Get all the information you need before you kick-start your dream job in allied health as an eye-therapist, eye technology expert and health educator – an orthoptist!
Check out some of our most frequently asked questions about the UTS Master of Orthoptics, asked by future university students just like you.
If you have a question about postgraduate study at UTS, get in touch.
The field
What does an Orthoptist do?
An orthoptist is an eye therapist who conducts eye tests and provides therapy in order to help people manage their eye problems.
Orthoptists traditionally provided care and treatment for patients with eye movement disorders. More recently, orthoptists have expanded their role and are also involved in the care of patients with eye disease such as cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic eye disease, age related macular degeneration, systemic or neurological vision disorders and low vision.
Orthoptists work in many areas including neonatal care, paediatrics, rehabilitation, geriatrics, neurological impairment, community services and ophthalmic technology. Orthoptists are registered with the Australian Orthoptic Board.
Why would someone go to see an Orthoptist?
People visit orthoptists for many reasons, with care being provided for a number of disorders. Some examples include:
Treating children with lazy eye (amblyopia) and turned eye (strabismus)
Diagnosing and treating eye movement disorders following stroke and brain injury
Low vision care/rehabilitation
General eye disease
Care and patient education in cataract, diabetes and macular disease
Neurological vision disorders
Refractive eye surgery consultants and assistants in minor surgery
Driver vision/Sports vision
Clinical research
Orthoptists provide tertiary health care in the management of paediatric and neurological disorders of the eye on referral from specialist medical practitioners. They also provide therapy to optimise the visual function of people with low vision.
They give primary care in screening programs and work in multi-disciplinary teams to deliver secondary health care to a wide range of patients.
What’s the difference between an Orthoptist, Optometrist and an Ophthalmologist? Is there an overlap?
Where Orthoptists differ from Optometrists is that Orthoptists are therapists and are employed in hospitals, go to operating theatres, assist in minor surgical procedures, work with neurologists as well as Ophthalmologists as part of medical teams, work in the rehabilitation of stroke survivors, and assist people afflicted with brain injury and developmental delay.
An Orthoptist is a clinician who specialises in the assessment, diagnosis and non-surgical treatment, management, and rehabilitation of patients with eye disorders.
Orthoptists apply evidence-based practice in the treatment of patients requiring specialist care to restore sight and maximise ocular comfort. While Orthoptists can prescribe glasses, they primarily do this for therapeutic purposes and use non-surgical approaches for management of eye conditions.
An optometrist is a graduate in Bachelor of Optometry, licensed to practice optometry. Optometrists determine the need for glasses and contact lenses, prescribe optical correction, and screen for abnormalities of the eye. They primarily work in shopfront practices offering primary eye care.
An ophthalmologist is a specialist medical doctor who is licensed to practice medicine and surgery. He or she diagnoses and treats all eye diseases, performs eye surgery, and prescribes ocular medications for the management of conditions such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration.
Where do Orthoptists work? Are they front line health care providers?
Orthoptists can work as front line health care providers depending on the setting in which they operate. Orthoptists work in many areas including neonatal care, paediatrics, rehabilitation, geriatrics, neurological impairment, community services and ophthalmic technology.
A day in the life of an orthoptist can be quite varied. Orthoptists can deliver front line health care in settings such as the NSW StEPS vision screening program for pre-school children. They can complete voluntary service overseas and work across the wide spectrum of eye health care, but can also specialise in one area of practice.
