‘Eye Health and Optometry Workshop’ was held

"Eye Health and Optometry Workshop" was organized by Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine with the support of Muş Alparslan University. Experts in their fields participated in the workshop, in which the subject of opticianry and preventive eye health was discussed. The questions such as 'Who is an optometrist? What are the differences from an ophthalmologist doctor? What should be done to ensure that optometrist can take place as a profession in Türkiye? What should be the limits of the duties of optician?' were discussed by the experts.

The workshop held at Üsküdar University NP Health Campus was moderated by Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine Dean Prof. Haydar Sur.

The workshop was attended by Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, Asst. Prof. Orkun Özkan, Dr. Meryem Bulakçıbaşı from İskenderun State Hospital, Op. Dr. Ali Murat Hacımustafaoğlu, Üsküdar University Vocational School of Health Services Opticianry Program Instructor Begüm Genç, Instructor Optician Aykut Çağlı, Instructor Emin Aksan, Optometrist Yalçın Yıldırım, Optometrist Emre Doğan and Faculty Secretary of the Faculty of Medicine Zeynal Abidin Kocadağ participated.

Before starting their speeches, the participants informed briefly about themselves. After the key questions were identified, the questions were discussed.

Prof. Haydar Sur: "Our goal is to prepare a scientific and truthful report"

Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine Dean Prof. Haydar Sur pointed out that training professionals in optical physics would be beneficial for the country in every aspect. Sur stated that "In 1989, when I was working as a doctor in the General Directorate of Primary Health Services, the general manager made me the branch manager. I worked as the branch manager of the Preventive Eye Health Branch Directorate at the Ministry. We screened for blindness in Mardin and Diyarbakir in Türkiye. Today, we will talk about creating a document that will be among the basic reports of a study to be carried out in Türkiye on a subject such as eye health. Our workshop will be turned into an official report with your names. Our goal today is to prepare a report that is scientific and faithful to the truth. The workshop is a table where everyone has a say. It will be in the best interest of the country in every aspect to train professionals in optical physics."

Dr. Meryem Bulakçıbaşı: "All diseases are related to the eye"

Dr. Meryem Bulakçıbaşı from İskenderun State Hospital noted that the eye is ninety percent of the body's functional tool as an organ. Bulakçıbaşı stated that "It is not just the eye, but the eye is part of it. The eye is ninety percent of the body's functional tool as an organ. In myopinion, it is a huge burden to prescribe glasses in my opinion right now. There are no patients who do not have diabetes, or hypertension. All diseases are related to the eye. Prescribing glasses is a waste of time for me."

Optometrist Yalçın Yıldırım: "The rate of wearing glasses in Türkiye is far below many developed countries"

Mentioning that one out of every two people in Europe wears glasses, Optometrist Yalçın Yıldırım mentioned that Türkiye's rate of using glasses is far below many developed countries. Yıldırım stated that "I want to show the rates of glasses use by country. The use of glasses in Türkiye is estimated to be 20 percent of the entire population. Unfortunately, there is no exact data on this. Europe's average is around 60 percent. One in two people in Europe wears glasses. The rate of wearing glasses in Türkiye is far below that of many developed countries. We think that this is not because of our higher vision; however, it is because we do not have access to glasses. Our recommendation is that opticians work alongside ophthalmologists."

Instructor Begüm Genç: "Optician courses cannot be given properly in Türkiye"

Mentioning that the courses could not be taken properly due to the density of the student capacity, Üsküdar University Vocational School of Health Services Optician program Instructor Begüm Genç drew attention to specialized differences such as clinical optics and rehabilitation.

Instructor Optician Aykut Çağlı: "Optometrists and opticians must be employed in the public sector"

Pointing out that with early diagnosis, the eye health of hundreds of thousands of people, especially children, can be controlled, Instructor Aykut Çağlı stated that "Eye health screenings has great importance in the world. With early diagnosis, we can control the eye health of hundreds of thousands of people, especially our children. In this period when it is difficult to reach doctors and physicians, we have once again understood how important the eye scans we have done are. It is not possible to control the population of 85 million with ophthalmologists alone. The fields of our departments such as optometry and opticians must be expanded, and optometrists and opticians must be employed in the public sector in addition to ophthalmologists. This will provide added value to the eye health of the public in a very important way."

 

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)