Orthoptist

Orthoptist job description: Typical employers | Qualifications and training | Key skills | Useful links | Find jobs and courses

Orthoptists see patients of all ages who have been referred to them by general practitioners, health visitors, consultants working in hospital eye clinics, and from eye casualty departments and community clinics.

Typical job responsibilities include:

• gaining case histories from patients
• observing and checking patients’ vision, visual field and eye movement/position
• making use of specialist equipment
• referring patients to doctors for specialist treatment/surgery
• treating vision problems with devices such as patches/specialist glasses
• diagnosing sight problems and producing treatment plans
• liaising with nursing and medical staff
• keeping up to date with new techniques/developments
• providing information to patients about diagnoses and required treatment
• offering advice about lighting and magnification strategies for patients with low vision
• running specialist clinics for issues such as glaucoma, strokes and low vision.

Typical employers of orthoptists

• the National Health Service (NHS)
• hospital ophthalmic departments
• community orthoptic services (that provide vision screening in health clinics and schools)
• university departments
• private practices.

Vacancies are advertised online, by careers services, in newspapers, NHS trusts vacancy lists and specialist publications.

Qualifications and training required

Qualification as an orthoptist necessitates gaining an honours degree in orthoptics from a university offering British Orthoptic Society (BOS) approved courses. Orthoptic degree students generally receive a means-tested bursary and payment of their course fees from the NHS.

Candidates normally need A levels and five good GCSE passes, including English, maths and science. Any relevant paid or voluntary work gained within a caring environment is helpful, as is experience of vision clinics. Orthoptists must be members of the Health Professions Council (HPC) in order to practise.

Key skills for orthoptists

• adaptability
• good communication skills
• interpersonal skills
• organisational skills
• team-working skills
• self-motivation
• maturity
• patience
• confidence
• resilience
• diplomatic.

It is also important to possess empathy and the ability to handle emotionally volatile situations.