Singapore Polytechnic’s Optometry students take an oath to deliver best quality eye and vision care at inaugural White Coat Ceremony
12 Oct 2018
Singapore, 12 October 2018 – Singapore Polytechnic (SP) today held its inaugural White Coat Ceremony for 60 students from the Diploma in Optometry (DOPT). The ceremony is an important milestone for the DOPT course, as it empowers students to deliver the best-quality eye and vision care to patients as part of their profession.
It is also an occasion where students pledge their commitment to meeting high standards of professionalism and care for patients. The ceremony is symbolic of the Year 2 DOPT students’ transition to the role of an optometrist, where they will be able to provide eye care services to the community as well as patients in the SP Optometry Centre, which sees about 3,500 patients each year.
This is timely in view of the growing significance of the role of optometrists. Apart from trends which show that the number of eye disease cases in Singapore could increase sharply in the next 20 years, the prominence of eye care services in the community will be stepped up to save patients a trip to specialist outpatient clinics in hospitals.
Extending Humanitarian Outreach Efforts
The SP student optometrists have to date served close to 28,000 people through local and overseas humanitarian outreach initiatives.
These initiatives include the Gift of Sight journey to Bhakhunde Besi, Nepal in June 2018, where student optometrists delivered eye-screening services to 1,866 local Nepali children and villagers. Another team of student optometrists travelled to Surabaya, East Java in 2017 to conduct vision screenings for 1,775 villagers across 13 villages. The team dispensed 354 sunglasses, 1,247 ready-made reading glasses and 98 on-the-spot prescription spectacles.
Student optometrists have also been active in Singapore including conducting eye examinations for 40 residents from Jalan Besar GRC.
To commemorate World Sight Day, student optometrists have delivered free on-site screening for 64 elderly beneficiaries from St Luke’s ElderCare and SASCO Senior Citizens' Home. They conducted screening for common eye conditions affecting the aged population such as refractive error, cataract, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.
For Media Enquiries:
Ms Deanna Bonaparte
Communications Executive
Singapore Polytechnic
T: 6590 2782
M: 9270 1790
E: Deanna_Bonaparte@sp.edu.sg
About Singapore Polytechnic (www.sp.edu.sg)
Established in 1954, Singapore Polytechnic (SP) is Singapore’s first polytechnic. It has 10 schools that offer 40 full-time diploma courses and 3 common entry programmes for close to 17,000 students. SP adopts a proven creative teaching and learning framework and offers students a holistic, authentic and industry-relevant curriculum, innovative and vibrant learning spaces, and enriching overseas programmes.
The Polytechnic is committed to producing competent and versatile graduates who are also imbued with sound values, so that they can be work ready, life ready and world-ready. SP has more than 200,000 graduates and among them are successful entrepreneurs, top executives in multi-national and public-listed corporations, and well-known professionals across various industries and leaders in government.
SP clinched the inaugural ASEAN People’s Award in 2015 for its contributions toward the region’s community-building efforts. SP is also the first polytechnic to be awarded the President’s Award for the Environment in 2010 and the President's Social Service Award in 2011.
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