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The primary goal of the migrant health project in San Patricio County, Texas was to establish out-patient family health care for migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Several accomplishments were made. By using a physician assistant, the clinic was able to add an additional work without the necessity of extending their hours. The dental services have been expanded to a 3-day week. A cardiac clinic is held once a month for migrant parents and children. These patients are given a chest X-ray, a complete physical, and a developmental history, followed up with electrocardiograms. A surgical clinic is also held once a month by a pediatric surgeon. A weekly foot clinic is held by a podiatrist. A new additional health service is the optometric consultant for patients requiring glasses. In social services, an additional nun, who specializes in child guidance, was added. Inclusion of other physicians within the county who treat patients in their own offices has relieved some of the transportation burden. The exciting accomplishment was the addition of hospitalization. Other services provided are an obstetrical clinic, ambulance services, and the registration and issuing of cards to attract migrants to the clinic. (FF)

These four research reviews should be useful to educators concerned with developing and improving vocational education programs. Reviews include: (1) "Occupational Training Information System" (OTIS) which is concerned with a decision making model for state and local programs and with responsive vocational and technical education, (2) "Career Ladders In The Foodservice Industry," including what one industry can do to cut down on excessive and costly turnover, provide better service, and more fully hold and utilize its personnel, (3) "The HEART Report--A Household Employment Training, Counseling, Job Development and Placement Program," and (4) "A National Study Of Assisting Manpower In Optometry," including an investigation of job availability, duties, education, and training of ancillary optometric personnel and the forecasting of the demand for such employees. A bibliography of additional studies and ordering information for cited materials are included. (JS)

This brochure gives basic facts about optometry which may be helpful in considering such a career. Included are a discussion as to what an optometrist is, the development of the profession, the need for practitioners projected by State to 1980, types of services rendered, and the variety of employment opportunities available. Over one-third of the brochure comprises a listing of the educational requirements to be met for admission into each of the twelve schools or colleges of optometry accredited by the Council on Optometric Education of the American Optometric Association. Sources of further information on optometry as a career are given. (SC)

Included in this booklet are facts about optometry which would be helpful for those considering entering the profession. The need for optometry, its history, accredited schools, distribution of manpower, and what the optometrist does are outlined. Over one-third of the booklet is a "Profile of a Profession" which discusses specialized optometric services (care of children with learning disabilities, care of the aged, rehabilitation of the partially sighted, contact lenses, environmental vision), optometric research, types of practice and delivery systems, optometry in the armed forces, and the professional organization, the American Optometric Association. A final section indicates the current and projected need for optometrists and colleges of optometry as well as changes and trends in the field. (SC)

This report presents preliminary findings from a mail survey of all optometrists licensed to practice in the State of South Carolina. The surveys was conducted in 1972 by the International Association of Boards of Examiners in Optometry as part of a national endeavor to collect data on all optometrists in the United States. Approximately 96 percent of the 174 optometrists in South Carolina who were sent questionnaires responded. Thus the professional characteristics of an overwhelming majority of optometrists in South Carolina are described in the report. Tabulated data show the number of: (1) optometrists by county of primary practice; (2) active optometrists by age and sex; (3) active optometrists by school and year of graduation; (4) optometrists by activity status and by age; (5) active optometrists by principal form of employment and age; (6) practicing optometrists by years of practice and use of supplementary personnel; (7) practicing optometrists by primary specialty and age; and (8) active optometrists by type of activity and age. A sample questionnaire is included in the report. (JR)

This report presents preliminary findings from a mail survey of all optometrists licensed to practice in the State of Wisconsin. The survey was conducted in 1972 by the International Association of Boards of Examiners in Optometry as part of a national endeavor to collect data on all optometrists in the United States. Approximately 95 percent of the 474 optometrists in the State who were sent questionnaires responded. Thus the professional characteristics of an overwhelming majority of optometrists in Wisconsin are described in the report. Tabulated data show the number of: (1) optometrists by county of primary practice; (2) active optometrists by age and sex; (3) active optometrists by school and year or graduation; (4) optometrists by activity status and age; (5) active optometrists by principal form of employment and age; (6) practicing optometrists by years of practice and use of supplementary personnel; (7) practicing optometrists by primary specialty and age; and (8) active optometrists by type of activity and age. A sample questionnaire is included in the report. (JR)

This document is a lengthy summary of the Report of the National Study of Optometric Education. Contents include: introductory material; evolution of optometric training; vision care; institutions providing optometric education and their objectives; the scope of optometry; educational implications of contemporary developments in optometric practices; manpower in optometry; faculty, curricula and libraries of colleges of optometry; students of optometry; vision research and optometric education; and financing optometric education. Recommendations concern cooperation with other professions, manpower in optomery, curriculum in optometry, faculty in schools of optometry, students of optometry, and financing optometric education. (MJM)

This report surveys Minnesota laws relating to the use of health manpower. It presents a summary of Minnesota licensure laws as they apply to categories of health personnel and paramedical personnel currently unrecognized by the law. An analysis is also made of malpractice decisional law to examine whether such laws prohibit or inhibit optimal utilization of health personnel. Licensure laws have this effect by defining the limits of functions performed by licensed personnel and by proscribing the use of persons who are not licensed in a particular category. Medical malpractice law limits optimal utilization of personnel by exposing health care practitioners to possible liability if they deviate from laws, customs, and accepted standards of care. Alternative proposals for changes in the law are set forth that would permit more latitude in the use of health care personnel, if such a goal is deemed necessary. A 68-item bibliography is included. (Author/MS)

