Reflections on sight loss - RNIB

A degree of change
National Institute for Health and Clinical
Excellence (NICE). She explains: “The
guidance includes checks, processes,
procedures and detailed examinations.
Opticians can develop the necessary skills, but
it may come down to ophthalmic nurses to
actually carry out treatment.”
At Manchester University, Shaw teaches on
two glaucoma training modules that can be
studied by themselves or as part of a masters
degree. “The NICE guidelines suggest people
should have studied the theory and practice of
diagnosing and managing patients with
glaucoma. To fulfil the NICE guidelines staff
need to be at master’s level. We believe our
modules meet the NICE requirements,” she
says.
A more structure approach?
In the past, one of the difficulties in
increasing the community of master’s qualified
ophthalmic nurses was a shortage of courses.
Some ran only intermittently and most nurses
had to travel a long way to study at
universities in Manchester and London. Both
Hull and Manchester universities have tackled
these problems, by offering online e-learning.
A more pressing problem in professional
development is a lack of standard content in
training programmes, which often leads to
poor recognition of higher education, varied
service type and quality in different regions
and a less than obvious education path for
ophthalmic nurses.
“The education path for ophthalmic care
should be better structured. We need to
identify standards for ophthalmic nurses, and
these standards should be adopted by
universities. We should know what skills
qualified ophthalmic nurses have. They should
all have the same skills, but at the moment
skills vary,” says Shaw.
Needham agrees, saying the competencies
that ophthalmic nurses require could provide a
steer for a standard curriculum at degree level
that would be recognised across the country.
“Medical training has a clear structure, which
is what we are aiming for for ophthalmic
nurses. There is a long way to go, but it is all
about standardised training and a willingness
to fund training that is not there at the
moment. Many nurses take responsibility for
their own professional development – each
module of a master’s degree costs about £750
– while others may get funding or time, or a
mixture of both from their hospital trust,”
comments Shaw.
Delivering improved patient care
Julia Swann, nurse practitioner at
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation
Trust, is an ophthalmic nurse who received
both funding and time to complete a
part-time MSc in Practice Development:
Ophthalmic Route at Manchester Metropolitan
University. She describes access to CPD as
‘pot luck’, but was fortunate to have a lead
nurse who promoted the importance of
developing nurse practitioners and a manager
who recognised that nurses needed greater
status and recognition, and that this could be
achieved, in part, through the completion of a
master’s degree. ➜
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