Eye Health Hero: Neftalí Trinidad González

We believe that Neftalí Trinidad González deserves to be one of the heroes of eye health 2021, in the category: those who make a change, since thanks his impetus and wishes for optometry to be integrated into health care and services the Mexican Council of Diabetes Educators (CONED) has added the Degree in Optometry as health professions candidates for the Certification as Educators in Diabetes. He did not rest until Bachelor of Optometry was recognized by CONED, opening the way for other licensed optometrists who had the desire to be certified as diabetes educators could do so.

A competence of the Graduates in Optometry is the promotion, prevention and education for health, which is related to diabetes education, which has as its main objective “to promote behavioral changes that support diabetes self-care to achieve control goals. and prevent or delay complications from this metabolic disease ”.

Likewise, he firmly believes that the figure of the Licensed Optometrist-Educator in Diabetes plays a fundamental role in the lives of patients with diabetes, since through a professional optometric consultation and educational therapeutic interventions, comorbidities can be detected in a timely manner. diabetes, such as diabetic retinopathy, cataract, diabetic macular edema and glaucoma, as well as educating on the self-care measures necessary to delay these complications and be able to refer patients to the specific area of ophthalmology to prevent disability visual, or with other health specialists (endocrinologists, nutritionists, general practitioners, physiotherapists, nurses, diabetes educators, among others) so that patients have a better management of their condition.

He is so committed to the fact that there are more and more licensed optometrists trained in the optometric management of diabetes, that he is part of the line of teachers of the Diabetic Retinopathy and Diabetic Macular Edema Screening Course-Workshop of the Mexican Diabetes Association, in the which he trains graduates in optometry from Mexico and some Latin American countries in the management of this metabolic condition and the importance of diabetes education in optometric clinical practice, likewise, seeks to generate interest so that they professionalize their training as educators in diabetes and subsequently certified by CONED so that they can provide quality care to their patients.

“With vision all, without vision at all”

– Neftalí Trinidad González