Course: Contact Lenses: Fitting Astigmatic Patients

Section

General

Domains: Clinical practice, Communication

No CPD Points

This is the second course in the contact lens series — following Contact Lenses: Core Skills – Fitting and Aftercare— and is the first of two programmes covering the skills required to fit astigmatic patients with contact lenses.

Part one covers:

Patient lifestyle and history relevant to contact lens wear
Appropriate lens choice for astigmatic patients
Fitting soft toric lenses, including lens designs and assessment of fit
Toric fitting tips and problem solving.

You will meet our patient, Rachel, and a group of optometrists who discuss her case and what they would consider when fitting astigmatic patients with soft toric contact lenses. Following the discussion an expert presenter covers the key points. There is a series of videos demonstrating the fitting and ‘on eye’ images (in real patients) that a practitioner would see on the slit lamp and a short document on soft toric lens fitting tips and problem solving.

Once you have completed part one of this course, you can continue with Contact Lenses: Fitting Astigmatic Patients – RGP which covers the skills required to fit astigmatic patients with rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses and the aftercare of patients wearing RGPs.

Last published: September 2023

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Learning outcomes

Communication

s.2 Communicate effectively with patients

Able to ask appropriate questions to understand the history and lifestyle of a patient and so be able to choose an appropriate contact lens suitable for their needs.

Clinical Practice

s.5 Keep your knowledge and skills up to date

Able to choose, fit and assess successfully soft toric lenses and understand which is the most appropriate for an astigmatic patient.
Able to manage the aftercare and resolve complications in patients wearing soft toric contact lenses.

Unit 1 - Introduction (~1 min)

In this first unit Cheryl Donnelly, contact lens optician and previous CEO of the British Contact Lens Association, will introduce you to the programme and our two patients, Rachel and Jon—who you will meet in the second part of this course. You will also be introduced to a group of optometrists who discuss Rachel’s case and what you need to consider in order to fit astigmatic patients with contact lenses.

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You can work through each section of this course at your own pace and return to any section as many times as you like. When you have finished the training go to the Evaluation section.

You may find it easier to view this course on a desktop computer or a tablet due to the detailed content. See our FAQ on how to screencast from a phone to a larger screen.

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e-LearningIntroduction e-Learning

Unit 2 - Fitting soft toric lenses (~16 mins)

In the second unit we take a closer look at our patient, Rachel, including her work, hobbies, general health, and current prescription. You will then have the opportunity to reflect on this and consider the contact lens choices for Rachel before watching your peers discussing her options. And finally, Cheryl Donnelly will give an overview of fitting soft toric lenses.

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Unit 3 - Assessing soft toric lenses (~16 mins)

In the third unit we take a look at the assessment of our patient, Rachel, and you’ll have the opportunity to reflect on the fit of her lenses. The panel will then discuss this, and Cheryl Donnelly will give an overview of assessing soft toric lenses.

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Click below to launch Unit 3.