Lecturing and training

This web page is for conference/course organisers and CPD providers who are interesting in booking Evans Optometric Consultancy personnel to give a lecture or provide training. If you would like to download a handout from a recent lecture that Professor Evans has given then please use this link.

The following is a list of titles that we can deliver, highlighting the diverse expertise within our team. Other topics may also be possible. Most titles can be presented in a variety of modalities (e.g., lecture, interactive online learning, workshop, discussion/case-based learning, discussion workshop, peer review). For enquiries, please use the form on the home page of this website.

Title	Presenter	Summary
Myopia control: why, when, how?	Bruce Evans	Reviews increasing prevalence of myopia, myopia control strategies, when to start & stop myopia control.
Myopia control: am I breaking the law?	Bruce Evans	As above, but highlighting the legal requirements for community optometrists based on GOC Standards.
Essential survival skills for newly qualified optometrists	Josephine Evans	Practical advice to help newly qualified optometrists thrive in their first years of practice: what I wish I had known. Gain confidence in your clinical decision making, discover the career opportunities open to you, and hear first-hand experiences from a range of roles.
Colour vision testing: what the busy optometrist needs to know	Benjamin Evans	Benjamin Evans’ PhD research included work on colour vision and colour vision assessment. This presentation reviews the main colour vision tests available to community optometrists, highlighting each test’s strengths & limitations. The best tests are identified for diagnosing congenital and acquired colour vision defects and for occupational optometry. The talk concludes with commentary on the future of colour vision testing.
Clinico-legal safe practice for optometrists Alternative title: The dreaded solicitor’s letter: prevention, management, survival	Bruce Evans	In our increasingly litigious society, one of the most stressful scenarios for a healthcare professional is receiving notification of a clinico-legal complaint against them. This presentation covers common scenarios, considering the likelihood, risky behaviours, and simple steps to minimise the risk of being the subject of a clinico-legal case. The typical process of such cases will be outlined, together with advice on how to cope with this very stressful situation and indeed how to emerge from the process as a better clinician.
Orthoptics for the busy optometrist Alternative titles: (1) Binocular vision anomalies: rapid techniques for diagnosis & management for the busy optometrist; (2) Double vision: what do I do?	Bruce Evans	At least 5% of patients who consult community optometrists have binocular vision anomalies. The diagnosis of these conditions is described, identifying the conditions that can be managed by the optometrist, those that require referral, and those that do not require treatment. Conditions summarised include heterophoria, strabismus, and incomitant deviations. Evidence-based management strategies are described, emphasising approaches that can be applied on community optometric practice.
Essential electrophysiology: what’s the difference between a pERG and a VEP & why should the optometrist care?	Dorothy Thompson	Professor Thompson is a leading expert on electrophysiology, optometrist, and consultant vision scientist at Great Ormond Street Hospital. This entertaining talk summarises >40 years’ experience of electrophysiology, including what community & hospital optometrists need to know about the main diagnostic tests. Nowadays, commercial systems are being used by some community optometrists and the opportunities & limitations of these will be summarised.
Binocular vision assessment in paediatric patients	Bruce Evans	The speaker has published extensively on this topic, including six editions of four textbooks. He reviews practical steps for busy clinicians.
Anisometropia: a changing condition	Bruce Evans	The speaker has recently published on this topic & reviews the literature, highlighting implications for clinicians. Relevant to detection, management, and myopia control.
Statistics: do you need maths? A debate to enlighten the clinician	Bruce Evans & Benjamin Evans	The two presenters, a clinician & a physicist, will discuss what statistics optometrists need to understand & will debate the extent to which clinicians need maths to understand statistics. The talk includes examples relating to everyday optometric practice.
Specific learning difficulties & dyslexia: the role of eye care practitioners	Bruce Evans	The speaker has been an international leading expert on this topic since his PhD in 1991 and has published numerous papers and books on this topic. The talk reviews established & controversial aspects, highlighting practical implications for eye care practitioners.
Taking the headache out of headaches	Bruce Evans	The classification of headaches is reviewed, concentrating on those most likely to be encountered by eye care practitioners, including migraine. The evidence-based management of headaches is highlighted.
Hospital, community or both? Finding your place in optometry	Josephine Evans	Ever wondered what life is like on the other side? The speaker divides her clinical practice between community and hospital optometry, and will explore the differences, similarities and challenges of each. Gain a flavour of what these roles involve, along with practical tips for making the move into hospital optometry.
Myopia: the role of binocular vision & accommodative anomalies	Bruce Evans	The roles of binocular & accommodative anomalies in myopia development & progression are controversial. The speaker has recently published on this topic & reviews the literature, highlighting implications for clinicians.
Video quiz on detecting & diagnosing incomitant deviations	Bruce Evans	Unusual presentations during an ocular motility test can present challenges for the community optometrist. This presentation uses a light-hearted video quiz of real motility tests to demonstrate simple approaches to diagnosing these challenging cases.
Independent prescribing: the good, the bad, the ugly	Josephine Evans	What does independent prescribing look like in daily practice? The speaker will share her experience of gaining and using the qualification, and explore how it can be applied in community optometry (both privately and under the NHS) and in a hospital setting. Learn practical tips and tools to help you prescribe safely and with confidence.
Challenging community cases: what would you do?	Josephine Evans	Explore a handful of head-scratching, real patient cases from community practice, ranging from anterior eye anomalies to neurological conundrums. Discuss what to ask, how to investigate and how to manage, and hear the speaker’s reflections on what they have learnt for next time. This can be tailored to both IP and non-IP practitioners.
