24 October 2025
Clinical skills ‘brought to life’ in expanded suite of Optometry Today skills guides – Four new videos are launched to support student and early career optometrists
Optometry Today (OT) and the Association of Optometrists (AOP), have collaborated to release two new video skills guide series for optometrists. This guide includes four new resources to its growing education library.
Ceri Smith-Jaynes, OT Multimedia Clinical Editor, said: “These four new additions to the OT skills guide library expand the current offering to 52. We created these short videos with students, newly-qualified and career-break optometrists in mind, but they are open access and can be watched by all practitioners. Seasoned optometrists may wish to refresh their knowledge if they find themselves working in an area outside their usual scope of practice, or perhaps if they are training a new member of staff.”
The first of the two new series is presented by AOP Education Lead Dr Byki Huntjens, exploring history and symptoms, with video material relating to the key questions to ask during a sight test and when carrying out a contact lens assessment.
The second series is headed by Optical Engagement Manager at The Brain Tumour Charity, Lorcan Butler, and focuses on headaches. It offers guidance on recognising symptoms that may indicate serious underlying conditions, as well as practical advice on managing patients who present with migraines.
Dr Byki Huntjens, AOP Education Lead, said: “Clinical skills are never truly ‘finished’; they grow with every patient we see. These guides give students the chance to see clinical techniques brought to life in a way that textbooks alone can’t achieve. I hope these videos add confidence in how to approach history and symptoms, and the curiosity to keep refining clinical and communication skills in practice.”
Topic areas previously address in the skills guide library include dry eye, contact lens fitting, and domiciliary eye care, alongside practical demonstrations of techniques such as Goldmann tonometry, slit lamp use, and binocular vision assessment.
Juwaria Khan, Chair of the AOP Student Committee, said: “The skills guide videos are a useful resource for students. I’ve used them to brush up on practical techniques and found them to be invaluable in building confidence before clinics and assessments. The videos break subjects down clearly, and they are great for revising key skills in a simple, concise and structured way.”
To explore the full skills guide library and review the new material, visit the OT education library.
Optometry Scotland (OS) recognise the importance of developing skills within optometry. As the representative body for the optometry sector in Scotland, we welcome the expanded skills guide created by OT and AOP.
OS encourages open dialogue with our members as we continue to represent the interests their interest within the sector.
If you would like to discuss any relevant concerns, please get in touch with your regional OS representative or contact us at office@optometryscotland.org.uk