Original Work Progress Assessment #2

Name:​ Mrudula Sunkara

Date: ​3/22/19
Topic:​ Ophthalmology

Introduction + Statement of Purpose

Through research from multiple academic journals and the information that I gain from
my mentor, I will be investigating about different Pediatric eye disorders that are very common
in present day. Thi will help in writing my final research paper which will be revised by mentor
and other professionals from the same eye care facility.The research paper will be published
online on my website and I will be making brochures out of the information that I have collected
to bring awareness about Amblyopia to parents by distributing it at Pediatric Offices. In addition
to this, I will be making a small slideshow about Myopia which will be presented to middle
school students as it is very common to get this condition during the age of 10 and above.
This is going to be very helpful to the society because Amblyopia is very common and it
is something that needs to be examined on during the early stage like before the kids reach the
age of six. However, not a lot of parents know about this condition so when they get it checked
later, they find that condition has progressed and the eye has become rigid so it will be harder to
do the treatment in the eye. Therefore, bringing awareness to parents would be huge help to
many eye doctors and I hope to do this at Pediatric offices where kids of different age, starting
from moths old, come to visit the doctor along with their parents. Myopia, which is another very
common condition, is targeted towards middle school students. Approximately 80% of the
population in today’s world have this condition and it is largely due to the choices that we make
like being on phones for too long or watching television which can put strain in the eye and also
due to the fact that kids are not being exposed to natural sunlight for a good amount of time. This
is a huge problem and kids that get this condition are old enough to properly take care of
themselves and their health so I will be bringing awareness to the at schools.

Current Point In Progress

 Because I did not think about Pediatric disorders this year in ISM, my research entirely
focused on the technology that is used and also multiple conditions that are common in adults
like Glaucoma and Macular Degeneration. Hence, I need to research more into this specialty and
disorders like Strabismus, Amblyopia, and Myopia prior to my next mentor visit. Dr. Carlee
Young gave me very useful resources that I can use to learn more about the terminology in
Pediatric eye care and also a book that has a lot of information with great visuals. She told me to
read chapter 9 in this book which talks about the various eye problems that fall into the
STrabismus category. In addition, she told me to research more about the other topics and write a
research paper and currently I have read two articles that has helped me gain a better
understanding of the disorders and the etiology of it. I have read chapter nine and analyzed the
visuals and annotated the notes; however, I need to collect more information from different
articles before using this information for my research paper. My second part of the Original
Work involves contacting an organization to request to join them in their tour. This week, I have
sent the staff a professional email that talks about my passions, experience, and also my goals for
the Original Work. I would need to wait for their response and then later (in about two weeks) I
will send them a follow-up email.
Recent Checkpoint
Week of March 18th:
● This week was mainly focused on reflecting on what my mentor said and
working on the research part of my Original Work. Because she is a
Pediatric Optometrist, I was able to learn about different eye disorders that
are very common in kids like amblyopia and myopia. I was also able to
experience the technology that they used on different patients to make the
procedures a lot easier.
March 26th:
● I need to make sure that I complete all of my research before my next
mentor visit. Dr. Carlee Young gave me multiple resources to annotate
and analyze and use to create my final research paper which will be
revised during our next mentor visit. In addition, I will call the staff at
 ORBIS in order to kindly remind them about my goals for my Original
Work and also send them a follow up email.
Conclusion:
Overall, my first mentor visit was very valuable to me as I learned a lot about a new
specialty and also took help from my mentor to make changes to my Original Work. I already
learned a lot from my mentor as her staff gave me the opportunity to explore different
technology and learn the purpose of each step of the procedure. I believe that if I can finish my
outline of the research by my third mentor visit, I will be able to start on my awareness part
which involves making brochures and small presentations for the community.
By next week, I will have my outline of the research paper done and will get it revised by
Dr. Carlee Young and will add her knowledge and information into it as well. I will note down
her suggestions and if she would like me to do more research on some of the information and
then I will start outlining on what I would like to include on the awareness brochure.