Paediatric optometry will be a key focus for this year’s SRC Online education conference.
Organised by Optometry Victoria South Australia (OV/SA), SRC returns as a virtual education conference in place of the now cancelled O=MEGA21 conference and trade show.
SRC will…update you on assessing and treating the young children in your care
To be held from 2–4 September, this much anticipated event will give optometrists up to 23.5 CPD hours (with assessment), including up to 14.5T hours (with assessment) and up to 8.5i hours (with assessment).
Paediatrics: Essential Care
With one in five Australian children reported to have undetected vision problems, optometrists have a vital role to play in determining the social and educational development of our next generation.
Several studies, including a recent one by the British Journal of Ophthalmology, suggest a rise in childhood myopia may be linked to the coronavirus pandemic. The Hong Kong study highlights that a decrease in the time schoolchildren have been able to spend outdoors and an increase in screen time is leading to increased myopia in children. This follows a study in China by JAMA Ophthalmology that found myopia prevalence was three times higher in six-year-olds during the pandemic.
Despite these concerning findings, optometry’s capacity to provide paediatric eye examinations can be stymied by lack of parental awareness about their child’s vision, their concern over costs and the different pathways to care.
SRC will provide you with the tools you need to educate parents about the importance of having their children’s vision tested, and update you on assessing and treating the young children in your care.
Presentations include Paediatrics: Navigating evidence gaps in paediatric practice on 2 September; Paediatrics: assessment protocols and treatment plans and Using and prescribing ocular medicine in young children on 3 September. All these presentations will be delivered by Tim Fricke.
The full program and FAQs are available here: OMEGA 21.
