Programs - B.SC in Optometry
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN OPTOMETRY DEGREE PROGRAM
The All American Institute of Medical Sciences School of Natural & Applied Sciences is engaged in offering the Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Optometry program, to deliver excellent teaching and learning, and professional prospects to its graduates.
Optometry is a healthcare profession concerned with examination, diagnosis, and treatment of the human visual system. It is a dynamic and respected profession and opens a range of options to graduates. The role of the optometrist as part of the professional eye care team is changing and expanding, and the opportunities for a fulfilling career have never been better.
Our goal is to advance ‘Vision for All’ (World Health Assembly) by training optometrists to the Bachelor of Science (BSc.), helping Jamaica and the Caribbean achieve a ratio of one optometrist to every five to six thousand persons. In Jamaica, this requires close to 600 new optometrists.
To achieve this goal, we collaborated with the Caribbean Council for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CCB-Eye Care Caribbean), Queen Elizabeth Highway, St. John's, Antigua-Barbuda, to offer this four years BSc in Optometry degree program.
Students who have prerequisites typically attend AAIMS BSc Optometry program for four years. The first two years are spent primarily studying the basic sciences and ocular disease processes through lecture-based courses and lab work. The second two years are devoted to specialized lectures, honing of research competencies, training in advance diagnostic procedures, refractive techniques, and internship practice.
Mission: To help advance the UN and World Health Assembly’s Vision for All, while delivering excellent eye health education through training and deploying Optometrists who will serve the community, support the work of other healthcare providers, function as part of an eye health team and become life-long learners committed to excellence, leadership, and service.
Guiding Principles: The program was designed to be stimulating, flexible, and relevant to a career in optometry. We aim to ensure students become proficient in many aspects of optometric care including general eye examinations, spectacle and contact lens prescribing, spectacle dispensing, assessment of color vision and binocular vision disorders, and treating patients with low vision.
The Goals of the Optometry curriculum are to provide all graduates with:
- A broad knowledge of the ocular and vision sciences appropriate for all optometrists.
- A functional understanding of public health and epidemiological themes, pertinent to prevention of avoidable blindness, preservation of sight and delivery of eye health services to special populations
- Competence in clinical skills to include eliciting a medical history, performing refraction and an ocular health examination, performing and interpreting vision-related technical and diagnostic procedures, and practicing preventive eye health.
- The ability to apply knowledge and skills effectively in the daily practice of optometry, as evidenced by the ability to formulate an accurate problem list, an appropriate set of competing hypotheses to explain the problems, and diagnostic and therapeutic plans.
- Training in the scientific method and the opportunity and support to participate in research, which advances knowledge creation and knowledge recovery.
- The ability to be an effective life-long learner and to conduct critical analyses of new knowledge.
- Knowledge and skills in the use of information technology to manage information optimally in order to meet the clinical, research, and educational demands of the future.
- The highest ethical standards.
- The ability to communicate effectively and humanely with patients, colleagues, and others.
- An understanding of the role and responsibilities of the optometrist in the healthcare delivery system and society.
Curriculum
Program length: 4 Years; 16 Quarter terms (4 terms per year)
Year 01
Course | Title | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|
BSc-O 1101 | General Human Anatomy and Physiology I | 4 |
BSc-O 1102 | Ocular Anatomy and Physiology I | 4 |
BSc-O 1103 | Basic Microbiology | 4 |
BSc-O 1104 | Clinical Techniques Theory | 3 |
BSc-O 1105 | Introduction to Use of English I | 3 |
BSc-O 1201 | General Human Anatomy and Physiology II | 4 |
BSc-O 1202 | Ocular Anatomy and Physiology II | 4 |
BSc-O 1203 | Ocular Microbiology | 4 |
BSc-O 1204 | Clinical Techniques Lab | 1 |
BSc-O 1205 | Introduction to Use of English II | 3 |
BSc-O 1301 | General Pathophysiology | 4 |
BSc-O 1302 | Physical and Geometric Optics I | 3 |
BSc-O 1303 | Clinical Optometry I | 3 |
BSc-O 1304 | Ophthalmic Optics I | 3 |
BSc-O 1305 | Public Health & Community Optometry I | 3 |
BSc-O 1401 | Ocular Pathophysiology | 4 |
BSc-O 1402 | Ocular Disease I | 4 |
BSc-O 1403 | Physical and Geometric Optics II | 3 |
BSc-O 1404 | Clinical Optometry I Lab | 1 |