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[Music]
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hello everyone we'll get started
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everyone settled I firstly just like to
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ignore it meet on the land of the
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gadigal people of the eora nation
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tonight we acknowledge them as
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traditional custodians of knowledge for
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this place indigenous australians have
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been on this land as we know for around
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60,000 years and in that time they've
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developed communities they've duel at
00:26
languages a deep culture and a
00:28
connection to country their work played
00:30
loved and parented they built family and
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they nurtured this land and they remain
00:35
deeply connected to country I
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acknowledge elders past present and
00:39
those emerging in the future and also in
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the average from Transat Islander people
00:43
who happen to be here with us tonight
00:45
I welcome to you all it's wonderful to
00:48
see so many enthusiastic faces here with
00:50
us this evening you come from a broad
00:52
background and I think for many of you
00:54
you probably haven't decided which
00:55
discipline you may eventually journey
00:57
into with you're going to take that
00:59
journey at all but tonight it's a
01:00
wonderful opportunity to hear from
01:01
clinicians as they talk about what they
01:04
do every day in their work and it's
01:06
quite unique I think to have this
01:07
opportunity because sometimes you think
01:09
you might know for example what a speech
01:10
pathologist does I was certainly learned
01:12
since I've been in the Graduate School
01:14
of Health a lot more about these
01:15
disciplines than I thought and having
01:18
thought already knew a little bit anyhow
01:19
I come from a background as a nurse and
01:21
a midwife so I've worked in the hospital
01:23
setting and I thought yeah I've got a
01:24
pretty good idea but when they start
01:26
talking about their deep understanding
01:28
of their discipline and the passion they
01:30
have I really learned a lot more and I'm
01:32
sure that'll come out tonight as we
01:34
listen to each of our clinicians who are
01:36
here present so my name's Joanne gray
01:39
I'm the head of the Graduate School of
01:40
Health I've been in the school now for
01:42
about nine months and as I said I come
01:44
from a background of being a nurse and a
01:45
midwife from the Faculty of Health so
01:47
this has been a lovely change to work
01:49
with a different range of disciplines
01:50
which has been great as you know
01:52
tonight's the event is being filmed and
01:54
if later when you ask a question we will
01:56
come to you with a microphone and ask
01:57
please that you speak into the
01:59
microphone the reason we're filming it
02:01
is because there's many people who can't
02:02
be here tonight and we know this is a
02:04
unique opportunity we don't expect our
02:05
clinicians to come back every week and
02:07
be so generous in their time so we are
02:10
wanting to film it and that these videos
02:12
we put up on the website
02:13
so that other people who are interested
02:14
in the programs we offer here are able
02:16
to go on and find those there's those
02:20
films the other thing I'm going to do is
02:22
ask you we're going to go deuce what's
02:23
called slider you probably all know what
02:25
it is but if we can just go to that
02:27
slide and I will ask you to set this up
02:29
on your phone now so this is where if
02:31
you go into your web browser and type in
02:34
if you wish to that web address and Kian
02:38
hashtag UTS gsh what you can then do is
02:43
you can pose questions and then you can
02:45
vote those questions up so wonder if you
02:46
might ask a particular question you
02:48
think I've always wanted to know the
02:49
answer but you didn't think of asking it
02:51
you can then click on that and you can
02:53
then decide that you think that's the
02:54
best question out there and you can push
02:56
that up to the top of the queue that's
02:58
just another way of us sort of getting
02:59
an idea of what it is you want to ask
03:01
you people don't feel free to always ask
03:03
the question themselves but there will
03:05
be an opportunity just for the old
03:06
fashioned put your hand up and you'd
03:07
like to ask somebody a question so I
03:10
will now go through and introduce our
03:12
speakers and we're very fortunate that
03:14
they're sitting in front of the banner
03:15
that belongs to their name due to their
03:17
profession and I promise you there are
03:18
no tricks so you will hear from Mitch's
03:21
and/or Thopter there so it's all going
03:23
to work out like that but I thought I'd
03:24
just let you know but they look very I
03:25
think it's very attractive sort of look
03:27
it we've got going here which is
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wonderful and again thank you so much to
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all of you for coming tonight
03:32
so I'll start fairly first with Helen
03:34
Benson Helen is an accredited pharmacist
03:36
and a practitioner teacher at the UTS
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Graduate School of Health and Health
03:40
destination pharmacy coach for the
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Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
