Competency: 9

Details

Perform assessment of visual acuity in children and adults, including:

• adults who are illiterate
• adults who have learning difficulties
• adults who are non-English speaking

using the following equipment/techniques:

• Snellen
• logMAR
• contrast sensitivity

Considerations

• The role of subjective testing in the visual sciences and how this differs from objective testing
• The principles of vision processing in the higher cortical visual areas
• Appropriate visual acuity test according to any instruction in the patient’s notes, patient’s age, co-operation, ability and any special needs
• The importance of correct positioning of the occluder over the non- tested eye and the position of monitoring throughout the test
• The appropriate form of notation for recording visual acuity
• How to adjust testing strategies during the test according to patient co-operation and reliability indices
• How to select the correct series of tests
• The importance of completion of the required series of tests
• Requirements for accurate recording of results and any patient responses or difficulties at a place appropriate for the test

Relevant learning outcomes