Westmead Eye Manual is now available. As an update to the well-known publication Ophthalmic Clinical Examination – The Sydney Eye Hospital Registrars, this invaluable resource for eye care professionals has been published online with free open access.
Westmead Eye Manual is the result of a collaboration involving consultants and registrars at Westmead Hospital and Westmead Children’s Hospital.
“Ophthalmic Clinical Examination was initially published in 2012, and was only available in print,” explained Professor Adrian Fung, the Chief Founding Editor and Author of Westmead Eye Manual. “This second edition is the first update since then. We have made the move to an online open source text which will be a ‘living document’. The hope is that small updates can be made every year.”
Westmead Eye Manual is intended to assist and prepare ophthalmology trainees for practical examinations conducted in Australia and New Zealand in their journey towards a Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO).
Writing in the foreword, Clinical Professor Nitin Verma, ophthalmologist and President of the College, described it as equally relevant for exit examinations all over the world.
“In addition, the methodology of ocular and adnexal examination highlighted in the book, if adopted properly, will be relevant in clinical practice for the rest of one’s professional life.
“Ophthalmic teachers, registrars, medical students and clinicians will find it a useful e-source and ready reckoner,” he wrote. Professor Fung agreed, adding that it will be “extremely useful for specialist ophthalmologists wanting to brush up their skills outside their usual subspecialty etc., and for optometrists who want to know more about how to examine a patient”.
Professor Fung said the manual is an extensive revision of the old text, and includes new chapters on, for example, uveitis, nystagmus and a clinical trials summary which lists, in table format, the major clinical trials in each subspecialty. Chapters are accompanied by instructive photographic images and diagrams.
“The key difference of this book, compared to other textbooks, is that it focusses on how to examine the patient. For instance, in the chapter on pupils, there is an ‘examination outline’ that lists the steps required to examine pupils, followed by an ‘examination structure’ that elaborates on each of these steps,” said Professor Fung.
“There is no other ophthalmology textbook that I can think of that takes this approach. It was inspired by the Talley & O’Connor Clinical Examination textbook, which is a seminal text for internal medicine physicians. The fact that it is online means that anyone, anywhere in the world, can access it with ease on any device and from anywhere, including in the clinic.”
Professor Fung edited the manual in collaboration with Drs Steven Yun, Richard Parker, Ben Sim, Dominic McCall and Raymond Guan.
Commending the editors, Clin/Assoc/Prof Verma wrote, “The authors have decided to make this universally available as a web book at no cost to the user. This generous gesture will go a long way in making high quality educational materials, such as this one, easily accessible, affordable and will enhance educational standards worldwide.”
Launching the manual, the editors stated, “This free, online resource is designed to help ophthalmologists and trainees master the science and art of ophthalmic examination. We hope you will find this useful in the clinic and share it with your friends”.
Access Westmead Eye Manual at: www.westmeadeye.com.