03:43
Helen has a special interest in the
03:45
integration of pharmacist in GPS and the
03:48
expanding role of pharmacist
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Adela's Strava innopolis I nearly got it
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right I think and L is a clinical
03:57
psychologist and the UTS alumna a
03:59
jealous experience in in the
04:01
evidence-based assessment and treatment
04:02
of a range of clinical presentations
04:04
including mood disorders anxiety
04:06
disorders trauma and stressor related
04:08
disorders feeling and eating disorders
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grief and loss adjustment difficulties
04:13
and personality disorders Adele also
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works with children in their families to
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overcome issues such as behavioral
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problems emotion dysregulation trauma
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and attachment concerns
04:23
Adele works with adults as well as with
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children of all ages
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lessons and their families it's a huge
04:28
scope of practice you can hear from the
04:31
work that Adele does so Belinda Hill is
04:34
a senior speech pathologist and clinical
04:36
director Linda graduated from Sydney
04:38
University in 1993 with a bacheior
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speech pathology and completed her
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master's have applied linguistics at
04:44
McCray University in 1996 she's worked
04:47
in private practice as a speech
04:48
pathologist for the last 26 years in
04:51
addition to a range of other contexts
04:53
including TAFE and juvenile justice
04:55
settings she currently owns and operates
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a multidisciplinary clinic in Western
04:59
Sydney and she's far as president
05:01
communications at speech pathology
05:02
Australia my aunt's at Meijer or Mia me
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out yeah Amy who is an associate genetic
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counsellor with extensive health
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practitioner experience Mayer completed
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undergraduate studies in medical imaging
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diagnostic radiography and ultrasound
05:18
before embarking on a career change
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through the study the master of genetic
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counseling at the University of Sydney
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since then mia has worked in a number of
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settings including cancer genetics in a
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public hospital oncology department and
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in the private sector and assisted
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reproductive technology in prenatal care
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Mayer currently works with specialist
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obstetric ultrasonic Tessa's providing
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preconception and prenatal genetic
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counseling about the chance of having a
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baby with a genetic syndrome or
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chromosomal abnormality
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Mitchell Berger and Optus who graduated
05:48
in 2011 and has worked throughout Sydney
05:51
were maintaining strong interest in
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iTunes orthotic therapy and laser eye
05:54
surgery he has previously conducted and
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presented clinical research into
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surgical procedures and new diagnostic
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technology in 2014 which are volunteered
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at a hospital in Burma collaborating
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with an international team to treat
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severe and rare eye diseases
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more recently Mitchell has co-authored a
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children's book called amazing amber and
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her lazy laser eye that's a great title
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for books which promotes successful eye
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patching therapy currently Mitchell is
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the helicopters at Marsden eye
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specialists and in this Rob participates
06:23
in international clinical trials and
06:25
Georgia Fisher's here is our
06:27
physiotherapist she's an accredited
06:29
physiotherapist currently working in the
06:30
southeastern Sydney Health District as a
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rehabilitation physiotherapist Georgia
06:35
is also a PhD candidate at the Graduate
06:37
School of Health with a research focus
06:39
on physiotherapy
06:40
neurology and allied health science and
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focus on unilateral neglect in stroke
06:45
patients so it's amazing array of work
