Optometry is a healthcare profession and a substantial discipline in the line of eye care and vision as it involves examining, diagnosing and treating the eyes, and identifying the conditions that affect the vision and the vision information processing. Optometry further examines and diagnose other disorders that are likely to affect the human eyes as well as their vision. Optometrist study is crucial in that it requires an in-depth understanding of the human anatomy and most important their brain and eye coordination. Optometry is widely taken as a course in majority of the universities and colleges across the world. This paper aims to analyze the education of optometry in Kenya by investigating the trends, successes and challenges facing the education of optometry.
Education of Optometry in Kenya
Optometry takes approximately 4 years of study in the university to attain a degree or an alternative of 2 to 3 years to attain a diploma. However, the study of optometry in Kenya is not incorporated fully in to the education system leading to fewer opportunities of practice. The institutions known to offer optometry exclusively include Kenya Medical Training College and Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology and Presbyterian University of East Africa. The low count of universities offering optometry indicate a need for full awareness on the roles and description of the optometry as well as the importance of the practice by optometrists in regards to forming well informed diagnosis.
There is need for advancing eye care courses and professional opportunities in Kenya in order to provide adequate services with eye problems and visual issues. The available professionals handing eye care problems in Kenya tend to find themselves doing all the work while in the real sense having professional who can tell develop conclusive diagnosis would help in providing timely interventions and thus reduce eye problems.