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Yazan Gammoh,1 Priya Morjaria,2 Sandra S Block,3 Jessica Massie,4 Peter Hendicott5 1Department of Optometry Science, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan; 2International Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; 3Illinois College of Optometry, Chicago, Illinois, USA; 4Freelance Global Eye Health Consultant, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; 5Optometry and Vision Science, School of Clinical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, AustraliaCorrespondence: Yazan Gammoh, Department of Optometry Science, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, P.O.Box 121, Amman, 19328, Jordan, Email y.gammoh@ammanu.edu.joPurpose: To provide information on the demographics of optometrists and regulation of the optometry profession in countries who were members of the World Council of Optometry (WCO) during the period 2022– 2023.Methods: A non-random, purposive sampling and a key informant strategy was employed to conduct a survey-based cross-sectional study on the professional landscape and distribution of optometrists; educational landscape; legislative aspects of the profession; and the scope of optometry practice in countries who were members of WCO during the period 2022– 2023. Key informants were identified by WCO country members’ leadership.Results: In the 39 countries surveyed, one optometrist serves 23,200 persons on average. Only 46.2% of the countries met the internationally suggested 1:10,000 optometrist-to-population ratio. The average male-to-female ratio was 45% males/55% females, with a division of average age as follows: under 45 years of age 46% as compared to above 45 years of age 54%. It was reported that optometry is not regulated in France, Portugal, India, Kenya and Cameron. Thirteen countries (33%) do not require a Bachelor’s degree as a minimum to practice optometry. Use of diagnostic drugs is prohibited in 20% of the countries, with 25% of the countries limiting the use of therapeutic pharmaceutical agents.Conclusion: Many countries where optometry is recognized struggle to have an adequate number of optometrists; this hinders access to eye care. This is compounded by unregulated minimum levels of education for entry-level optometric practitioners. In addition, several countries limit or prohibit many optometric procedures that restrict the ability of optometrists to provide eye care and vision health services at the primary care level.Keywords: eye care, scope of practice, optometrist, global distribution, legislation

Objective: To determine employers' (clinic based ATs) perceived satisfaction of the academic preparation of entry-level ATs, and to identify perceived inadequacies of the (ATEP) curriculum. Design and Setting: Athletic trainers employed in clinical setting completed an online survey instrument. Subjects: One-hundred-four ATs serving in the NATA defined clinical employment setting who had supervised an entry-level employee. Measurements: Participants completed an online survey evaluating their employee's didactic and clinical preparation for entry-level employment on a 4-point scale and 34 statements on a 5-point Likert scale to ascertain their satisfaction of the employee's academic preparation across the content areas comprising the BOC domains of knowledge and skills. Statistical analysis was conducted using a Cronbach's Alpha to evaluate internal consistency (0.79-0.88) of the scales. Results: Only 104/1716 (6%) of employers responded to the survey. These employers rated the didactic and clinical preparation of their entry-level employees as adequate (75%, N = 77), and there were no apparent deficiencies in employee preparation when comparing across content areas. Employers did report that interpersonal skills, as opposed to technical skills, were an area that could be expanded upon. Conclusions: Employers perceived that ATEPs are adequately preparing students, both academically and clinically, for entry-level positions within the profession, although they should provide students more opportunities for interpersonal communications with coaches, parents, and the medical community. (Contains 5 tables.)

The article presents a case study of a liver laceration suffered by a college football player during competition. After physical examination, the athlete was hospitalized, where the laceration was diagnosed by computerized tomography (CT) scan. Treatment involved rest followed by a gradual return to physical activity, with the player able to return to active competition nine weeks after the initial injury.

The article discusses wrist injuries that commonly affect golfers. The five physiological phases of the golf swing are discussed and the author outlines how the anatomy of the wrist lends itself to injury from improper golf swings. The author also focuses on surgical options to treat golf-related injuries, corrective grips, and therapeutic wrist exercises.

Discusses the occurrence of atrial septal defect in a female college basketball player. Number for athletes to be screened to identify risk for sudden cardiac death; Athlete's exhibition of earlier fatigue; Detection of the atrial septal defect during a routine preparticipation echocardiogram.

Complex global business environments are associated with increasingly interconnected economies, societies, and governments. Moreover, the proliferation of discrete markets, categories of product offerings, and individualized customer segments motivates business leaders to drastically simplify their organizations to become more agile in exploiting this complexity. Incremental changes are no longer sufficient to remain viable in volatile and uncertain environments. Internal business processes must undergo radical simplifications that reduce cycle time (a measure of responsiveness), cost per transaction (a measure of efficiency), and the number of hand-offs (a measure of how often work is transferred to another organization or business process). IBM defines radical simplification as realizing reductions in these measures of 50% or greater. To achieve these goals, IBM executives identified the need for a consistent, carefully matched set of best-practice methods, techniques, and leading-edge software tools, including scenario-based guidance to enable leaders to radically simplify their businesses. This paper describes the resulting IBM Toolkit for Radical Simplification and includes project case studies to demonstrate how the toolkit is being applied to simplify business processes for increased speed, agility, and value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: In cystic fibrosis (CF), problems with sleep, eating/mealtime behaviours, physiotherapy adherence and parental mental health issues are common, yet their natural history and the extent of service use to address them are unknown. OBJECTIVE: Follow up the 2007 cohort to determine: (1) prevalence of child sleep, eating/mealtime behaviours, physiotherapy adherence, and externalising/internalising problem behaviours and primary caregiver mental health status after a 3-year period; (2) natural history of child behaviours; (3) potentially modifiable predictors of persistent problems; and (4) service use for behaviours. DESIGN: Prospective cohort. Setting: Royal Children's Hospital, Monash Medical Centre and Sydney Children's Hospital (Australia) CF clinics. PARTICIPANTS: Caregivers, of children aged 3-8 years, who completed the baseline questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Child sleep, eating/mealtime behaviours, adherence with therapy and externalising and internalising behaviours. Predictors: parenting style (low warmth), caregiver mental health status and sleep quality at baseline. RESULTS: 102 of 116 (88%) families participated. The prevalence of sleep and eating/mealtime problems at follow-up was similar to baseline. The prevalence of caregiver mental health symptoms remained higher than the community data. 71 out of 102 (70%) of the children experienced at least one persistent behaviour problem. Caregiver mental health difficulties predicted persistent child moderate to severe sleep problems (adjusted OR 6.5, 95% CI 1.2 to 36.2, p=0.03) and their persistently poor adherence to the physiotherapy regimen (adjusted OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.3 to 9.2, p=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Child problem behaviours are common in children with CF, persist and are often predicted by the mental health of the parent. Routine surveillance for and management of child problem behaviours are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]