06:48
that these clinicians doing just reading
06:50
out all of those bits and pieces you can
06:51
see that the work of an allied health
06:52
professional just covers whole range of
06:55
areas and certainly across the lifespan
06:56
so there are a few questions that I've
06:58
got that I'm going to put to the
06:59
clinicians and just to a variety of them
07:02
remembering of course if there's
07:03
anything you want to particularly ask
07:04
there will be the opportunities so I'm
07:06
just going to start off and if you think
07:08
of anything else you want to ask maybe
07:09
jot it down or of course you can put it
07:11
up on the slide oh so I'm probably going
07:14
to just go fairly orderly to start with
07:16
and we'll see how that works out for us
07:17
so firstly Linda what does someone in
07:20
your profession do and what are your
07:21
main job tasks and where do you work
07:23
okay so I can talk from my own clinical
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perspective and then I might just talk
07:30
about broadly how the profession is
07:33
situated so I work in private practice
07:35
our private practice works with people
07:38
across the lifespan so from young babies
07:41
who might have difficulty feeding all
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the way through to someone in an aged
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care facility who may have some
07:47
difficulties with communication or with
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some mealtime management
07:51
so as a profession we work with people
07:54
in all stages of their lives as I
07:57
mentioned from babies right through to
07:59
aged care and we often assume that we
08:03
focus purely on speech or stuttering or
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voice but speech pathology actually
08:09
covers communication which is reading
08:11
writing speaking and listening from
08:14
infants right through to aged so and
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those settings can vary from working in
08:20
the clinic working in preschools in
08:22
hospitals where the focus is more on
08:26
rehabilitation so it might be working
08:28
with someone who's rehabilitating from
08:31
cancer treatment they might we might
08:34
work with people who have had a
08:35
laryngectomy or who have had some
08:41
recovery from a traumatic brain injury
08:42
so in terms of where you might be
08:45
working it could have a medical focus
08:47
educational focus if you're working in a
08:49
school or working in private
08:52
so there's opportunities to to kind of
08:55
follow whichever pathways someone's
08:57
preference a lot of choices yes thank
09:00
you so much I put the same question to
09:02
you this yeah yeah so I work at a
09:05
private practice in Western Sydney and
09:08
but I've kind of worked all over Sydney
09:11
in different roles and really as a North
09:14
Optus kind of part of our profession is
09:17
very much in terms of diagnostics and
09:20
opthalmic disease so we do lots of
09:24
imaging using very niche pieces of
09:28
equipment to look at different aspects
09:30
of the eye vision and perception which
09:33
is really interesting on it in itself
09:35
and that kind of goes hand-in-hand with
09:38
those patients who are pre and post
09:40
operative eye surgery so we do a lot
09:43
with assessing for people for laser eye
09:46
surgery but then also we've got a strong
09:49
therapy focus of course where we do a
09:51
lot to do with people with eye turns
09:54
whether they're born with those they
09:57
develop from neurological disease
09:59
processes or trauma and injury and we do
10:02
a lot in terms of correcting double
10:05
vision realigning people's eyes eye
10:07
patching and that goes yeah right down
10:10
from children to the elderly so it's
10:13
really quite diverse interesting great
10:16
thank you
10:17
okay so genetic counselors we work
10:21
alongside medical specialists so common
10:24
settings for genetic counselors to work
10:25
alongside oncologists cardiologists in
10:29
my case obstetrician/gynecologist s--
10:32
geneticists and we work in a variety of
10:34
settings so Pediatrics neurology I'm in
10:38
Crean Adel at the moment assisted
10:40
reproductive technology and what we
10:41
really do is our goal is to translate
10:44
the science which is often complex and
10:47
ambiguous into language that our
10:49
patients or clients can understand to
10:52
make that knowledge and information
10:53
accessible so that they can make values
10:57
based decisions on information they
11:00
understand so an example would be that
11:03
in my current role I work in a private
11:07
practice setting where we have patients
11:09
who come in for scans during their
11:11
pregnancy if we see an abnormality on
11:13
that ultrasound I need to speak to that
11:16
couple about that abnormality and what
11:18
it's likely chromosomal or genetic basis
11:20
is we then organize the relevant testing
11:23
and depending on what the test reveals
11:26
we support that couple through their
11:29
decision process in terms of whether
11:31
they want to continue that pregnancy so
11:32
it's quite a journey then we walk
11:34
alongside our patients in that journey
11:37
and it's extremely rewarding to see
11:40
people work through to reach a decision
11:43
that works best for them I think
11:49
everybody knows what pharmacists do but
11:52
in my career I've probably worked in
11:55
about ten different settings so I
11:57
started off as a hospital intern
12:00
pharmacist and then I worked as a
12:03
military pharmacist for five years I
12:05
then worked in the UK as a medication
12:09
review pharmacist I came back to
12:11
Australia and purchased a community
12:13
pharmacy and worked as a community
12:15
pharmacy owner and then I developed a
12:19
specialty practice in medication review
12:21
