The College of Optometrists

Hi, i was just wanting your opinions on a few basic pre-reg exam questions, especially from any examiners or people who have already sat exams...some of them are quite basic but i seem to get a few different answers from everyone i ask...

1) we need to asses the TBUT in the cl fit exam...and one eye is obviously for sort cl...whats the best thing to do?

2) at the pre-reg course in glasgow, an examiner said it was best to take some soft cl's that you are used to working with to the exam.. what ones are people taking? dailies/monthlies?

3) what info do we need to know regarding the rgps and softs we use in the exam? i can't seem to find very much info on my rgp's (alberta 2's)?

4) i know that we are going to get a presbyope in the routine exam.....under exam conditions, should i still use duochrome before cross-cyl?

5) also during routine, under exam conditions is it bext to do monocular reading add, then binocular (this is what i do in practise - because it confirms my distance subjective for me) but i can't remember whether or not it was frowned upon in my clinics last year?)

6) when doing the cl fit - would you flip lids before/after the cl fit? - this isn't specifically in the requirements for this part. obviously it will be done during the cl a/c part. would you examine the palpebral conj with white and blue light (obv with nafl)? as my assessor didnt really know why i was looking at it with blue light during my assessment...but my supervisor said i should do it with both? so is it best to put nafl in - then check with white light and then blue light...cz i really dont fancy flipping them twice!??

i know some of them may seem like silly questions but i just want opinions on them please to alleviate my doubts.

Thank you!

1) we need to asses the TBUT in the cl fit exam...and one eye is obviously for sort cl...whats the best thing to do?

Assess TBUT with NaFL in the eye you are due to fit an RGP.

2) at the pre-reg course in glasgow, an examiner said it was best to take some soft cl's that you are used to working with to the exam.. what ones are people taking? dailies/monthlies?

Disposable dailies are fine, whatever lenses you are most used to using

3) what info do we need to know regarding the rgps and softs we use in the exam? i can't seem to find very much info on my rgp's (alberta 2's)?

There should not be any questioning about your lenses in the exam, that should have been covered by your assesor. examiners should only be asking, why did you do that, describe what you are doing, what would you do if? type questions.

4) i know that we are going to get a presbyope in the routine exam.....under exam conditions, should i still use duochrome before cross-cyl?

If you think it useful for that patient

5) also during routine, under exam conditions is it bext to do monocular reading add, then binocular (this is what i do in practise - because it confirms my distance subjective for me) but i can't remember whether or not it was frowned upon in my clinics last year?)

I would normally do binocular reading add, but that's a personal preference not a pass/fail. Shouldn't you be sure of your distance subjective before moving onto reading adds?

6) when doing the cl fit - would you flip lids before/after the cl fit? - this isn't specifically in the requirements for this part. obviously it will be done during the cl a/c part. would you examine the palpebral conj with white and blue light (obv with nafl)? as my assessor didnt really know why i was looking at it with blue light during my assessment...but my supervisor said i should do it with both? so is it best to put nafl in - then check with white light and then blue light...cz i really dont fancy flipping them twice!??

No need to evert the upper lid in fit, you should assume this has already been done. In A/C I would always examine the palpebral conjunctiva with white light and UV with NaFl at the same time, I agree that there is no point in everting the upper lid twice.