LVPEI's Bausch & Lomb School of Optometry awarded

LVPEI's Bausch & Lomb School of Optometry (BLSO) was adjudged the "Best Optometry Institute" in India at the Vision Plus awards ceremony by Four Plus Media. Nominations were announced in 24 categories (best spectacles, lenses, sunglasses and contact lenses etc) for VisionPlus (VP) awards in January 2014.  The nominations were short-listed by the industry experts and in each category top 5 contenders participated in online voting. Bausch & Lomb School  of  Optometry  (BLSO)  was  short-listed  in  the  “Best  Optometry Institute”  category and winners were announced  during the VP awards ceremony.

Shrikant Bharadwaj - Scientist and Head, Optometry, Bausch & Lomb School of Optometry, L V Prasad Eye Institute said, “This is a great achievement for the Institute and we are very proud to be the winners in this category. The Vision Plus awards is the OSCAR awards for Indian optical industry.”

Prof P K Sai Prakash - Principal, Bausch & Lomb School of Optometry, L V Prasad Eye Institute said, “BLSO provides a varied and ideal learning environment. The first three years of education at BLSO is a combination of didactic lectures and practical training in the clinic. The final year comprises entirely of clinical training ("internship") at LVPEI wherein students get hands-on experience in diagnosing and managing the most complicated eye disorders.”

The L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) in collaboration with the Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS), Pilani, offers a 4-year comprehensive undergraduate Bachelor of Science (BS) program in Optometry. The program is conducted at the Institute's Bausch & Lomb School of Optometry (BLSO) located at LVPEI's Kismatpur campus in Hyderabad. LVPEI is a world class teaching and research hospital with globally renowned clinicians and cutting edge equipment. Students are exposed to international faculty and national conferences. Rehabilitation of those with incurable vision impairment is an integral part of LVPEI and this gives optometrists the opportunity and exposure to learn about low vision rehabilitation and sight enhancement. The range of patients at LVPEI gives young Optometrists exposure to an extremely large array of eye diseases and solutions.

Today, Optometry is among the top 10 income-earning professions in India and abroad. It is estimated that there are only about 8000 fully-qualified Optometrists in India, amounting to approximately one Optometrist for every 1.25 lakh population (source: www.optometryindia.com). There is a need for at least 30,000 qualified Optometrists in India to provide quality eye care to every person in our country. There is, therefore, a huge demand for fully qualified Optometrists in India.