Orthoptists diagnose and treat problems of the eye, especially those related to eye movement and how the eyes work together to focus, known as binocularity. Patients of any age may come to see an orthoptist, but most of their patients are children due to the developmental nature of many binocular disorders. Orthoptists perform diagnostic tests and measurements of color vision, visual acuity, and the pace of motor development related to vision development. After interpreting test results, orthoptists may refer patients to ophthalmic surgeons and other physicians or they may perform nonsurgical interventions such as corrective lenses, patches, drops, exercises, and more. The majority of orthoptists work full time. They practice in hospitals, clinics, private offices, and medical facilities attached to universities as well as visiting schools to administer testing. Some orthoptists teach or conduct clinical research. Orthoptists must complete a 2-year training fellowship after earning a bachelor’s degree, usually with a science or health care major. Typically, orthoptist students evaluate at least 1500 patients as part of their clinical studies. After completing training, they must pass a certifying examination given by the American Association of Certified Orthoptists.
What they do:
Diagnose and treat visual system disorders such as binocular vision and eye movement impairments.
On the job, you would:
Examine patients with problems related to ocular motility, binocular vision, amblyopia, or strabismus.
Evaluate, diagnose, or treat disorders of the visual system with an emphasis on binocular vision or abnormal eye movements.
Provide instructions to patients or family members concerning diagnoses or treatment plans.
Arts and Humanities
English language
Health
medicine and dentistry
Business
customer service
Education and Training
teaching and course design
Basic Skills
listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
Problem Solving
noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it
Verbal
communicate by speaking
communicate by writing
Ideas and Logic
make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
notice when problems happen
Visual Understanding
quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things
see hidden patterns
People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
Attention to Detail
Concern for Others
Integrity
Cooperation
Dependability
Self Control
You might use software like this on the job:
Word processing software
Eye Tracking Exercises Enterprises Track with Letters
Microsoft Word
Presentation software
Microsoft PowerPoint
Medical software
Computer Aided Vision Therapy CAVT
Therapeutic orthoptic software
certificate after college usually needed
Get started on your career:
New job opportunities are less likely in the future.