Susannah Elizabeth Dear

Applying knowledge and clinic skills learnt from hospital experience and further qualifications to accurately refer patients to HES and deliver high standards of patient care. To be a port of contact for less experienced Optometrists or pre-registration Optometrists e.g., clinical expertise in Glaucoma/Medical Retina and knowledge from working within the HES. Often working autonomously as the only Optometrist in practice and the most senior member of the team.

Community Optometrist - Specsavers - Cheltenham

(2018-07)

• Applying knowledge and clinic skills learnt from hospital experience and further qualifications to accurately refer patients to HES and deliver high standards of patient care.
• To be a port of contact for less experienced Optometrists or pre-registration Optometrists e.g., clinical expertise in Glaucoma/Medical Retina and knowledge from working within the HES.
• Often working autonomously as the only Optometrist in practice and the most senior member of the team.
• Successfully triaging patients using the CUES system. Carrying out CUES consultation. Confident in interpreting a wide range of clinical tests and using problem solving skills Independently managing patients with a wide range of pathology with the appropriate urgency.
• Following local protocols to correctly refer patients. Including CUES pathways and new opera referral pathways.
• Being proficient in using a range of complex optometric equipment e.g. OCT, Perkins, GAT, Volk, visual fields etc. to obtain reliable results
• Working effectively within a multiple disciplinary team within a retail setting, ensuring high standards of professionalism and patient care is maintained
• Carrying out post-op cataract refraction, successfully managing post-op complications in a primary care setting or referring onwards
• Carrying out pre-op cataract refraction, evaluating the patient's appropriateness for surgery and counselling patients on the risks and benefits.
• Able to successfully adapt communication to overcome barriers to understanding for patients with additional needs in a variety of clinical settings.
• Confidently fit soft contact lenses including multifocal and astigmatic corrections.
• Effective diagnosis and manage contact lens related complications.
• Dispensing optical appliances to members of the public including children's frames and low vision aids.
• Working efficiently under time constraints in a busy clinic within 25-minute appointment times. Maintaining high levels of concentration at repetitive tasks to ensure accurate clinical results. Using time management skills to successfully prioritise workload. Being a flexible practitioner able to accommodate late arrivals and multitask effectively.
• MECS accredited
• Communicating effectively with a wide demographic of patients. Able to tailor the sight test to the needs of the patients and explain complicated clinical results in layman terms to ensure patient understanding.
• Adapting communication and clinical tests for patients with additional needs or barriers to understanding. Compassionately managing sensitive or emotional situations.
• Ensuring detailed and thorough record keeping. Writing effective referral letters for HES or GPs and liaising with eye casualty nurses.

Hospital Optometrist - Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

(2020-05 - 2022-09)

Performing low vision assessment including the dispense of low vision aids and a full assessment of patient's lifestyle needs. Communicating compassionately distressing or sensitive information to patients

• Proficient in carrying out sight tests on young children and children with additional needs and able to communicate management plans to parents in a sensitive manner, often dealing with anxious parents.
• Effectively carrying post-operative cataract assessments often on patients with complex pathology, independently managing any complications using PGD's and liaising with Ophthalmologist for more complex patients. Counselling patients on further clinical management, second eye surgery or YAG treatments.
• Accurately refracting a complex range of patients often utilising problem-solving skills– e.g., Patient's with special needs, Patient's with a wide range ocular pathology.
• Communicating clinical results to other staff e.g., Ophthalmologists, GPs by sending emails or written letters enabling continuous management of the patient. Ensuring electronic patient records are accurate and comprehensive.
• Assisting in the training of new Optometrists, often having new members of staff shadow my clinics and provide clinical advice.
• Organising and facilitating hospital placements for pre-registration community Optometrists. Acting as a point of contact for pre-registration optometrists during their visit.
• Leading and organising a pre-registration OSCE day for visiting pre-registration students.
• Maintaining high level of flexibility to help support the department during staff illness and Covid recovery.
• Familiarity with GHT protocols in a wide range of clinics and work to these to deliver high standards of patient care.

Specialist Research Optometrist - Gloucestershire Retinal Research Group

(2021-12)

• Meticulously following BCVA and refraction protocols for a variety of different clinical research projects and trials to achieve reliable and accurate measurements for trial outcomes. Certification in BCVA and refraction to research standards for a variety of studies. Involvement in internal study, to retrospectively analyse OCTs in order to assess prevalence of geography atrophy.
• Learning new protocols to use very complex ophthalmic equipment not used routinely in normal clinical environments
• Working successfully as part of a multidisciplinary team of ophthalmologists, technicians, and research co-ordinators in a busy research clinic, this involves being highly adaptable and communicating effectively with other team members.
• Working towards a role in digital surveillance which will require analysis of diabetic retinopathy in fundus photos and OCT scans in patients with suspect diabetic maculopathy, pregnant diabetics and patients with stable proliferative retinopathy who have been discharged.

Specialist Hospital Optometrist - Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

(2022-09)

• Working efficiently in specialist optometrist role in consultant led ophthalmology clinics or shared care schemes.
• Providing research expertise and promote research in department as the optometry research lead.
• Independently performing specialist clinical investigations on suspect glaucoma or glaucoma patients in optometry lead glaucoma shared care.
• Effectively managing patients with nAMD (active and stable patients), CRVO/BRVO or DMO clinics for antiVEGF treatments. Proficiently assessing retinal patients, interpret OCT images, provide clinical decisions for treatment management and liaise closely with the multi-disciplinary ophthalmology team
• Effectively managing time and working as a successful team member in Ophthalmology clinics by prioritising workload and awareness of the team dynamic.
• Managing complex patients in pre cataract assessment clinics by highly developed problem solving and communication.
• Undergoing clinical placement for independent prescribing qualification working under supervision in eye casualty and specialist ophthalmology glaucoma clinics.

Independent prescribing - Cardiff University (2023)

Professional Certificate - Medical Retina - Cardiff University (2022)

Certification of Higher Education - Diabetic Retinopathy Screening - GREG (2022)

Professional Certificate - Glaucoma - Cardiff University (2021)

GOC registered Optometrist - College of Optometrist (2019)

Minor Eye Conditions Services LOCSU - WOPEC (2020)

Glaucoma LOCSU - WOPEC (2020)

BSc - Optometry - Cardiff University (2018)

A levels - Biology, Chemistry, Statistics - Alcester Grammar School (2015)

AS levels - Psychology, Extended project qualification - Alcester Grammar School (2014)

11 GCSEs - Studley High School (2013)

Certificate - Digital applications - Studley High School (2013)