postgraduate diploma in ophthalmology

One-year course, awarded by the Fiji School of Medicine

The entry level for the one year Postgraduate Diploma in Ophthalmology course is for a motivated, dexterous qualified medical practitioner with binocular vision and the ability and inclination to attend to detail, who wishes to be an ‘eye doctor’.

The Postgraduate Diploma in Ophthalmology emphasises the diagnosis and treatment of the common causes of blindness and impaired vision (refractive error, cataract, trauma, cornea/external disease).

There is also regard, but at a significantly reduced level, to the recognition and appropriate management and referral of less common conditions and those requiring specialised equipment. The course is offered at an intensely practical eye clinic and operating theatre attachment with topics presented in a structured modular format. To help the graduate be more effective in the workplace, both as a clinician and eye care team member, eye service management and public health ophthalmology are also taught.

Core curriculum for Postgraduate Diploma in Ophthalmology

Introductory applied anatomy; introductory applied physiology; clinical history, examination and record keeping; clinical instruments and devices; refraction and dispensing; surgical anatomy; operating theatre protocols; decontamination, disinfection and sterilisation; procedural instruments and devices; introduction to ophthalmic microsurgery; ophthalmic anaesthesia; cataract surgery; pterygium surgery; lid surgery; trauma; enucleation and evisceration; cornea and external eye disease; miscellaneous clinical topics; applied pharmacology; low vision; eye service planning and management; community eye care.