Now more than ever we need to be promoting vulnerable professions such as Orthoptics. The simple truth is not many people know or talk about the profession and pre-university students just don't know where to look to get more information on allied health professions - that's if they've even heard of them!
Janet came to the orthoptic clinic with an open mind and lots of questions about Orthoptics; "what kind of patients do you see?", "how can you help them?", "what got you interested in Orthoptics?"
It was great to have such enthusiasm and I really enjoyed chatting with Janet about the profession I love, and telling her how I had started with a week's work experience as a teenager in an opticians' and, feeling it wasn't quite what I was looking for, did some further research in to eye care professions. Janet agreed with me that Orthoptics is unique in the fact that we are specialists in adult and paediatric eye conditions, which is rare in a hospital setting. I explained how I loved the huge variety of patients we see every day - anything between the ages of 1 week and 100 years can walk through our doors, and we're always ready!
We're more than vision specialists as well. While we do care for children with reduced vision, patients who have suffered a stroke and have consequential double vision are referred to us for rehabilitation. We can offer them specialist and personalised treatment to help them get their vision back to as close to normal as possible while they recover. There's nothing like the feeling you get when a patient cries with happiness after you've resolved their double vision and they can start living their life to the full again.
After our introduction, Janet was able to shadow some of our senior orthoptists in the adult and paediatric clinics happening that afternoon. She explained how impressed she was with the level of expertise and variety of skills required from an orthoptist. I think this is a really important point to hammer home for potential university students - Orthoptics is a vast area of ophthalmology and requires in depth knowledge of neurological and immunological systems in adults and physical and neurological development of infants. All that on top of demonstrating an ability to empathise with patients, get involved with team projects and continue personal development, Orthoptics is demanding and rewarding all in one. We know there are people out there perfect for the role of an Orthoptist - we just need to get the word out!
To read more about Janet's experience in our department, see her blog entry on the GM Health and Social Care Partnership's website. If you're interested in shadowing us or learning more about Orthoptics, do get in touch and we would be happy to help!
Janet came to the orthoptic clinic with an open mind and lots of questions about Orthoptics; "what kind of patients do you see?", "how can you help them?", "what got you interested in Orthoptics?"
It was great to have such enthusiasm and I really enjoyed chatting with Janet about the profession I love, and telling her how I had started with a week's work experience as a teenager in an opticians' and, feeling it wasn't quite what I was looking for, did some further research in to eye care professions. Janet agreed with me that Orthoptics is unique in the fact that we are specialists in adult and paediatric eye conditions, which is rare in a hospital setting. I explained how I loved the huge variety of patients we see every day - anything between the ages of 1 week and 100 years can walk through our doors, and we're always ready!
We're more than vision specialists as well. While we do care for children with reduced vision, patients who have suffered a stroke and have consequential double vision are referred to us for rehabilitation. We can offer them specialist and personalised treatment to help them get their vision back to as close to normal as possible while they recover. There's nothing like the feeling you get when a patient cries with happiness after you've resolved their double vision and they can start living their life to the full again.
After our introduction, Janet was able to shadow some of our senior orthoptists in the adult and paediatric clinics happening that afternoon. She explained how impressed she was with the level of expertise and variety of skills required from an orthoptist. I think this is a really important point to hammer home for potential university students - Orthoptics is a vast area of ophthalmology and requires in depth knowledge of neurological and immunological systems in adults and physical and neurological development of infants. All that on top of demonstrating an ability to empathise with patients, get involved with team projects and continue personal development, Orthoptics is demanding and rewarding all in one. We know there are people out there perfect for the role of an Orthoptist - we just need to get the word out!
To read more about Janet's experience in our department, see her blog entry on the GM Health and Social Care Partnership's website. If you're interested in shadowing us or learning more about Orthoptics, do get in touch and we would be happy to help!
