CPOA Patient Care 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient with low vision is being measured for a magnifying aid. Which factor is least relevant to the initial assessment?
- The patient's best-corrected visual acuity
- The patient's primary visual tasks and goals
- The patient's hair color (Correct answer)
- The patient's lighting preferences at home
Correct answer: The patient's hair color
Hair color has no bearing on low vision rehabilitation; acuity, functional goals, and environmental factors all directly guide device selection.
Question 2: When measuring interpupillary distance (PD) for single-vision distance glasses, the examiner should:
- Measure from the center of one pupil to the center of the other while the patient looks at the examiner's left eye (Correct answer)
- Measure from the outer edge of one iris to the inner edge of the other
- Ask the patient to look at a near target 40 cm away
- Use a lensometer for the measurement
Correct answer: Measure from the center of one pupil to the center of the other while the patient looks at the examiner's left eye
For distance PD, the patient fixates on the examiner's eye while the examiner measures center-to-center across both pupils using a PD ruler.
Question 3: Which patient statement indicates a potential contraindication to pharmacological dilation?
- 'I wore contact lenses this morning.'
- 'I had cataract surgery six months ago.'
- 'I have narrow-angle glaucoma.' (Correct answer)
- 'I am 65 years old.'
Correct answer: 'I have narrow-angle glaucoma.'
Narrow-angle glaucoma is a contraindication to dilation because dilating agents can precipitate an acute angle-closure attack.
Question 4: When scheduling a follow-up appointment for a patient treated for a corneal abrasion, the typical recheck interval is:
- 6 months
- 1 month
- 24–48 hours (Correct answer)
- 2 weeks
Correct answer: 24–48 hours
Corneal abrasions require a follow-up within 24–48 hours to assess healing and rule out infection or persistent epithelial defects.
Question 5: A parent asks the paraoptometric whether their child needs patching therapy. The correct response is:
- Confirm the need for patching based on the child's vision test results
- Explain that the doctor will discuss treatment options after the full examination (Correct answer)
- Recommend starting patching immediately if acuity is below 20/40
- Tell the parent patching is outdated and no longer used
Correct answer: Explain that the doctor will discuss treatment options after the full examination
Treatment decisions including amblyopia patching therapy are within the optometrist's scope; the paraoptometric should defer clinical recommendations to the doctor.
Question 6: Which step is essential before instilling any ophthalmic medication in a patient's eye?
- Warm the drops to body temperature
- Verify the patient's identity and confirm allergies (Correct answer)
- Shake the bottle vigorously for 30 seconds
- Dim the room lights to reduce photosensitivity
Correct answer: Verify the patient's identity and confirm allergies
Patient identification and allergy verification are mandatory safety checks before administering any medication to prevent adverse events.
Question 7: A contact lens patient presents with a painful, red eye and photophobia. After notifying the optometrist, what should the paraoptometric do with the patient's contact lens case?
- Clean the case and return it to the patient
- Set it aside for the optometrist to possibly culture or examine (Correct answer)
- Dispose of it immediately as a biohazard
- Ask the patient to take the case home and bring it back cleaned
Correct answer: Set it aside for the optometrist to possibly culture or examine
The contact lens case may harbor the causative organism and should be preserved for the optometrist to consider culturing or examining as part of the workup.
CPOA Patient Care 5
A patient with low vision is being measured for a magnifying aid.
Which factor is least relevant to the initial assessment?