What does an orthoptist do?

Orthoptist works directly with an ophthalmologist and their patients specializing in the abnormalities of eye movement. People who suffer from lazy eye or crossed eyes need medical treatment to correct their situation. Orthoptists are trained specifically to help those who suffer from these abnormalities. Depending on the severity, treatment may be something as simple as using eye drops, wearing glasses or carrying the eye patches. Sometimes the patient may have to undergo therapy to gain control of the eye movement and strengthen the eye muscles. The most serious cases require surgery that an orthoptist does not perform, but rather an ophthalmologist. For example, an orthoptist may prefer to work with pediatric patients who were born with their eye abnormalities, or may want to work with adults who have suffered head injuries and as a result are visually impaired. Whatever the age preference, the orthoptist must be interested in working with people and their eyes.

must work well with people and have great communication skills and create confidence in the patient. Eye injury and abnormalities create highly stressful situations for the patient, and a good orthoptist must be able to calm them down, giving them hope to improve and build their trust to help each other. Orthoptists use therapy in patients in the office, but they must be able to teach them the exercise needed to exercise at home to speed up their healing process. When working with children, they must have great patience, because children are generally happened when it comes to someone in the eyes or close to his eyes. It is necessary not only to calm the child, but also to assure that everything will be fine.

orthoptists generally work in an ophthalmologist's office or clinic only focused on eye care. However, they may be obliged to travel from the office to the office depending on the description of the work and the need for each individual patient.To become an orthoptist, it is necessary to attend college and get a bachelor's degree or a bachelor's degree. After college, two years of training in the program accredited through the American Orthoptical Council (AOC) are required, which requires that the orthoptist take a written exam before obtaining employment.