The World Health Organization (WHO) and International Council of Nurses announce that 2020 is the year of the Nurse and Midwife. This is to honour the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, and timed to launch the WHO State of the World Report on nurses and midwifes. [1] The IAPB community have embraced this opportunity…
The role of Clinical Quality Assurance Advisor (CQAA) for Fred Hollows Foundation NZ was established to ensure consistency in standards of delivering high quality, safe effective care to patients across the Pacific and minimize clinical risk. My clinical portfolio is that of a registered nurse with an extensive background; senior clinical nurse in cardiac intensive…
I have worked with Orbis International as Head Nurse and Ophthalmic Specialist Nurse, since July 2013. Orbis transforms lives through the world’s only ‘Flying Eye Hospital’ (FEH) working in over 96 countries worldwide. Orbis provide training to doctors, nurses and biomedical engineers, as well as opens doors to Ministers of Health so that we can…
To advance ophthalmic professional development, learning is very important. Expanding our skills and knowledge base ultimately also leads to better patient outcomes. In New South Wales (NSW), where I am the Vice-President of the Australian Ophthalmic Nurses Association (AONA), we are implementing one such project. The Eye TeleC project provides AONA NSW members, with ophthalmic…
There is a global shortage of health care workforce, and this is especially acute in Africa. According to the WHO, nurses and midwives represent more than 50% of the current shortage in health workers. The shortage is also massive in the eye care sector, with a huge demand for ophthalmic nurses across the continent. A…
Today, the Eye Foundation Hospital Group (EFHG) celebrates the hard work and contributions of nurses in healthcare for all. We recognize the contributions of our nursing professionals and their key role in our healthcare delivery system. To mark this special day, two of our nursing staff share their experiences. A richly rewarding experience – Mrs…
Masumbuko Yohana Chaula (38) is an assistant ophthalmic nurse in Ifakara, Tanzania. Since an early age, she dreamt of becoming a nurse as she liked the idea of treating patients and looking after them. She was also impressed by the white coats nurses wear. Today, she is the nurse that she always wanted to become.…
Moses Orwe is an ophthalmic nurse at Homa Bay District Hospital in Kenya’s southwest. The hospital sees an average of 75 patients a day, 10 of whom will need eye surgery. The Fred Hollows Foundation spoke with Moses about his work in eye health and some interesting challenges he faces. “In Kenya, people don’t really…
Ophthalmic nurse Santoula Keo Manizay is quiet and reserved but his actions speak louder than words. At just 31, he has checked more than 2,000 pairs of eyes and trained more than 1000 volunteer health workers in the most remote villages of Lao PDR. He is a true eye health champion. Santoula was a regular…
Petronella Nichols, MBA, Africa Regional Director, Brien Holden Vision Institute Foundation on her journey from nursing to now… Can you describe your journey to becoming qualified as a nurse? Growing up in a country that defined my career prospects as a function of my ethnicity placed limitations on the careers to which one could aspire.…
Shobha Mocherla, Sreedevi Yadavalli, Chaitanya Nelluri on the difference Ophthalmic Nursing Assistants–a new cadre–are making. The Ophthalmic Nursing Assistant (ONA) is a relatively new cadre of human resources for eye care service delivery. They build capacity based on the concept of “task shifting” advocated by the World Health Organization (‘Working Together for Health’ Report 2006).…
St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group has been working to end preventable blindness in the occupied Palestinian territories for 137 years. Throughout our history, in one of the world’s most politically unstable regions, one constant has been the steadfast dedication of our medical and nursing staff. Over 200 nurses have been trained through our…
It is a humbling honour to become the first Certified Registered Nurse in Ophthalmology in the Caribbean; humbling in the sense that I never imagined it being possible. In 2006 a medical illness led me to being reassigned to the eye ward. But I was determined to make the most of this new adventure. There…
On International Nurses Day, we look to Vietnam where the Brien Holden Vision Institute Foundation has been working to train and develop nursing capacity since 2008. Here are snapshots of four nurses from Hanoi in Vietnam. These awesome foursome benefitted from our refraction and spectacle dispensing training, changing their lives for the better. Huynh Phuong…
In Jessore, Bangladesh, one of the first things villagers see when Zinnat Ara approaches, is her big smile. After 10 years of work as a Maternal Health Worker (MHW), people come from everywhere to ensure she sees them. Zinnat visits about 20 houses and sees around 90 to 100 people a day in the Mollapara…
On International Nurses Day, Rebecca Antwi an ophthalmic nurse in Ghana writes about the importance of the work they do and its challenges. Image credit: Eye Unit Bawku Hospital, Community Eye Health Journal ‘An Ophthalmic nurse is a nursing professional that focuses on assessing and treating patients with a variety of eye diseases and injuries’. With…
I will spend International Nurses Day (IND) 2017 in the company of ophthalmic nurses at the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) meeting in New Zealand. My colleagues from the Solomon Islands and I will be presenting there on the role of nursing and capacity development. With New Zealand being the host…
The WHO Global Action Plan 2014-19 notes that “Allied Ophthalmic Personnel” (AOP) comprise opticians, ophthalmic nurses, orthoptists, ophthalmic and optometric assistants, ophthalmic and optometric technicians, vision therapists, ocularists, ophthalmic photographer/imagers, and ophthalmic administrators. Lack of well-trained eye care team members is one of the most significant barriers to delivering and improving eye care globally. Skilled…
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