Graduating in 2022, Annabelle Messier and Véronique Small have both decided to pursue their graduate studies in community optometry at the Université de Montréal. The objective of this residency program is for optometrists to acquire knowledge and specific skills on clinical and ethical issues in a community context. As part of the program, they must also complete an internship with marginalized or vulnerable populations. In this context, they will meet with the St-Louis PPFB team in January for three weeks. They will leave as Québec sans frontières Volunteers (VQSF) thanks to funding from the Quebec Ministry of International Relations.
The objective of their internship is to support the team’s technical implementation of the IRIS Mundial project by providing coaching and training for the nurses, advising on visual hygiene and eye health awareness practises, as well as conducting an evaluation and technical follow-up of the program.
To prepare for their stay, Annabelle and Véronique completed an in-depth pre-departure training of over 25 hours created for them. They have followed a self-taught intercultural training course online and an in-person feedback meeting on their learning with Julie from IRIS Mundial and Benoit Tousignant, supervisor of the community optometry program. They talked about intercultural concepts, shared their reflections on the most important aspects of international cooperation, discussed intercultural communication and prejudices, etc. The residents then continued the training process on the health and safety aspects of the mission with an IRIS Mundial volunteer nurse.
To specifically prepare for their mandate, the future interns met with 3 volunteer optometrists from IRIS Mundial who have been working with the PPFB employees since 2019 either via on-site training missions, or via online training or mentoring sessions. The meeting aimed to familiarize them with the supervision work they will carry out during their training mission. They were able to discuss the way the screening clinic operates and the equipment available on site, in addition to being informed about the training provided to the clinical staff over the past three years. They found it a very enriching meeting!
We wish them a pleasant stay and a formative experience with this valuable partner in Senegal!
Introduction to the two residents in community optometry:
Véronique is very motivated to participate in the advancement of the optometric profession. During her studies, she was involved as vice-president of her student association and as a student representative on the Canadian Association of Optometrists Council. Interested in public health and health promotion issues, she is very enthusiastic about participating in her first international cooperation experience in the field of optometry in Senegal.
Annabelle Messier has a particular interest in indigenous populations and people with special needs. Passionate about social justice and feminism, her library is well stocked with books on the subject. She also participated in the organization of the Women in Optometry Conference by the Université de Montréal Optometry Student Association (AÉOUM) two years in a row. As part of her residency, she also participates in several field projects such as the Regard Collectif mobile clinic, missions in Northern Quebec and Special Olympics Quebec screenings.
