Ophthalmic care education and training in nursing: A scoping review

Ophthalmic care is a fundamental component of patient care, encompassing a range of interventions such as basic eye hygiene and medication administration, through to advanced skills in assessment and diagnostics.

To explore what is known about ophthalmic content in nurse education, training and curricula and identify advanced nursing skills necessary for competence in ophthalmic care.

This scoping review was informed by Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology and is reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews Checklist (PRISMA-SrC).

Six databases were searched for quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods studies and structured review peer-reviewed articles published in English between 2013 and 2023 using Medline, CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Embase databases. Two reviewers conducted titles and abstracts and full-text screening and data extraction.

From a total of 3231 records, 31 studies were included in the final review. A majority of studies focused on targeted training in specific skills necessary for advanced nursing practice or professional development for nurses in basic eye care. There was a dearth in research around undergraduate education.

Task shifting has led to many nurses being trained in advanced ophthalmic practice. However, professional development in basic eye care indicates that undergraduate nursing preparation may be inadequate. Furthermore, it is unclear what fundamental content and skills undergraduate nursing curricula require. This may indicate that graduates may not be well-prepared to provide basic eye care. The findings suggest a critical need for further research into basic and advanced nursing roles, as well as ophthalmic content, within formal nursing curricula. This is essential to ensure comprehensive preparation of graduates for ophthalmic care and skills.