholarly publication, formal teaching, and the provision of expert mentoring and vision for the substantive specialized area, as well as the integration of knowledge and the use of evidence to influence health policy and decision-making at the organizational, local, and national levels through collaborative, interdisciplinary efforts.
C. Residency Programme
The residency program is designed to give new optometry graduates prolonged clinical training, teaching, and research experience in specialized areas of optometric care. A consultant/mentor will be appointed to manage the resident’s residency program execution upon reporting for duty. The mentor will be a senior academic or clinical staff member with experience in the resident’s chosen speciality. The mentor will be the resident’s counsel and instructor. The mentor will meet with the resident once every two weeks to evaluate progress. The program has two levels of training:
- Optometry Residency II
- Optometry Residency I
Areas of Clinical Specialty Offered
- Myopia Management
- Specialty Contact Lens
- Vision Rehabilitation and Special Needs in Geriatric Optometry
A resident’s primary responsibility will be to provide clinical optometric treatment to patients 3.5 days per week. The resident will work in the clinical specialty selected for at least 2.5 days. The resident will do some clinical teaching of undergraduates to prepare for a future job as a clinical educator. Academic and professional leadership will be cultivated via participation in seminars, journal article writing, and community service initiatives.
Senior residents will devote more time to patient care in their specialization. In addition, the senior resident will help a consultant/mentor supervise a team of residents. Every year, the resident will be assisted in attending an international congress on eye care.
Specific Goals for Optometry Residency
- Provide clinical treatment for a minimum of 1,000 hours.
- Carry out clinical responsibilities at the Optometry clinics, or anywhere the Head of School directs.
- Provide a bi-weekly progress report to your supervisor/mentor.
- Deliver one lecture to the School.
- Submit an original joint manuscript to a recommended publication with the mentor. This document might be a clinical/epidemiological research, a case study, a literature review, or a policy piece.
- Participate in clinical research and undergraduate clinical teaching.
- Take part in and organize community service initiatives.
What To Expect From A Career In Optometry
Doctors of Optometry are self-employed primary care professionals who specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of illnesses and disorders of the visual system, the eye, and adjacent structures, as well as the identification of linked systemic ailments.
The Doctor of Optometry evaluates general health issues during an examination. During a vision examination, diabetes, excessive blood pressure, and arteriosclerosis are often discovered. To protect and improve the patient’s quality of life, systemic symptoms of ocular illness must be diagnosed. When necessary, the optometrist refers patients to other health care providers and often collaborates with them to co-manage the patient’s condition.
The Important Impact Of Optometrists
Vision changes throughout a person’s life and vision treatment must adapt to keep up. Optometrists provide optometric tests and treatments that may prevent a patient’s vision condition from progressing to major visual impairment. Those who choose optometry have lucrative and demanding jobs. An optometrist may assist anybody, from a toddler whose schoolwork is hampered by visual impairments to a working adult whose vision problem poses safety dangers on the job to an older patient who may have given up reading unnecessarily.
Frequently Asked Questions
While private solo practice remains the most common mode of operation, more optometrists are forming partnerships or group practices with other optometrists or health care professionals on a daily basis. Optometrists have a unique opportunity to be an active component of the health care delivery team in a range of settings, including health maintenance organizations, the military, Veterans’ Administration Medical Centers, and hospitals.
An ophthalmologist diagnoses and treats all eye illnesses, conduct eye surgery, and prescribes and fits corrective lenses such as eyeglasses and contact lenses.
Optometrists may prescribe and fit glasses, contact lenses, low vision aids, and drugs to treat eye diseases if they are educated to do so.
An ophthalmologist or an optometrist may diagnose a cataract, but only an ophthalmologist is certified to conduct cataract surgery. An optometrist may also provide preoperative and postoperative care.
To check the front of your eye, your eye doctor may use a slit lamp microscope. The microscope directs a bright, narrow beam of light into your eye. The slit lamp gives a magnified, three-dimensional image of the eye, allowing your doctor to spot any minor abnormalities.
References
- https://www.bachelorsportal.com/studies/190829/optometry.html
- https://www.polyu.edu.hk/so/study/teaching-facilities-and-innovations/teaching-innovations/
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/eye-exam/about/pac-20384655