so going into little old ladies houses
12:23
and helping them with their tablets and
12:25
helping their doctors understand the
12:27
best medications for them to be on and
12:29
recently I've been working with
12:31
pharmacists who are integrated in
12:33
general practice so when you're going to
12:35
see the GP there's not just a nurse or a
12:37
physio there's also a pharmacist there
12:39
so I think there are a few areas I
12:43
haven't worked in so there's obviously
12:44
Industrial pharmacy as well you could
12:46
work for a pharmaceutical company a lot
12:48
of our graduates do that but I'd say
12:51
it's a it's a really good career I
12:52
recommend it it's a clinical
12:56
psychologist what we work with is the
12:59
treatment of mental disorders so we work
13:02
with clients and assess their concerns
13:05
we might make a diagnosis if that's
13:07
warranted
13:08
we formulate their concerns so we find
13:11
out what what are the factors that are
13:12
maintaining their symptoms and then we
13:14
provide psychological treatment and that
13:17
can range in in lots of ways okay it's
13:21
evidence-based treatment it can range
13:23
from very short-term skills focused
13:26
treatments like cognitive behavior
13:28
therapy to longer-term treatment options
13:31
that can last for over a year or so
13:33
things like schema therapy and
13:34
psychodynamic therapy and clinical
13:37
psychologists work in a range of
13:39
different areas it's very diverse so you
13:41
can work in private practice community
13:44
public health settings hospitals private
13:47
and public hospitals not non-government
13:51
organizations consultancy universities
13:53
research there's lots of different
13:56
possibilities so for me personally
13:58
working in private practice I'm sort of
14:01
seeing you know anyone really who comes
14:03
in who wants to see a psychologist and
14:05
we can work with people who across the
14:07
lifespan who have you know clinical
14:09
disorder like anxiety or depression or
14:11
who are sort of on in the normal healthy
14:14
range and just learning some emotional
14:16
support with something or wanting to
14:18
talk about anything so it's very diverse
14:23
so most people when they think of physio
14:26
you think of the classic sports physio
14:28
but that's actually the one area that
14:29
I've never worked in I've dabbled in
14:31
every other area which I started out in
14:33
acute care in the hospitals so people
14:36
who are post-surgery we have a lot of
14:39
work to do with people who are posted
14:40
orthopedic or post cardiac surgery
14:42
getting them back on their feet again I
14:45
then moved to a rehabilitation clinic
14:47
for people post big injuries or
14:51
illnesses so people who've had a stroke
14:52
or a car accident or perhaps of you know
14:56
become really deconditioned and they
14:57
need help getting home and then did some
14:59
work in dementia care for a couple of
15:02
months which was really interesting
15:03
because a lot of those patients have a
15:06
lot of fear around movement and they
15:07
tend to decline in their mobility so our
15:09
role in that space is to keep them
15:11
active and it's actually one of the most
15:13
rewarding areas to work in even though
15:15
it's quite difficult and it's
15:17
someplace that people usually think that
15:19
physios would work in but we can have
15:21
quite a big difference in that area I
15:24
then went to acute neurosurgery so
15:26
people who've had spinal surgeries and
15:28
are requiring help to start moving after
15:30
they've had their spine fused or cut up
15:33
a little bit which was very interesting
15:34
and then I currently work with the NDIS
15:37
so I service the community for people
15:40
who have a really wide range of
15:43
intellectual and physical and
15:45
neurological disabilities so I work with
15:47
people who have things like Parkinson's
15:49
and multiple sclerosis I also work with
15:52
people who have autism and Asperger's
15:54
who have movement difficulties or
15:56
difficulties accessing exercise and
16:00
other clients with other forms of
16:01
intellectual disability with the aim of
16:03
keeping them active and functional for
16:04
as long as possible so I've made
16:08
probably main message would be the
16:09
sports physio is definitely an aspect of
16:11
it but there's this whole other gamut of
16:13
possibilities with the profession that's
16:15
great thank you I'm gonna ask the panel
16:17
another set of questions before I do is
16:19
it has anybody got a burning question
16:20
they just want to get out there now
16:21
we're happy to keep listening okay great
16:25
so Chris I'm gonna put you now is about
16:28
when you think of how your everyday work
16:29
what are two of the skills or abilities
16:31
that you think it absolutely keys you
16:34
being successful in your profession I
16:37
think communication will always be
16:39
number one for speech pathology but
16:42
absolutely being an empathetic person
16:44
being able to understand somebody's
16:47
situation and being able to look at that
16:51
objectively and to utilize all the
16:53
clinical knowledge that you've learned
16:55
and apply that and I think when you're
16:57
dealing with complex families and people
16:58
with complex histories and complex lives
17:02
that's really important to be an
17:04
empathetic person via Rachel I think
17:08
just being really dynamic with eye and
17:11
vision problems they very rarely come
17:15
isolated and if someone is losing vision
17:18
or is
17:20
here'd they're not going to just have
17:22
the eye disease that they've got they're
17:24
going to have mobility issues lifestyle
17:27
issues where you might also need to do
17:30
low vision therapy with those people
17:32
while they're also receiving treatment
17:34
so that's really important and obviously
17:36
you know we always work as part of a
17:38
