A GLOBAL MULTICULTURAL HEALTHCARE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE LIKE NO OTHER!

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