Day in the life … Clinical Research Optometrist Paulina

Describe your typical day

As a newly graduated Optical and Imaging Technologies Masters student, with my first degree in Optics and Optometry, I’m involved in the clinical evaluations of the patients. I take measurements for each wearer trial and take part in quality controls during the lens manufacturing process.

What do you start with every day?

I start by going over the trials protocol for the patients scheduled for that day. In this way I make sure each appointment gets done as effectively as possible.

When there are not many patients scheduled, I start by checking if we have received a new set of lenses from any of our labs. If that’s the case the lens quality control process needs to be started. It is important that our customers and patients receive a high-quality product. Finally, the lenses are assembled if they have passed our quality controls

What do you love about your job?

Every day I learn something new, I am lucky to have colleagues that are willing to teach me about other tasks on different projects.

This job also presents an incredible opportunity to collaborate with other entities. For instance, we are currently co-working with Amires, a non-profit body from Spain, to help us on the study of myopia control in children under 12 years old. Together we visit primary schools, and have carried out visual screenings on hundreds of children since October 2021. This trial aims to prevent myopia progression at early ages using specific ophthalmic lenses.

What are the challenges?

The main challenge of working in the clinical investigation of ophthalmic lenses is to develop new tests which are dynamic as well as interesting to the patients and us as optometrists. Another challenge is the development of new designs that enables to improve the visual quality of the population, including very specific sectors such as pilots and drivers amongst others.

What do you do to wrap up the day and prepare for the next one?

To wrap up I like going over the agenda as well as reviewing the pending tasks or those tasks that had come up unexpectedly. In this way I’m able to organize the next day according to priority and the patients scheduled.