I give the gift of… inspiration
On Friday 16th November 2018 I arrived bright and early at the World Skills Show in Birmingham. My task for the day was to engage with hundreds of young people and explain what I do in my day-to-day, as an orthoptist – a career that many of them had likely never heard of.
I stood at our stall and wondered “do I have what it takes to inspire?” I remembered why I had chosen to study orthoptics. When I was sixteen, I volunteered at a children’s hospice. There, I saw multiple children with nystagmus – a condition where the eyes move, or ‘wobble’ involuntarily. I remembered wondering how the movement affected those children’s vision, what was causing the movement and how the movement was managed – I needed answers.
Once the young people at the Skills Show had tried our virtual reality headsets showing the wobbling movement – or oscillopsia – that people with newly acquired nystagmus experience, they too were struck with the exact same questions that I had over five years ago. I quickly realised that I did not need to be inspiring at all. Once the attendees saw what oscillopsia, double vision and the structures of the eye look like, I could see the questions burning in their brains and the lightbulb moments, once those questions had been answered and they began to understand what Orthoptists do.
Joining me in promoting orthoptics at the skills show were Adil – a first year Liverpool orthoptic student, Sonia – aSheffield orthoptic lecturer, as well as Olivia and George - Outreach officers . Together, we not only talked about the science behind orthoptics, but we were also able to give different perspectives on why it is such an interesting course to study. We discussed the community feel of being part of a small course and profession, the perks of getting to explore all over the country whilst completing placements in university, the high rates of post-graduate employment and the privilege of making a difference in the lives of so many varying patients - ranging from a three-year-old obsessed with the baby-shark song, to a ninety eight year old lady with the most beautifuland insightful stories about her life. Throughout our day talking about orthoptics, we saw inspiration strike dozens of times and I was also reminded of the many reasons why I love being an orthoptist.
Francesca Codrington
Band 5 Orthoptist
Manchester Royal Eye Hospital
