The World Optometry Day events that I was a part of this
year shall remain indelible to me. As a whimsical person, I always loved to be
a part of uncommon, adventurous and fun filled events and experiences. This
event was one such an experience. Being
a part of India Vision Institute,I got an
opportunity to be a part of the team that handles the Community Vision Screening Programs.
We organized a vision screening camp for the inmates of Puzhal Prison in Chennai, which is claimed to be one of the biggest prisons in Asia.
The very thought of getting inside a prison that mammoth drove
immense excitement through my veins. I mean, how many of us would get a chance
to walk the corridors of a Prison without getting arrested? Scenes from various con movies and shows ran past my eyes and I was completely lost in
imagination and anticipation. As an ardent fan of the Prison break series, I was hoping to find a doppel of Micheal Scofield (I mentioned I am whimsical,so no face palm guys) or some story as intriguing as theirs. 23rd March, the big day arrived and we
all set forward for the most anticipated event of this year at work. A small team of about 5 optometrists
including me entered the gigantic gates of the Prison. After going through a tight security check
we proceeded towards the auditorium to start our screening. After making brief
arrangements we set up our vision charts, reading charts, retinoscopes in
position. I had a small presentation prepared on general eye care to share with the inmates. It was highly welcomed and immensely appreciated. Little did they know the amount of preparation I put in mastering the Ocular conditions in Tamil. It was a task. I sat down with my aunt and learnt the Tamil equivalent of all the salient words. But, in vain. I was grappling with the words. So I decided to switch to student mode. What else?? Bittu tha (chits as prompters) I wrote down the Tamil equivalent words in Hindi and English. .I successfully delivered the talk three times in three different jails. As a trainer I had delivered sessions to a
variety of eye care practitioners such as optometry students, educators, ophthalmologists, opticians etc. but this was disparate. Discipline was an
absolute code of conduct. It was the most organized screening I have ever been
to. We were under the assumption that making the inmates read the distance and
near vision charts would be a herculean task, but their literacy levels were
pretty good and all of them were able to read at least one language and thanks
to my clinical experience at L.V. Prasad, I remember the N6, N12 and N36 lines
of every language in the book by heart even now. It was surprising how neither I
nor my team members encountered a single non-compliant inmate. All the inmates
underwent a complete vision assessment, objective and subjective refraction and
torch light examination. Free spectacles were given to those with refractive
errors and those with an Ocular condition were referred to secondary and
tertiary eye care centers. As I have been dealing with other areas of optometry
over the last few years, this experience helped me jog my memory about the
clinical skills I learnt during my internship. I got nostalgic about my
internship days at L.V. Prasad Eye Institute and Bausch & Lomb School.
It has been a wonderful journey so far. My work experiences have always been a mixture of education and fantasy put together, which according to me is quite an interesting blend. I conclude this post with a hope of being a part of many such interesting and unique experiences in life.
Until then- What happens in Vagueness stays in Vagueness...
Here are a a few pics:
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Here are a a few pics:
