New Professional Program Curriculum Increases Clinical Exposure

The integrative track is a hallmark of the College's new curriculum, extending throughout the first three years of the professional program  The track combines lecture, small groups and increasing clinical exposure to provide a foundation for optometric practice that incorporates basic and clinical sciences.  

Dr. Leon Nehmad explained that during the first year, students observe clinic sessions in the University Eye Center (UEC) and participate in small group discussions that cover weekly lecture topics parelleling material learned in other courses.  Students learn to present cases and conduct literature searches relating to lecture topics and cases observed.  As in other years, both basic and clinical science faculty participate in the course.

In the second year, students record exams performed by third and fourth year interns in the primary care clinic.  In addition to learning the electronic medical record (EMR), students become more intimately acquainted with the examination process through their increased clinical participation and collaboration with upperclass students.  The lecture sessions provide them the opportunity to work in small groups and to formulate clinical decisions supported by basic science knowledge.

As the student gains clinical knowledge, greater emphasis is placed on patient assessment and management, supported by evidenced-based medicine in their third year.  Sessions take place within pods, allowing for discussions that incorporate cases recently seen by both students and faculty.  The course culminates with a formal student Powerpoint presentation synthesizing the range of basic and clinical science aspects of the case.

The integrative track is an instrumental part of the College's strategic plan to provide an environment that develops critical thinking and life-long learning skills.  It has attracted the interest of other optometry schools.  An article on this aspect of the curriculum will appear in ASCO's (Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry) journal, Optometric Education, later this year.

Introduction of the Pod in the Clinical Curriculum

Changes in the profession of optometry and trends in health care are prompting us to find better ways of providing patient care in a clinic setting where our other goal is student education.  The expansion of what our graduating professionals need to know requires us to use every moment in the clinic as a teaching opportunity to promote life-long learning while providing excellent patient care.  Feedback from our faculty and interns as to what was most helpful in aiding student development as clinicians was combined with the above goals and resulted in the adoption of the "Pod", stated Dr. Julia Appel.  The starting point for introduction of this unique shift in the clinical curriculum was the Primary Care 3rd year clinical experience.

The Pod structure pairs two clinical faculty members with six interns to work together in the clinic over eight weeks.  This structure provides continuity of experience for the intern and allows the faculty members to monitor the intern's progress.  Patient care is provided in a more fluid, efficient manner where appropriate continuity of care is achieved.  In fact, initial surveys provided to both faculty and student members of the Pods were in agreement that the new clinical structure provided both good patient care and a good clinical educational setting.

One of the innovative ways of improving clinical education is with the introduction of the Integrative Seminar course in the clinic.  The same Pod group also meet one hour per week to discuss and learn from the cases on which they worked.  This provides a deeper understanding of the intricacies of diagnosis and management of the many ways our patients present to us for care, and provides an appropriate venue for critical thinking by the interns and to use their knowledge of basic science to strengthen clinical acumen.

The initiation of the Pod changed the grading system as well as patient scheduling.  These changes have improved the accuracy of grades along with patient flow and wait time.  The Pod provides a constant assessment of how well our goals are met and allows a prompt response to any deficiencies, thus aiding in the success of the new clinical curriculum and the ability to care for patients. 

College Holds Winter Open House for Prospective Students 

More than 150 prospective optometry students, parents and guests gathered at SUNY Optometry's Winter Open House held January 6, 2011.

Dr. Jeffrey Philpott, Vice President for Student Affairs, welcomed the attendees and highlighted the advantages of a SUNY education, including the College's location in New York City and the unmatched clinical experiences that abound in the University Eye Center (UEC).

Offering a keynote address, Dr. Cathy Pace, Chief of Staff and Director of Professional Services, spoke about the profession of optometry and outlined some of the unique paths that OD students can follow upon graduation.

Attendees were then introduced to the various specialties within optometry by members of the faculty -- Dr. Richard Madonna, Chief of Ocular Disease; Dr. Barry Tannen on vision therapy; Dr. Jay Cohen on low vision, and, Dr. Ida Chung, Chief of Pediatrics, also spoke about the curriculum.

