MOHAN EYE INSTITUTE CELEBRATION

The exam then ran in Jordan in 2001 at JUST university hospital (King Abdulla the 1st hospital) in Irbid with Dr Mahmoud al Salem as a host examiner. Then the 2nd year (2002) at Eye Specialty hospital in Amman also with Dr Al Salem and Ayman Mdanat was involved as an examiner. Ayman took over as a host examiner at King Hussein Medical Centre in Amman in 2003, with a second centre opened at the Ammon Eye Centre, hosted by Dr Mdanat in 2017.

INTRODUCTION OF MRCS (OPHTH) (GLASG)

From October 2021 the College introduced the new postnominal MRCS (Ophth) (Glasg) to recognise the achievements of those candidates completing the written components of the College’s FRCS Ophthalmology. Candidates who completed the FRCS Ophthalmology Part 2 Problem Solving examination (pre-June 2021) or who have passed the Part 2 MCQ examination (from June 2021) are eligible to apply for the award of the MRCS (Ophth) (Glasg). Further details of how to complete the membership application process can be obtained from membership@rcpsg.ac.uk

COLLEGE AND OPHTHALMOLOGY – BRIEF HISTORY

This year, we celebrated 20 years of the Mohan Eye Insitute in Delhi, India hosting the FRCPS Ophthalmology exam. Vice President (Medical) Andrew Gallagher presented a commemorative plaque in recognition of the Mohans’ service to the College. Their commitment and support to the College has been of great importance over the last 20 years and is just as crucial now as it was in the beginning.

The initial contact in India for FRCS Ophthalmology was Professor Bhasker Rao, a dentist based in Dharwad. Peter Kyle, then HCR for the exam, met with Prof Rao and contacts within the UAE and conducted site visits. It was agreed to deliver the exam initially in Dharwad and the first written exams were held there for the Part A, conducted by Peter Kyle. The Part A was then rolled out to be delivered in Hyderabad and in Irbid, Jordan.

Dr Sadhu Gupta, then based at Inverclyde Hospital, knew Dr Hari Mohan and introduced him to Peter Kyle, and the Mohan Eye Institute became the first host centre for the Part B exams in 2000.

Following the successful delivery of the exam in Delhi, the exam was taken to LV Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad, where it ran until 2018. Following that, Professor Mahmoud ElStewi contacted the College to offer a centre in Tripoli, Libya.

Ophthalmology has been part of the College since its foundations, linking current practice to the long-lasting legacy of past Fellows.

Long before the establishment of the ophthalmology specialty, College founder Peter Lowe (c1550 – 1610) wrote about treating the eye in his surgical textbook of 1597 – A Whole Course of Chirurgerie.

The College’s links to the beginnings of the specialty stretches back to the early 1800s, when College Fellow William Mackenzie (1791 – 1868) founded the Glasgow Eye Infirmary in 1824. His textbook Practical Treatise on Diseases of the Eye (1830), became the standard reference work in ophthalmology. He was appointed Surgeon Oculist to Queen Victoria in Scotland in 1838. The College’s collections contain his library and papers, and his portrait hangs in College Hall.

Another key ophthalmologist in the College’s history is Andrew Freeland Fergus (1858 – 1932), who was President of the College from 1918 – 1921. Freeland Fergus dedicated his career to the study, teaching and practice of ophthalmology, as professor at Anderson’s College, and surgeon at the Glasgow Eye Infirmary. He played a leading role in promoting the Blind Persons (Scotland) Act of 1920.