Imperatives in Primary Eye Care: 
A Comprehensive Clinical Overview

Presented by  

Randall Thomas, OD*

Objectives:  This course is intended to equip the audience to more comprehensively assess patient presentations over a wide range of conditions.  Numerous clinical case presentations and select pharmacology topics will be discussed.  The goal is to teach critical clinical points, which will enable the doctor to more accurately diagnose, and develop an action plan to maximally care for the patient.

• Clinical Grand Rounds  - 2 hrs.  Challenges in treating a wide variety of anterior and posterior segment diseases are shared in a clinical rounds format. This course covers both common and not so common ocular disorders in a clinically practical manner. An interactive approach is used to discuss diagnosis and management strategies involved with each case presentation.

• The Bugs and the Drugs  - 2 hrs.  course will present numerous external disease cases seen in practice. The differential diagnosis and medical management options of each case will be discussed in a clinical practice manner.
• Not So Trivial Pursuits  - 2 hrs.   This course will present numerous clinical cases of common and not so common anterior segment disease entities seen in practice. The differential diagnosis and medical management options of each case will be discussed in a clinical practice manner. Emphasis will be given to the latest treatment options for the presented anterior segment topics.
• Comprehensive Pharmacology Update  - 2 hrs.  This course reaches the cutting edge of contemporary medical management with topical and oral drugs used to treat eye disease. Clinical application of the pharmaceuticals is stressed with case presentations. Included is a review of all relevant drug classes as well as an update on what is new.
• Neur-O, Neur-O, a Pirates Life for Me - 2 hrs.  This course will discuss a variety of common and not-so-common, clinical presentations of neuro-ophthalmic pathological processes. Differential diagnosis and clinical management will be stressed.
• Retina Update - 2 hrs.  This course will cover retinal conditions encountered by the practicing optometrist. The differential diagnosis, where appropriate, will be discussed along with the proper updated management protocols.

*Dr. Randall Thomas is well known for lecturing together with Dr. Ron Melton. Both are North Carolina natives. They completed their training at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 1981. They have attended the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Course in “Ophthalmic Pathology for Ophthalmologists.” Both were members of the Student Optometric Service to Haiti team in 1981. They have successfully completed the National Board Examination in Optometry and the International Association of Boards of Examiners in Optometry Examination on “Treatment and Management of Ocular Disease.”

They have been honored as the “Glaucoma Educators of the Year” by the American Academy of Optometry. The Southern Council of Optometrists presented the William C. Ezell Award “For the Best Article Based upon a Lecture Given at the Southern Congress of Optometry” to them. They are Fellows in the American Academy of Optometry. Both served as consultants to the Council on Clinical Optometric Care and the Council on Optometric Education of the American Optometric Association. They have been consultants in the areas of pathology and ocular pharmacology to the International Board of Examiners in Optometry. Both are members of the adjunct faculty at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Pacific University College of Optometry, and State University of New York College of Optometry.

They have lectured throughout the United States and internationally on the topics of ocular differential diagnosis and medical management of the eye diseases. Together they have authored many articles in the optometric literature, including the annual “Clinical Guide to Ophthalmic Drugs” in Review of Optometry. Drs. Melton and Thomas are full-time clinicians delivering primary and secondary eye care.