Carol Camino becomes member for low vision of the Official College of Opticians and Optometrists of Catalonia

Carol Camino, the specialist in low vision at the Institut de la Màcula and the President of the Spanish Society of Low Vision Specialists (SEEBV), has been appointed as member for low vision of the Official College of Opticians and Optometrists of Catalonia (COOOC).

Saying she feels “very proud” to form part of the Official College of Opticians and Optometrists, Ms. Camino argues that the key is “the training of doctors, opticians and optometrists, together with dissemination to make the public aware of the nature of low vision”.

“There are eye-care professionals who remain unaware of what low vision is. This is why we must instigate training and dissemination so that everyone understands that when there is no possibility of performing further surgical or pharmacological treatment, low-vision specialists can rescue or make use of remaining eyesight through this,” she adds.

The College’s intention through Ms. Camino’s appointment is to publicise low vision, taking into account that it is an optometric discipline with a long way ahead. In addition, “it offers visual solutions that conventional methods –such as glasses or contact lens– have been unable to resolve”, says the COOOC President, Alfons Bielsa.

Bielsa added that the ageing of the population has led to age-related pathological alterations. In these cases, a visit to an ophthalmologist is essential, accompanied, when necessary, by the work of an optician/optometrist specialising in low vision.

Ms. Camino has a Diploma in Optics from the University School of Optics of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and a Diploma in Optics and Optometry from the School of Optics and Optometry of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Granada. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Optometric Sciences, specialising in low vision, from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry of Philadelphia.

The Official College of Opticians and Optometrists of Catalonia is the highest body representing opticians and optometrists. It aims to foster the profession’s development and ensure that the work of the profession offers society the sufficient guarantees of quality and competence.