The College of Optometrists

Can we use grading scales for the CL aftercare... can we bring one in, I wouldn't have thought so, but if we cannot bring one in, and we put down say for example, 'neovasc grade 3' the examiner might think we are plucking the grade out of thin air. Shall we just avoid using grades and just describe it? in terms of writing the specification for RGP lenses, do we just write, for example : ML92 TD: 9.8 BOZR: 7.6? or do we write the BOZD too, other peripheral curves etc? What goes in the additional comments box on the CL fitting? Do we need to take max & min pupil size and VPA on the eye we are going to fit with a soft? or is it ok just to measure HVID on the soft eye?

Yes you can and should use grading scales, no you can't bring one in as you are not allowed to bring papers etc. into the exam (there may well be one in the contact lens room though!). The examiner is only likely to ask about grading in the five minute clarification questions at the end, they are not supposed to viva you during the exam. As long as you know what you are using and can talk about it confidently (if required)then you do not have to worry. It is perfectly acceptable to describe to the patient (and the examiner)what you are seeing during the aftercare, so "there is a little bit of corneal staining at 3 o'clock, what we'd call grade 2 on the CCLRU scale..."

I'd write

R ML92 7.60/9.80/-1.25 Blue dot

As you have specified all the peripheral curves to the manufacturer with the ML92 as well as the material. If you feel very confident you could write in the other curves (if you know them). I might ask in the clarification questions what the ML92 meant and expect you to know!

You need only take measurements you are going to use in your fitting, you do not really need them for soft fitting, however you could argue that the max and min pupil size and VPA are useful base line data and as they don't take very long I'd probably do them anyway on both eyes.