Fourteen categories of manpower, comprising 75 percent of the total health work force requiring formal training of six months or more in Alabama, are studied in this preliminary report. They are physicians, dentists, optometrists, pharmacists, medical technologists, certified laboratory assistants, sanitarians, medical records clerks, radiologic technologists, family practice physician assistants, nurse midwives, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and physical therapists. Manpower needs, supplies, and goals are tabulated for each category by Alabama county and district. Approved medical education programs in the state, with their student capacities and requirements, are listed for each occupation. A series of priorities and implementation responsibilities for the state as a whole and in each category has been drawn up. Several projects in innovative health manpower development are described. The appendix contains the number of hospital beds by county and district and tables of selected demographic data. A listing by district of vacant health manpower positions in hospitals is also given. (MS)

This publication is a compilation of statistics on supply and education of health manpower in medicine and osteopathy, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, podiatry, veterinary medicine, nursing, public health, and eight selected allied health occupations. The material is organized by occupations and the following information is presented for each occupation (when available): (1) trends in the number of schools or programs, students and graduates, (2) geographic distribution of schools or programs, students, and graduates for a current year, (3) trends in the number of persons in the profession or occupation and in ratio to population, (4) distribution of the number of persons in profession or occupation and ratio to population for a current year, by State, and (5) projections of supply. A total of 126 tables and 16 figures are included in the report. Related documents are available as ED 018 614 and ED 021 993. (BC)

Aspects of vision and vision care considered are the following: extent and types of vision defects of American children; importance of vision care in pre-school years, elementary, and secondary school and beyond; and manpower resources in vision care today, the extent of vision testing and care, special problem areas, and governmental support. Recommendations are made for vision screening, examination, and correctional aids, research and demonstration, training assistance, improved statistics on vision care, and improved coordination among vision care personnel. Charts present data on vision problems of children by age groups, incidence, professional responsibilities for detecting vision problems, interprofessional relations in treatment, number, ratio, and distribution of vision care manpower, analysis of optometric needs by states by 1970, location of nonfederal physicians specializing in ophthalmology and otolaryngology, certified orthoptists in 1964, preschool vision screening tests. (LE)

The data presented in this document make it possible to assess trends in the availability and distribution of medical and paramedical personnel in Louisiana. The report shows the existing situation and provides a basis for evaluating the nature and extent of problems related to health-care needs. The relation of persons per physician, dentist, and various paramedical personnel in Louisiana is compared with national average for the last 2 decades. It is concluded (1) that Louisiana is in a relatively disadvantaged position with regard to availability of all levels of medically related personnel; (2) that the state has not made a great deal of progress toward achieving national norms in the last 2 decades; and (3) that medical personnel are more available to urban people than to rural residents, making the distribution of medical and paramedical personnel in the state highly uneven. The document contains maps and tables relative to the study. (AN)

Studies of the etiological factors in reading disability and approaches, generally visual-perceptual, to the problem are presented. Krippner's study presents 15 causes of reading disability and reveals poor visual-perceptual skills as the most common cause. The Olson-Mitchell-Westberg study attempts to determine the effects of visual training upon the reading ability of college students. Getman's program stresses the attainment of proficiency in basic developmental processes such as general body movement, eye movement, and visual-perceptual organization. Kephart's approach attempts to orient the child more fully to his environment in order to promote successful perceptual-motor matches. Delacato's method claims to alter the neurological organization through physical activity. Visual training has resulted in improved reading ability, but not all attempts have been successful. Optometrists generally support the visual training approach; most eye doctors see little value in it. This address encourages the proponents of both views to better define their positions, to engage in more fruitful communication, and to conduct more research studies of the effects of visual training on reading improvement. Additional studies, an appendix, and a bibliography are included. (RT)

AN EVALUATION OF THE SOCIOECONOMIC BACKGROUND OF OPTOMETRISTS IN NEW YORK STATE WAS MADE AND WAS RELATED TO DEVELOPED ATTITUDES ON COMMERCIALISM AND PROFESSIONALISM. THE STUDY WAS MADE TO DEVELOP A SOCIAL INDEX OF PROFESSIONALISM, TO DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOCIAL BACKGROUNDS THAT PRODUCE PRACTITIONERS WITH THE HIGHEST PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL ETHICS, AND TO PROVIDE DATA FOR FURTHER RESEARCH IN THE AREA OF STUDENT SELECTION AND STUDENT EDUCATIONAL ACCULTURATION. OVER 55 PERCENT OF THE 1,640 OPTOMETRISTS PRACTICING IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK RESPONDED TO A MAILED QUESTIONNAIRE. A FACTOR ANALYSIS WAS MADE OF THE DATA GATHERED. FOR THE 83 INDEPENDENT VARIABLES, 12 FACTORS WERE IDENTIFIED, AND FOUR DEPENDENT FACTORS WERE DETERMINED FOR THE 60 DEPENDENT VARIABLES. RESULTS OF THE STUDY SHOWED THAT THE MOST SIGNIFICANT STATISTICAL FACTOR IN DEVELOPING AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND THAT PRODUCES HIGH PRINCIPLES OF PROFESSIONAL ETHNICS WAS MEMBERSHIP IN THE NEW YORK OPTOMETRIC ASSOCIATION. THE AUTHOR CONCLUDED THAT MEMBERSHIP IN THAT ORGANIZATION TENDS TO FOSTER RELATIONSHIPS AND IDEALS THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH A HIGHER LEVEL OF PROFESSIONALISM. (AL)

The author replies to the article titled "Controversial Medical Treatments of Learning Disabilities" (R. Sieben), and reviews the use of treatments for learning disabled (LD) children based on theories in developmental optometry. (IM)