allycat: If you say you are a primary health care worker or professional, then you should have nothing against working in the primary health care setting. It is because there is no manpower at that level that all the patients keep going to the secondary and tertiary health centres and hospitals ie general hospital, specialist hospitals and teaching hospitals.

donwhizkid: @ Allycat.... D problem is dt u dnt undastand too well wat a primary Health care Means... Any Doctor dat has a first contact wit a patient is a Primary care giver... It means d first person a patinet should see is d primary health giver... Medical Doctors(GP) are also Primary health Givers...

Zeus777:
Read ur own post carefully and you will see that nigerian health system is disjointed.
An optometrist is a primary health care giver like u rightly pointed out. So I wonder why they are bein posted to secondary and tertiary health institutions where we already Hv the opthalmologist ( a specialist medical Doctor)who is trained to manage complicated eye conditions.only to find the optometrist competing for consulting rooms and patient wt the opthalmologist!! Optometrist are supose to be at the primary health centres then refer difficult cases to the secondary or tertiary hospital to be seen by opthalmologist

Zeus777:
Read ur own post carefully and you will see that nigerian health system is disjointed.
An optometrist is a primary health care giver like u rightly pointed out. So I wonder why they are bein posted to secondary and tertiary health institutions where we already Hv the opthalmologist ( a specialist medical Doctor)who is trained to manage complicated eye conditions.only to find the optometrist competing for consulting rooms and patient wt the opthalmologist!! Optometrist are supose to be at the primary health centres then refer difficult cases to the secondary or tertiary hospital to be seen by opthalmologist

Parasitic:
Why do hospitals doesnt engage optometrists as interns

Amucha:
What is a Doctor of Optometry?

Doctor of Optometry Professional Programs

Optometry Schools and Colleges

Doctors of Optometry (O.D.s/optometrists) are the independent primary health care professionals for the eye.  Optometrists examine, diagnose, treat, and manage diseases, injuries, and disorders of the visual system, the eye, and associated structures as well as identify related systemic conditions affecting the eye.

Doctors of Optometry prescribe medications, low vision rehabilitation, vision therapy, spectacle lenses, contact lenses, and perform certain surgical procedures.

Optometrists counsel their patients regarding surgical and non-surgical options that meet their visual needs related to their occupations, avocations, and lifestyle.

An optometrist has completed pre-professional undergraduate education in a college or university and four years of professional education at a college of optometry, leading to the doctor of optometry (O.D.) degree. Some optometrists complete an optional residency in a specific area of practice.

Optometrists are eye health care professionals state-licensed to diagnose and treat diseases and disorders of the eye and visual system.
-Approved by the AOA Board of Trustees, June 2012

allycat:
Of course Doctors of Optometry work at PHC's, they should if they are primary health care practitioners. What is strange is someone saying I am a primary health practitioner and complaining about the person who is a tertiary health practitioner not allowing him to work in a tertiary health centre.

originbm:


1.A primary health care practitioner means they are the first point of entry in the eye care practice.They should refer cases to the ophthalmologists or other specialists as the case maybe ,other than the other way round in which the opthalmologist use the services of the optometrist as a form of differential diagnosis.

2.Like u said,the opthalmologist MANAGE complicated eye conditions.optometrists are trained to DETECT and DIAGNOSE these complicated eye conditions.How about opthalmologists let optometrists do this without feeling threatened.

What i find funny is ophthalmologist extending "complicated" to mean any condition outside refractive errors.who is fooling who.
In private clinics optometrists successfully manage all those conditions opthalmologists are quick to label as 'complicated'.

Its all about the money....make no mistake about that.

crystal96:
You obviously do not understand the role of an opthalmologist. An ophthalmologist is trained to manage both complicated and uncomplicated cases. If a woman in labour presents to an obstetrician should they send her back to a midwife?

Luchiana1:
please wch universities offer direct entry to optometry in nigeria and requirements cc donwhizkid, amucha,allycat, optm etc

Owoho:
Am in need of extenship space o