Paediatric optometry: kids R fun!	Bruce Evans	The presentation highlights the role of the optometrist in providing eyecare for children & aims to improve the confidence of delegates in managing these cases whilst stressing the need for practitioners to be aware of their limitations. Clinical tests appropriate for children will be detailed, including their method of use. Common paediatric ocular conditions will be described, including binocular vision anomalies. The lecture will emphasize the importance of early detection and practical approaches to management that are suitable for community optometric practice. The conditions that are not amenable to optometric management will be noted with referral criteria.
Visual problems in young children: when to refer & what tests can the HES do that I can’t?	Dorothy Thompson	Professor Thompson is optometrist & consultant vision scientist at Great Ormond Street Hospital. This talk summarises visual conditions that can be detected in young children by community optometrists & diagnostic methods in the HES.
Building the evidence-base: 10 tips for optometric researchers & clinicians	Bruce Evans	Tips from >35 years as an optometric researcher with recommendations for researchers & clinicians, giving examples from research on binocular vision anomalies and on visual correlates and interventions for people with dyslexia. The emphasis of the presentation is “can do” and “how to”.
Measuring accommodative function: the good, the bad, the ugly	Bruce Evans	All eye care practitioners probably think that they know how to measure accommodative function, but are their measurements valid? The presentation reviews the main methods, their limitations, and simple improvements.
Computer vision syndrome & digital eye strain	Bruce Evans	The presentation notes that, in most respects computers are just another example of a demanding visual task and some of the problems they are said to cause are no different to problems that people in other generations have experienced. The diagnosis and treatment of commonplace binocular vision & accommodative anomalies that can cause problems for computer users. It includes features of computer use that can be problematic in “new” ways (e.g., flicker, repetitive patterns, excessive contrast, strong colour contrasts). The role of dry eye disease as a key factor in computer vision syndrome will be summarised. The presentation notes recent research about what makes some vision uncomfortable, cortical hyperexcitability, and visual stress.
Community in optometry: mind-reading & time-travel in the consulting room	Bruce Evans	The presentation highlight how, when communicating in the consulting room, optometrists are at an advantage because they know what anxieties and concerns most patients will have. Delegates are encouraged to see the consultation through the patient’s eyes and tips for achieving this, even with child patients, will be provided. The importance of relaxing the patient by helping them fully express their concerns will be highlighted, emphasising when open and closed questions are appropriate and helpful to complete the eye examination in a timely way. The importance of obtaining the patient’s trust will be noted, together with advice on how to achieve this through transparency and engaging mutual advocacy.
Evidence-based optometry: what’s best for my patients? Alternative title: Understanding research: essentials for the busy practising optometrist	Bruce Evans	This presentation reviews how the evidence-based movement can help practitioners determine what is best for their patients. Tips are given on how to interpret and critically appraise the scientific literature & understand essential statistics. Optometry is largely involved with measurement, and methods of analysing the accuracy of optometric instruments are discussed. The talk discusses the detection of risk factors or correlates of a condition, emphasising the difference between statistical significance and clinical significance. The talk covers in some detail the need for an evidence-based approach in evaluating interventions. Examples from optometry are given, including vision therapy. The role of the placebo and the need for & limitations of randomised controlled trials are stressed.
Spectacle non-tolerance: how to turn defeat into victory	Bruce Evans	Community optometrists sometimes feel despair when they see a non-tolerance in their appointment book. The purpose of this presentation is to review the scientific and clinical literature on non-tolerance, including the speaker’s research. Conclusions will assist optometrists in minimising their non-tolerance cases and in managing cases in a way that can turn comlainant into a satisfied patient who will refer new patients to the practice.
Treating orthoptic anomalies in optometric practice	Bruce Evans	A secret to success in orthoptic treatment is to choose the cases to be treated carefully, and clear guidelines are given on this. Treatment methods discussed include refractive modification, prismatic lenses, and eye exercises. Simple methods, which can be used in typical optometric practices and are appropriate for children, are emphasised. The lecture draws upon the literature from disciplines ranging from traditional optometric orthoptics, hospital orthoptics, & virtual reality based methods.
Paediatric prescribing: quiz	Bruce Evans	This entertaining quiz presents challenging cases relating to optometric for children. The audience are invited to consider what questions they would ask to determine symptoms & history, what tests in response to symptoms, likely diagnoses. Delegates will then consider the management options. Throughout, alternative approaches will be considered and delegates encouraged to “think outside the box” in this highly interactive presentation.
Monovision: why, when, how?	Bruce Evans	All contact lens options for correcting presbyopia are a compromise, and monovision is still a leading approach. The talk summarises advantages/disadvantages of monovision, & provides information on a practical approach for determining which eye is given the distance lens. Binocular vision tests appropriate for screening patients for monovision will be summarised, & contraindications for monovision.
Orthoptic & paediatric indications for contact lenses	Bruce Evans	Conditions which are better managed with contact lenses than spectacles are discussed, including anisometropia & myopia control. Research on successfully fitting children with contact lenses will be summarised showing that high levels of success can be obtained with a very low risk of complications. Also, the potential for compliant & safe contact wear through engagement with both parents & child.
Independent optometry: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats	Bruce Evans	40 years ago, the author wrote an article predicting a polarisation within optometry, and evidence is presented that this has happened…& the trend is destined to continue. The presentation demonstrates that developing a private clientele through evidence-based clinical care is not just an opportunity for ‘Harley Street’ locations but can be applied to most areas of the UK. To maximise success, independent optometry need not be independent of the NHS (although this is one option), but more often involves develops private alongside NHS eyecare. The presentation includes an entertaining tour of creative strategies to build a private practice, including mind-reading and time-travel.