OPT025: Medical Retina

This course will enable you to refresh and enhance your knowledge and clinical skills in medical retina.

The aim of the course is to provide you with knowledge of common medical retina conditions and includes topics covering screening, referral and treatment pathways, with an emphasis on optical coherence tomography (OCT) interpretation and diabetic retinopathy grading.

It enables you to make accurate and appropriate referral decisions for patients with medical retina conditions and prepares you to commence working under supervision in medical retina, new patient triage clinics and AMD treatment-retreatment clinics.

This module is accredited by the College of Optometrists to provide the Professional Certificate in Medical Retina. In addition, this course has been developed so that on successful passing of the module, you will have an equivalent qualification to the Level 3 Diploma for Health Screeners (Diabetic Eye).

The course will be run entirely online and will not require attendance in Cardiff for assessment.

There are CPD points available on completion of applicable elements of the module.

Start date	September and January
Duration	200 hours
Credits	20 credits - CET points available
Prerequisites	None
Module tutors	Amy Green
Tuition fees (2025/26)	£1380 - Home students £2580 - International students
Tuition fees (2026/27)	£1420 - Home students £2660 - International students
Module code	OPT025

Learning objectives

On completion of the module, you should be able to:

• Critically reflect on their knowledge of routine and complex issues related to anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology of the retina, and the care of patients with medical retina disorders in optometric practice (ILO1).
• Explore, critically analyse, synthesise and evaluate evidence-based literature, guidelines and underpinning theories in medical retina care and apply this knowledge to clinical scenarios, demonstrating how they would determine the most appropriate solutions for a patient accessing ophthalmic care (ILO2).
• Evaluate and apply modern key concepts of medical retina care and be able to apply them to challenges within their own environment and practice (ILO3).
• Address and reflect on the benefit of inter-professional teamwork in the delivery of medical retina care (ILO4).
• Present and defend balanced and informed arguments, incorporating critical judgment and decision making in clinical scenarios (ILO5).
• Engage with new ideas, opportunities and technologies, building knowledge and experience to effectively reflect on and evaluate learning and professional development (ILO5).
• Assess the signs and symptoms of medical retina disorders, including the patient’s response to treatment, to make a differential diagnosis and to rank options for management (ILO6).
• Problem-solve and generate solutions / management plans in medical retina cases based on detailed knowledge of current treatments and evidence-based professional and clinical judgement (ILO7).

How the module will be delivered

This module is taught via online learning lectures and Xerte tutorials delivered via Learning Central, the University’s e-learning system, with supporting resources and references supplied.

Throughout the course there will be medical retina cases to work through to help you to develop and then test your feature recognition and then management decisions.

You will have webinars with the module leaders to support your learning.

The module map which outlines key activities and dates is available via the module on Learning Central.

Syllabus content

• Anatomy and Physiology of the Macula
• Imaging and Interpretation
• Age-related Macular Degeneration
  • AMD
  • AMD mimics and differential diagnosis
• Diabetes
  • Diabetes Mellitus
  • Diabetic Retinopathy features and grading
  • Diabetic Eye Screening principles and protocols
  • Diabetic Retinopathy management
• Vascular Conditions
  • Vascular Abnormalities
  • Vein Occlusion
• Vitreoretinal pathology and Retinal dystrophies
• Uveitis
• Risk factors and differential diagnosis of medical retina conditions
• Primary and secondary care management of medical retina conditions
• Acute retinal conditions
• Communication
• Guidelines and referral pathways

Skills you will practise and develop

• Academic skills
• Digital Skills
• Researching
• Reflective practice
• Knowledge application
• Optometric techniques and practical skills
• Effective communication
• Ethical, social and environmental awareness
• Independent and critical thinking
• Reflection and resilience
• Collaborative
• Innovative, Enterprising and Commercially Aware

How the module will be assessed

Formative assessment will enable you to assess your progress:

• You can assess your own progress throughout the course with online key feature scenarios and management case scenarios. The mark for these does not count towards the final grade.

Summative assessments which contribute to your module mark:

• Online Multiple-Choice Test (50%, ~1 hour): This is a multiple-choice online test that will assess your comprehension and application across the entire syllabus which you take at the end of the semester. (ILOs 1/3/4/6)
• Online Case Scenario and diabetic grading Test (50%, ~1 hour): This is a series of case scenario assessments that may incorporate key feature recognition/multiple choice questions that will assess your comprehension and application of the clinical management knowledge gained throughout the course. (ILOs 2/5/7/8)
• Communication assessment (0%, 5 minute oral presentation): You will  carry out an online assessment where the ability to understand, interpret and communicate regarding complex medical retinal related information will be assessed  towards the end of the semester. (ILOs 1/2/4)

How to apply

Please contact our postgraduate team.