You know you are getting old when…
I have always been fortunate in that my craggy, rhinophymatous face has always made me look older than I am. Never any problems getting served Brew XI back in the Aston days. And in practice, I never suffered the ‘can I see someone more experienced?’ embarrassment suffered by many friends. That said, I do remember a time when one manager of a large practice (to remain nameless) asked me when in the 1950s I was born.
One common misconception I would like to quash this week is that, the older you get, the harder it is to learn new things. While there may be some truth in this, for example, my attempts at learning the piano during lockdown were less than impressive (ask my neighbours), new ways of learning help to counter the challenges of cognitive rigidity that come with age.
Online and app-based learning has definitely helped me to develop clinical knowledge, such as best use of OCT. Technical advances, such as the use of virtual reality, are sometimes excellent. After years of (honesty time) struggling with gonioscopy, my technique has greatly improved after practising on the excellent Haag Streit Eyesi simulator.
Most recently of all, I have gone back to the headset binocular indirect ophthalmoscope (see page 24). Advances in instrument design now make this technique much easier than I remember from years ago and, for viewing more challenging patients especially where a slit-lamp is not available, it is now becoming my preferred technique. Please let me know if you have had a similar renaissance.
I am also nosey enough to be curious about how others manage clinical cases and always welcome our occasional views from Indian eye care practice. See what you think about their approach to chronic blepharitis on page 32.
- Do you have an idea for a clinical feature? Email the clinical editor bill.harvey@markallengroup.com.
- For details of how to submit a case study and earn an interactive CPD point for each of the domains, go to the CPD area of opticianonline.net.