Mr. Gui Albieri, Director of Admission and Marketing, orchestrated the event and shared amusing insider's tips on how to build a powerful application for admission in a competitive environment.  Mr. Vito Cavallaro, Director of Financial Assistance, explained the various ways that students can finance their professional educations at SUNY.

The highlight of the program, according to those in attendance, was the panel of SUNY Optometry students who answered questions from the audience and shared their own experiences -- from preparing to take the OATs to finding a place to live the the New York City area.  The panelists included Ms. Jennifer Gould, Ms. Jessica Hall, Mr. Clinton Sugnet, Ms. Tammy Dang, Quy Nguyen and Ms Tina Douroudian.  Following the panel discussion, the panelists were joined by fellow students Ms. Allison Coffie, Ji Yun Lee, Mitali Sanghani and Yianni Gialousakis to help provide the tour of the College to the attendees.

Gund Foundation Awards Grant for General Operating Support

The Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation has awarded the Optometric Center of New York (OCNY) a $10,000 grant for general operating support.  This grant represents increased support in honor of the College's 40th anniversary.  Dr. Gordon Gund received an honorary degree from the College in 2008.

The generosity of the Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation will enable the SUNY College of Optometry to continue to provide high quality eye and vision care to the most vulnerable New Yorkers; play a key role in training the next generation of knowledgeable and compassionate eye care providers; and help advance the body of research knowledge in the field, facilitating "lab to bedside" collaborations between basic and clinical research scientists.

"We are delighted to continue our partnership with the Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation in this 40th anniversary year, as we re-dedicate ourselves to providing leadership in patient care, education and research", said President Heath. 

SUNY Optometry Introduces Moodle Online Course Management System

 In keeping with our goal of utilizing state of the art delivery mechanisms for our educational content, the Academic Affairs Department proudly introduces Moodle as our online course management system.  The Information Technology Department and the Committee on Learning Resources evaluated a number of online content delivery systems before deciding that Moodle would best meet the needs of our faculty and students, reported Ms. Elaine Wells, Library Director.

Where does "Moodle" get its name?  It is "Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment".  It enables faculty to deliver their courses in creative and innovative ways and makes the learning experience available 24/7.  Moodle has also generated a great deal of positive buzz in the education community.  An Educause-sponsored blog recently featured this post from a satisfied user:

"I can't live without it, students love it too!  I have even taught teachers not into technology how to use it.  The possibilities are endless."

Here at SUNY Optometry, faculty members are utilizing Moodle to integrate a variety of innovative teaching tools into their online course content.  Online course presentations include links to websites that provide simulations of vision, video resources, audio files of lectures, journal articles on "electronic reserve", practice guidelines, team projects and case reports.  Moodle also facilitates the discussion of learning experiences through forums and blogs, and can even be integrated with the Turning Point "clicker" system for online delivery of quizzes and surveys.  One SUNY Optometry student summed it up by saying "The courses are nicely laid out and everything is there!"  We look forward to expanding our Moodle presence and developing new and innovative ways of making our learning environment available anytime, anywhere.
 

Ms. Xiomara Vera has joined the Front Desk Staff of the Ocular Disease and Special Testing Service in the University Eye Center (UEC).  Previously employed with the Human Resources Administration, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Ms. Vera will work closely with patients, faculty and staff.

Ms. Kim Oliver has joined the Kohn Vision Science Library staff as Library Outreach and Service Coordinator. This position responds to a demonstrated need to provide awareness and information services to members of the college community working at remote sites, including alumni, adjunct faculty and other eye care practitioners, and will result in greater use of the valuable resources of the Library and improved patient care through the delivery of state of the art information.  Formerly part of the Office of Academic Affairs, Ms. Oliver will be working to assess the needs of these potential library users, developing awareness vehicles for increasing the Library's visibility and helping to coordinate targeted information services.