Student ambassadors try life in practice

Left to right: student optometrist Palak Kapadia, director at TK&S Optometrists Brian Tompkins and student optometrists Debra Grant, Keyur Patel and Habeeb Rahman

Leading young optometrists will experience working in practice this summer thanks to the British Contact Lens Association (BCLA).

Five BCLA student ambassadors will spend time at TK&S Optometrists in Northampton, sitting in on eye examinations, carrying out tasks to help the clinical team and getting hands-on with technology in the diagnostics suite.

Palak Kapadia and Habeeb Rahman were the first two students to grasp the opportunity and will be followed by Sarah Campos, Nouralhuda Idriss and Bonnie Ki Yan Lam.

Brian Tompkins, director at TK&S Optometrists, said: “Giving the next generation of optometrists the chance to experience life in practice is a crucial part of their development. The BCLA ambassadors will all be able to shadow our award-winning clinical team and pick up invaluable experience that will stand them in good stead for third year at university.

“Optometry is in good hands and it’s our pleasure to give the stars of the future the chance to shine.”

All five student ambassadors attended the BCLA clinical conference and are keen to pick up real-world experience before their pre-reg year. Palak, from Cardiff University, said: “This is my first time working in a UK practice. I am from Kenya originally and things are very different over here. There is so much more technology available and I have learnt so much, particularly the way Brian talks to patients and makes it all about them – everyone is treated as an individual with their own particular needs.”

Bradford University student Habeeb said: “I’ve enjoyed the chance to shadow the scleral lens and binocular vision clinics. They are something we touch on at University and that side of things really interests me. Scleral lenses are gaining a lot of traction at the minute and that is a fast-growing side of the profession so may be something I look to specialise in eventually.”