This article highlights the key differences between the 2024 and 2025 scoring criteria for the portfolio evidence section, which remains a critical component of the Ophthalmology ST1 application. Applicants typically begin assembling their portfolios based on the previous year’s criteria, available on the Severn Deanery website, until the updated 2025 criteria are released in mid-October, shortly before applications open.

Visual hallucinations, in the absence of psychopathology, remains a challenge for diagnosis in clinicians. Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS) is a condition whereby a patient experiences visual hallucinations, with clear insight into their nature; this often occurs in people with varying degrees of vision loss. While acknowledging that these phenomena are illusory, they may still cause significant distress to the patient. As a result, prompt awareness and understanding of the condition is essential. However, CBS remains difficult to diagnose through a lack of an accepted set of criteria; this article will briefly address the concept of visual acuity in its diagnosis, alongside some future recommendations to clinicians.

Junior doctors manage patients with eye symptoms in the Accident & Emergency (A&E) department. However, a systematic review published by Tolley et al. in 2023 revealed there is decreased confidence in managing ophthalmic emergencies among A&E junior doctors in the UK. Baylis et al. conducted a survey in 2011 about ophthalmology education delivered across different UK medical schools which found that ophthalmology education varies in terms of standards, methods used and assessments done, with some students receiving no ophthalmology education at all.  This article aims to serve as a guide for ophthalmic assessment in the A&E.

Ophthalmology is a wonderful specialty that offers a balance of both surgical and medical practice hence its popularity among junior doctors. The competition ratio has been increasing yearly with the 2024 ratio being 1:14.41 (96 posts for 1383 applicants), but not everyone will have a tailored ophthalmology portfolio. Thus, this should not deter you if you are passionate about ophthalmology. Listed below are courses that will help improve your knowledge and skills as a budding ophthalmologist. Most of the courses included may even give you points for your portfolio!

Despite being a rare cancer overall, uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular malignancy in adults. Split into different subtypes, the most common type of uveal melanoma is choroidal melanoma (90%), followed by ciliary body and iris melanoma. Despite being a melanoma, uveal melanomas differ greatly from the more common cutaneous melanomas in areas including physiology, genetics, and management. This article will provide a brief overview of uveal melanoma, as well as identify some key differences from cutaneous melanomas.

Sickle cell retinopathy is an ocular disease associated with the sickle cell disease. Sickling haemoglobinopathies is a genetic disease which is characterized by one or more abnormal haemoglobins. These cause the red blood cells to take an abnormal shape which can result in vascular occlusion when they are exposed to conditions such as physiological stress (hypoxia or acidosis).

Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a type of bilateral allergic conjunctivitis that involves chronic inflammation of the conjunctiva that can also involve cornea. Typical onset is during childhood and it can present with seasonal variation with patient’s commonly experiencing flares during the spring and summer.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA), also known as temporal arteritis, is the most common primary vasculitis in adults, primarily affecting individuals over 50 years of age. It is characterised by granulomatous inflammation of medium- to large-sized vessels, particularly the extracranial branches of the carotid artery, such as the temporal artery. GCA leads to the degradation of vascular smooth muscle cells and elastic fibres, resulting in vascular remodelling, aneurysm formation, and ischemic complications due to intimal thickening and vessel occlusion. The association between blindness and temporal arteritis was recognised as early as the 10th century by Ali-ibn-Isa of Baghdad. In 1890, Hutchinson first described the clinical characteristics of GCA, and in 1930, Horton and his colleagues provided a detailed account of its histopathological features.