Optometry in India: Vision of Professor Jay M Enoch and its present status

Anuradha Narayanan¹, Krishna Kumar Ramani¹, Aiswaryah Radhakrishnan², PremNandhini Satgunam^3,4, Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan⁵ and Shrikant R Bharadwaj^3,4
1Elite School of Optometry, Sankara Nethralaya, Unit of Medical Research Foundation, 
8 GST Road, Alandur, St. Thomas Mount, Chennai-600 016, India.
²Department of Optometry, Medicine & Health Sciences,
SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Chennai-603 203, India.
³Brien Holden Institute of Optometry and Vision Sciences, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Road 2,
Banjara Hills, Hyderabad-500 034, India.
⁴Hyderabad Eye Research Foundation, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Road 2, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad-500 034, India.
⁵School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada.
Dedicated to honor of Prof Jay M Enoch

Prior to Prof Jay Enoch’s involvement in Indian optometry, the practice was largely confined to clinical refraction and dispensing optics. His contribution, through the Elite School of Optometry, was a game-changer for Indian optometry in many ways. The training program was upgraded to a four-year undergraduate bachelor’s degree. The curriculum, then modelled after the optometry program at the University of California Berkeley, incorporated rigorous training in comprehensive eye examination techniques, ocular and systemic diseases, ophthalmic instrumentation, specialty areas of optometry, vision science research and entrepreneurship. Today, 35 years since the threshold moment, Indian optometry has produced excellent quality clinicians, academicians, researchers, and entrepreneurs globally. Optometry training has spawned manifold, with the curriculum established at the Elite School forming the basis for many of these programs. The profession has also been significantly regulated with a standardized definition, scope of practice and curriculum through the ‘National Commission on Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act’ in 2021, all in alignment with Prof Enoch’s vision. While the base is now strong, the future of Indian optometry needs to be bolstered on several professional and academic fronts for continuous growth and staying relevant with the evolving eye care needs of India. This will be a true tribute to Prof Enoch’s vision for a thriving optometry profession in India. © Anita Publications. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Clinical training, Private practice, Optometric education, Refraction, Vision Science research.

Peer Review Information
Method: Single- anonymous; Screened for Plagiarism? Yes
Buy this Article in Print © Anita Publications. All rights reserve

References

1. Thite N, Jaggernath J, Chinanayi F, Bharadwaj S, Kunjeer G, Pattern of optometry practice and range of services in India, Optom Vis Sci, 92(2015)615–622.
2. Sackett D, Haynes B, Marshall T, Morgan W K C, Evidence-based medicine, Lancet, 346(1995)1171–1172.
3. Sackett D L, Rosenberg W M, The need for evidence-based medicine, J R Soc Med, 88(1995)620–624.
4. Enoch J M, Developing World/Indian optometry and emigration, Optometry, 76(2005)15–16.
5. Hu M L, Ayton L N, Jolly J K, The Clinical Use of Vernier Acuity: Resolution of the Visual Cortex Is More Than Meets the Eye, Front Neurosci, 15(2021)714843; doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2021.714843.
6. Lakshminarayanan V, Enoch J M, Vernier acuity and aging, Int Ophthalmol, 19(1995)109–115.
7. Enoch J M, Giraldez-Fernandez, Maria Jesus, Knowles Richard, Huang Daohua, Hunter Andrew, Labree Laurie, Azen Stanley P, Hyperacuity test to evaluate vision through dense cataracts; research preliminary to a clinical study. I. Studies conducted at the University of California at Berkeley before travel to India, Optom ViS Sci, 72(1995)619–629.
8. Enoch J M, Knowles R, Hyperacuity test to evaluate vision through dense cataracts; research preliminary to a clinical study. II. Initial trials of the India instrument and HASP protocol at Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India, Optom ViS Sci, 72(1995)630–642.
9. Singh S, Aravind S, Hirose H, Enoch J M, Hyperacuity test to evaluate vision through dense cataracts; research preliminary to a clinical study. III. Data on normal subjects obtained with and without a pseudo-nuclear cataract 6/60 (20/200) at the Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India, Optom Vis Sci, 73(1996)62–64.
10. Singh S, Aravind S, Hirose H, Enoch J M, Azen S P, Hyperacuity test to evaluate vision through dense cataracts; research preliminary to a clinical study. IV. Data on patients with macular degeneration and minimal media disorders obtained with and without a pseudo-nuclear cataract 6/60 (20/200) at the Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India, Optom Vis Sci, 73(1996)125–126.
11. Efron N, Morgan P B, Jones L W, Morgan G A, Nichols J J, Global optometrist top 200 research ranking, Clin Exp Optom, 104(2021)471–485.
12. De Souza N, Cui Y, Looi S, Paudel P, Shinde L, Kumar K, Berwal R, Wadhwa R, Daniel V, Flanagan J, Holden B, The role of optometrists in India: an integral part of an eye health team, Indian J Ophthalmol, 60(2012)401–405.