Ron Ofri is one of the most prolific of Webinar Vet presenters. I counted at least 31 previous webinars in recent years (there may be some I have missed), and there are at least three scheduled for next year. For any colleague interested in veterinary ophthalmology, and those in training, it would be worth viewing all his webinars as they represent the results of Ron’s many years at the forefront of this discipline. He is also one of those academics that love teaching as much as research, and this shines through in all his webinars, including this latest one. It is unique in that it consists of a series of slides of eye conditions and you are asked to decide which of the statements about the condition is the correct one.

On the live broadcast there was a substantial audience, which almost invariably came up with the correct answer as a majority decision. Only one slide defeated the majority.

The first slide is for practice only and is followed by 14 clinical pictures. As you expect from Ron’s collection they are all of the highest quality. Most of them concentrate on the eyelids and cornea, with just one opthalmoscopic image of a blind cat. If you wanted to prepare, a review of relevant webinars from Ron’s collection would give you a chance of scoring 100%. Otherwise the title gives it away, the webinar is meant to be educational fun, which it is.

As an idea of what to expect I have picked out a couple of the slides at random. In one we see a corneal ulcer. You are asked:  ‘this ulcer is not healing due to’

1. Dry eye

2. Corneal dystrophy

3. Boxer ulcer

4. Bacterial contamination

5. It was treated with steroids

After a short interval allowing the audience to vote (anonymously) Ron goes through the answers arriving at the correct one, with his reasoning.

Another slide shows a very red eye. What is your diagnosis? The four possibilities are; 

1. Conjunctivitis

2. Glaucoma

3. Anterior uveitis

4. Subconjunctival haemorrhage

Each possibility is briefly summarised with reasons for the correct diagnosis and rule outs of the differentials.

There was very good audience participation, and as mentioned, with usually a majority of colleagues getting the correct answer, although it was quite close in some cases

Another unique feature of this webinar was that it was truly interactive with time given over to live questions. There were plenty of these, which added greatly to the educational experience.

Overall this type of webinar lends itself very well to an extremely pictorial subject such as ophthalmology, and the audience was left wanting more. I am sure that has been noticed by the team at Webinar Vet.  It is, as suggested by the title, a fun way to learn.