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Background
The faculty of medicine and health sciences at An-Najah National University added the Optometry department to its existing Biomedical Health Sciences Division in 2011. Today, the Optometry department has about 110 students and 9 faculty members who are experts in the field of Optometry. The Optometry department is committed to educate and train future Optometrists who provide high quality vision care and services for the Palestinian community.
Since its creation in 2004, the Optometry department has been growing and expanding its teaching facilities and clinical services. An-Najah’s Teaching Optometry Clinic, a primary care facility, has opened its doors in 2012 to provide primary eye care services to more than 20,000 students, staff and faculty members attending An-Najah National University. Student clinicians, under the supervision of licensed optometrists and ophthalmologists, use state of the art equipment and examination procedures to manage and treat a variety of visual anomalies and ocular disease conditions. The opening of a primary, secondary and tertiary eye clinic at An-Najah National University Teaching Hospital in the fall of 2013 provided an additional resource to clinical education, where students will be providing quality care to the Palestinian community living in Nablus and neighboring cities.
An-Najah’s Optometry department is the only program in the West Bank offering the Bachelor of Optometry Degree, and it is enlisted as a member of the World Council of Optometry. At the department of Optometry, we take pride in our commitment to provide well-rounded teaching experiences through a substantial and rigorous course education, broad clinical science knowledge and extensive patient care experiences.
The Bachelor program at An-Najah National University strives to be the first program to respond to the expanded scope of optometric practice in the Middle East. Broad-based clinical exposure and patient care experiences will be supplemented with a rigorous didactic curriculum designed to prepare optometric professionals to be part of a continually evolving and dynamic profession. The program envisions a pool of professional practitioners who become leaders in their fields, serving as vision consultants in their communities, and as catalysts for changing policies, programs and practices that will benefit the profession.
Vision
An-Najah’s Optometry department seeks to be the leading college of Optometry in the region. Our vision is:
- To be recognized locally, nationally and internationally for excellence and innovation in education, research and patient care.
- To achieve a lasting impact on the visual health within the region by continuously improving models of care delivery and providing academic progression to the science of optometry.
- To develop an innovative educational program, with an effective and dynamic curriculum.
- To redesign the eye care system in the country by facilitating the delivery of high quality care.
- To play a vital role in building human resources and infrastructure in the region by producing future leaders in Optometry dedicated to lifelong learning and innovative research.
Mission
The mission of An-Najah’s Bachelor of Optometry program is to build a foundation in which faculty, students, and staff work together with mutual respect to share knowledge and experience in ways that will best serve the optometric needs of the community. The program is committed to prepare optometrists who deliver clinical care of the highest standard with
utter most integrity and professionalism.
Goals
The goal of the Bachelor of Optometry program is to graduate future professional leaders for the highest level of optometric practice dedicated to eliminating preventable blindness in the OPT. Graduates will serve as leaders in clinical and executive positions, translating evidence- based science into clinical practice and quality-improvement policies that ultimately leads to better vision care.
An-Najah’s Optometry Department, including the new Eye Clinic at An-Najah National University Teaching Hospital is committed to fulfilling the mission and vision to the community through the achievement of these Goals and Objectives:
- Establish a resounding optometric program that will enable the College to become a leader in Optometric education in the Middle East.
- Provide outstanding educational programs and resources.
- Develop an outstanding clinical education through enhancing clinical services at the University’s Teaching Hospital and Teaching Clinics.
- Promote safe, efficient and quality vision care delivery across the country.
- Establish the College as an exceptional research institute in optometry, vision science and clinical practice.
- Develop community capacity building.
- Unify the practice of optometry locally and across the region by adjusting the scope of practice and ensuring it meets international standards.
Program Description
The Bachelor of Optometry (B.O.) program offered at An-Najah National University consists of a four-year length curriculum and is designed to educate future optometrists for practice now, and to prepare them to be part of a continually changing and dynamic profession. The primary goal is to educate future Optometric professionals who seek and critically analyze new information to effectively serve the patients. Students joining this program will gain the knowledge and experience needed to serve as vision consultants to schools, government, business, and industry. Additionally, the program is designed for students to acquire an understanding of the legal, social, economic, and professional phases of optometric practice, as well as the role of the optometrist in public health and in community and national health care.
Students must successfully complete a four-year accredited degree program to earn the B.O. degree. Upon admittance into the B.O. program, students will complete 36 credit hours of Biomedical Health Science requirements, followed by 76 credit hours of specialty B.O. degree requirements over a period of 4 years.Table 1below provides a breakdown of the credit hours taken over the course of 4 years.
| Degree | Course | Credit Hours |
B.O Degree Requirements | University Requirements | 18 |
| Biomedical Health Sciences Requirements | 36 | |
| Specialty Reqiurements | 76 | |
| Total | 130 |
Table 1:Total credit hours taken over a 4-year period by students graduating with a B.O. degree
During the four years, students will be expected to complete 15 credit hours of lab work, equal to 720 contact hours, which will be taken in conjunction with theoretical course material. In addition, students will complete a total of 19 hours of clinical rotations, equal to 912 of direct contact hours, where they will be exposed to direct patient encounters within
campus and its affiliated clinics. The practical hours for students will count for approximately 51.5% of the total program hours. The curriculum includes clinical rotations at the university’s clinics in primary eye care, binocular vision, low vision, contact lens, pediatric and ocular disease services. The externship program provides extensive training and hand-on exposure to a variety of practice settings including hospitals, optometric sites, and community clinics. Clinical externships are also available in Jordan, United Arab Emirates and other neighboring countries. Table 2 provides a break down of the course credit hours, lab credit hours and clinical rotation hours that students will be expected to complete by the end of their forth year. The Optometry Department has formulated a 4-year advisory plan to give students a snap shot of program.Appendix 1 and 2includes the course outline and course descriptions for the 4-year B.O. programs.
| Credit Hours | Total Hours | Contact Hours | |
| Course Hourse | 96 | 1536 | |
Prctical Hours | Lab Hours | 15 | 720 |
| Clinical Rotation Hours | 19 | 912 | |
| Total Practical Hours | 34 | 1632 | |
Table 2:Total course, lab and clinical rotation credit hours taken over a 4-year period by students graduating with a B.O. degree.
For every lab and clinical rotation hour, the student will be exposed to three actual practical hours, over 16 weeks per semester. In total, students will complete 1632 hours of practical work.