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Optometry connecting the world

"In an increasingly globalized world and particularly in a worldwide aging population, our profession as optometrists is more important than ever. My student exchange is not only a great chance to build up a network for an international working career in the future. Furthermore it provides a significant academic and technical cooperation between Canada and Germany by ensuring a close connection in this specific area of science."

What's new at the School!

New faculty, new directions (for those retiring), and other news at the School of Optometry and Vision Science.

Vision Science PhD student wins national Three Minute Thesis competition!

For the first time, a doctoral student from the University of Waterloo has won the national Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, which sees graduate students from across the country communicate the breadth and significance of their research to a non-specialist audience in three minutes or less.

Recommended labelling improves readability of prescriptions

Results of a study from the University of Waterloo and CNIB bolster the argument for changes in the way pharmacies print instructions to patients. The researchers tested prescription labels based on recommended guidelines and found a significant improvement in their readability over the ones in use now.

A closer look at what is new at the School!

New Director / Strategic Planning / Retirements / New Conference

Don’t miss an introduction to our new Director, Dr. Stanley Woo, who arrives in July. Find also an update on the School’s current strategic planning process, and a follow-up to the first Canadian Interdisciplinary Vision Rehabilitation Conference, which was held here in March. And finally, Bill Bobier and Barb Robinson have retired this year, with a combined total of 68 years of service to the School!

Patricia Hrynchak

Engaging Students Through Team-Based Learning

Since 2011, Dr. Patricia Hrynchak, a Clinical Professor in the School of Optometry and a recipient of that School’s 2016 Distinguished Teaching Award, has been a practitioner of a teaching method known as Team-Based Learning (TBL). Developed by Larry Michaelson for teaching business students in the 1990s, TBL is an active-learning strategy that Hrynchak describes as learner-centered but instructor-led. TBL promotes deep learning, while at the same time fostering both individual and group accountability.

Sports Vision Club

The Sports Vision Club (SVC), one of the newer student groups at the University of Waterloo (UW), was established in 2014 to expose optometry students to the exciting field of sports vision and provide them with experience in working with unique athlete populations. Our club aims to educate students on how they can incorporate sports vision into their own optometric practices after graduation. Since our club’s inception, SVC executives have collaborated with Dr. Kristine Dalton to organize vision screening events and seminars throughout the school year.

RxTx – Canadian drug information at your fingertips

RxTx, formerly known as eCPS, is the most comprehensive Canadian solution to drug information and therapeutics. Many alumni and CAO members already take advantage of access to RxTx provided by the Witer Learning Resource Centre at the School of Optometry and Vision Science. For Alumni and CAO member access to RxTx contact: wlrc@uwaterloo.ca

A quick look at what is new at the School this Fall

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2017 Continuing Education in conjuction with the School's 50th Anniversary celebration

The School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo is pleased to present our annual continuing education program on September 22, 23 and 24, 2017, in conjunction with the School’s 50th anniversary celebration.

The First Canadian Interdisciplinary Vision Rehabilitation Conference (CIVRC)

The first Canadian interdisciplinary weekend vision rehabilitation conference was held at the School of Optometry and Vision Science in March 2017. By all accounts it was very successful and truly did live up to the name of being interdisciplinary. There were a total of 149 registrants including attendees who identified themselves as optometrists, ophthalmologists, opticians, orientation and mobility instructors, occupational therapists, independent living specialists (from CNIB), high tech assessors, itinerant vision resources teachers/special education consultants, CNIB national and provincial managers, counsellors, students, and University faculty members/researchers. Attendees came from almost every province across Canada and even internationally, including optometrists from the US and Hong Kong.

New clubs at the School of Optometry and Vision Science

We have two new student clubs at the School, the University of Waterloo Advancement of Independent Optometry Club (UWAIOC) and the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) Student Chapter.

Optometry's second injections and laser training workshop

Third Year Optometry students celebrate end of year with hands-on injections workshop

Witer Learning Resource Centre: Using Reviews in Your Evidence-Based Practice

No doubt you are already using synthesized information to keep abreast of changes in optometric and ophthalmic practices, but navigating these resources, as they are constantly evolving, can be disorienting to practitioners. This article briefly outlines how review articles can help you in your evidence-based practice by knowing some of their core characteristics and how these differ among review types.

Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH): Students taking their skills to those without access to eye care

The Waterloo chapter of Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH) is committed to providing sustainable eye care to those in need but who cannot afford nor obtain it. Every year, VOSH Waterloo partners up with VOSH groups around North America to organize international optometric mission trips for their students. This unique experience not only touches the lives of countless patients, it allows students to learn invaluable skills and grow as future optometrists.