A conversation about clinical care in Northern Ireland and a passion for research.
Who?
Professor Jonathan Jackson
Current job?
Director of the NICRN and Head of Optometry at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast
Where?
Northern Ireland
Why did you go into optometry?
Both my dad and my aunt were optometrists, but throughout school I aspired to be a medic. I spent too much time kicking a ball around at school and not enough time revising, so my plan was to study optometry as a route into medicine. I really enjoyed the optometry course in Glasgow and got a first-class degree, so it made sense to complete a pre-reg. I then decided to do a PhD in the labs in parallel with setting up a hospital optometry department in Belfast. I soon realised that I loved what I did and decided to park the med school idea – for now at least!
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The College of Optometrists and the Optical Fees Negotiating Committee (OFNC) call on the government to make a long-term commitment to primary eye care in its NHS 10-Year Health Plan as part of the shift from hospital to community.