BSc-O 1405 | Ophthalmic Optics I Lab | 1 |
BSc-O 1409 | Clinical Attachment I | 4 |
Course | Credit Hours | |
---|---|---|
ANATD1214 | Anatomy (incl. Developmental) - Upper Limb & Lower Limb | 4 |
Cells and Tissues - Micro Anatomy | 4 | |
Applied Biochemistry | 4 | |
POM - Medical Ethics & Leadership | 4 | |
Anatomy (incl. Developmental) - Upper Limb/Lower Limb | 4 | |
Epidemiology & Biostatistics | 4 | |
Molecular Medicine/Genetics | 4 | |
POM - Research Study Design | 4 | |
Anatomy (incl. Developmental) - Head/Back/Neuro | 4 | |
Immunology – Hematology | 4 | |
Microbiology | 4 | |
POM – Patient Communication Skills | 4 | |
Intro to Pathology | 4 | |
Intro to Physiology | 4 | |
Intro to Pharmacology | 4 | |
POM - Health Systems Science | 4 | |
Total Credits | 64 |
Year 02
Course Code | Title | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|
BSc-O 2101 | Medical Biochemistry I | 4 |
BSc-O 2202 | Ocular Disease II | 4 |
BSc-O 2103 | Clinical Optometry II | 3 |
BSc-O 2104 | Low Vision and Blindness I | 3 |
BSc-O 2105 | Dispensing Optics I | 3 |
BSc-O 2106 | Management for Health Professionals I | 3 |
BSc-O 2201 | Medical Biochemistry II | 4 |
BSc-O 2302 | Ocular Disease III | 4 |
BSc-O 2203 | Clinical Optometry III | 3 |
BSc-O 2204 | Low Vision and Blindness I Lab | 1 |
BSc-O 2205 | Dispensing Optics I Lab | 1 |
BSc-O 2206 | Management for Health Professionals II | 3 |
BSc-O 2401 | Ocular Disease IV | 4 |
BSc-O 2302 | Clinical Optometry IV | 3 |
BSc-O 2303 | Ophthalmic Optics II | 3 |
BSc-O 2304 | Low Vision and Blindness II | 3 |
BSc-O 2305 | Dispensing Optics II | 3 |
BSc-O 2306 | Physiological Optics 1 | 3 |
BSc-O 2401 | Clinical Optometry V | 3 |
BSc-O 2402 | Physiological Optics II | 3 |
BSc-O 2403 | Public Health & Community Optometry II | 3 |
BSc-O 2304 | Public Health & Community Optometry III | 3 |
BSc-O 2305 | Low Vision and Blindness II Lab | 1 |
BSc-O 2406 | Dispensing Optics II Lab | 1 |
BSc-O 2409 | Clinical Attachment II | 4 |
Year 03
Course Code | Title | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|
BSc-O 3101 | General and Ocular Pharmacology I | 4 |
BSc-O 3102 | Clinical Optometry VI | 4 |
BSc-O 3103 | Neurophysiology of Vision I | 4 |
BSc-O 3104 | Contact Lens I | 3 |
BSc-O 3105 | Binocular Vision I | 3 |
BSc-O 3106 | Public Health & Occupational Optometry I | 3 |
BSc-O 3201 | General and Ocular Pharmacology II | 4 |
BSc-O 3202 | Clinical Optometry VII | 4 |
BSc-O 3203 | Neurophysiology of Vision II | 4 |
BSc-O 3204 | Ocular Disease V | 4 |
BSc-O 3205 | Binocular Vision II | 3 |
BSc-O 3206 | Public Health & Occupational Optometry II | 3 |
BSc-O 3207 | Contact Lens I Lab | 1 |
BSc-O 3301 | Research Methodology and Biostatistics I | 4 |
BSc-O 3302 | Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS | 3 |
BSc-O 3303 | Contact Lens II | 3 |
BSc-O 3304 | Binocular Vision III | 3 |
BSc-O 3305 | Pediatric Optometry I | 3 |
BSc-O 3306 | Legal and Ethical Issues I | 3 |
BSc-O 3401 | Research Methodology and Biostatistics II | 4 |
BSc-O 3402 | Binocular Vision IV | 3 |
BSc-O 3403 | Pediatric Optometry II | 3 |
BSc-O 3404 | Legal and Ethical Issues II | 3 |
BSc-O 3405 | Contact Lens II Lab | 1 |
BSc-O 3409 | Clinical Attachment III | 4 |
Course | Credit Hours | |
---|---|---|
ANATD1214 | Anatomy (incl. Developmental) - Upper Limb & Lower Limb | 4 |
Cells and Tissues - Micro Anatomy | 4 | |
Applied Biochemistry | 4 | |
POM - Medical Ethics & Leadership | 4 | |
Anatomy (incl. Developmental) - Upper Limb/Lower Limb | 4 | |
Epidemiology & Biostatistics | 4 | |
Molecular Medicine/Genetics | 4 | |
POM - Research Study Design | 4 | |
Anatomy (incl. Developmental) - Head/Back/Neuro | 4 | |
Immunology – Hematology | 4 | |
Microbiology | 4 | |
POM – Patient Communication Skills | 4 | |
Intro to Pathology | 4 | |
Intro to Physiology | 4 | |
Intro to Pharmacology | 4 | |
POM - Health Systems Science | 4 | |
Total Credits | 64 |
Year 04
Course Code | Title | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|
BSc-O 4101 | Research Project Part I | 4 |
BSc-O 4109 | Internship-Rotation Part I | 10 |
BSc-O 4201 | Research Project Part II | 4 |
BSc-O 4209 | Internship rotation Part II | 10 |
BSc-O 4301 | Research Project Part III | 4 |
BSc-O 4309 | Internship rotation Part III | 10 |
BSc-O 4401 | Research Project Part IV | 4 |
BSc-O 4409 | Internship rotation Part IV | 10 |
Course | Credit Hours | |
---|---|---|
ANATD1214 | Anatomy (incl. Developmental) - Upper Limb & Lower Limb | 4 |
Cells and Tissues - Micro Anatomy | 4 | |
Applied Biochemistry | 4 | |
POM - Medical Ethics & Leadership | 4 | |
Anatomy (incl. Developmental) - Upper Limb/Lower Limb | 4 | |
Epidemiology & Biostatistics | 4 | |
Molecular Medicine/Genetics | 4 | |
POM - Research Study Design | 4 | |
Anatomy (incl. Developmental) - Head/Back/Neuro | 4 | |
Immunology – Hematology | 4 | |
Microbiology | 4 | |
POM – Patient Communication Skills | 4 | |
Intro to Pathology | 4 | |
Intro to Physiology | 4 | |
Intro to Pharmacology | 4 | |
POM - Health Systems Science | 4 | |
Total Credits | 64 |