team so communications got to be up
17:40
there as well yeah I second the
17:45
empathetic nature not many people see a
17:48
genetic counselor because they
17:49
particularly want to it's generally
17:51
because something pretty Awful's
17:52
happened to make them sit in front of
17:54
you for example a family member might
17:55
have passed away and then the rest of
17:58
the family wants to understand the
17:59
implications of the risk to them and
18:01
their children so empathetic empathy
18:04
always and then the other aspect is with
18:09
genetic counseling it's really cutting
18:10
edge the science is out of date in six
18:12
months at the moment so the science is
18:14
moving so incredibly fast in genetics
18:17
that to stay up to date means really
18:20
being on top of things and not just
18:22
going to work and leaving you need to
18:23
read you need to understand and you need
18:25
to ask questions so I think that genuine
18:28
enthusiasm any interest in the science
18:30
is really helpful so I've forgotten what
18:35
the question was - the key skills and
18:38
abilities I think make a good pharmacist
18:41
so I think really people skills is the
18:44
number one being able to understand the
18:49
level of understanding somebody comes in
18:51
with because when we're talking to
18:52
people about their medications we can do
18:55
it on a range of different levels and
18:57
the main thing is making sure that your
18:59
communication is heard and understood so
19:01
that the person goes away after a
19:03
conversation with you with more skills
19:06
than they came to the conversation with
19:08
and I think also being open to anything
19:10
so on I still work in community pharmacy
19:13
every second Sunday and sometimes I'll
19:16
be removing ticks from people's backs
19:19
sometimes I'll be giving them flu
19:21
vaccinations and sometimes I'll be
19:24
explaining to them
19:26
how to take their blood pressure
19:28
medication so I think it's it's just
19:31
being open to whatever comes in the door
19:34
is is always a good thing I would
19:38
probably say the ability to be
19:40
self-reflective and look inwards because
19:43
as a clinical psychologist you're
19:46
dealing with emotional topics and
19:49
clients who have a variety of
19:51
personalities and life experiences that
19:54
might be very different to your own so
19:55
that might trigger some things in
19:59
yourself and you have to be able to be
20:02
aware of that and how that's influencing
20:03
your work and work through that and I'd
20:06
also say just being approachable so you
20:08
can have all the technical knowledge you
20:11
know that's possible but you have to be
20:13
able to make people feel open you know
20:15
comfortable enough to share their
20:17
vulnerabilities with you after not
20:20
knowing you for very long so you're just
20:21
being very warm and approachable and
20:23
sort of non-judgmental and all of those
20:26
type of qualities as well and I would
20:29
second to Adele because as physios
20:32
particularly in the hospital or the
20:33
disability sector we're dealing with
20:34
very vulnerable people who are quite
20:37
slow to trust for very good reason and
20:39
so you need to have excellent people
20:40
skills to gain that therapeutic
20:42
relationship because then you'll get the
20:43
best outcome so it's the whole gamut of
20:45
people skills that come along with that
20:47
but I also think you need to be really
20:49
flexible to be a good physio because
20:51
you're dealing with a human being at the
20:53
end of the day and you can have all the
20:54
theory in the world and it just won't
20:56
apply to that person so you need to be
20:58
able to change it up and think on your
20:59
feet
21:00
so it would be my - great thank you I
21:02
think probably all of your your things
21:04
you've identified - probably shared
21:05
across your each of it really yeah just
21:07
that I'm not gonna ask a question this
21:09
is my future focus so you often hear and
21:11
I suppose you hear as well is that you
21:13
know that the job we have today is going
21:15
to look entirely different in five years
21:16
time and I think that's one of the
21:17
challenges that we're aware of
21:18
here at the Graduate School of Health
21:20
how do we prepare you not only for when
21:22
you graduate and become a health
21:23
professional but how do we also prepare
21:25
you with the skills that you'll need in
21:26
five or 10 years time when you're having
21:28
to adapt to somewhere work
21:30
is entirely different from the one we
21:32
have now and I certainly again reflected
21:34
on that one I think about when I first
21:35
started nursing and I it was some time
21:37
ago but when I think about that now and
21:39
I actually did my nursing back at UM in
21:42
a rural hospital what about hospital and
21:44
I think about that possible laughter
21:45
when I got home and I looked at and I
21:47
remember my days there being a student
21:49
nurse and I reflect now how different it
21:51
is in hospital I go in a visa people and
21:53
when I was practicing as a midwife
21:55
things have changed so rapidly and how
21:57
do the skill you have to have as a
21:58
health professional and really that was
22:00
identified by me as well he's about the
22:02
reading and staying on top of it but
22:03
there's more to it than that so I'm
22:05
gonna ask each of you when you think
22:07
about your profession now and in five
22:08
maybe ten years time what do you think
22:10
the key things are gonna happen whatever
22:12
the big picture things that are going to
22:14
happen within your area and I'll go the
22:16
other way just to give you a bit of
22:17
change around so Georgia so I'm biased
22:20
to a neuro perspective and in terms of
22:22
the treatment that we currently have for
22:23
stroke which is my specialty
22:25
it's just advancing at a really rapid
22:27
rate so they've got this really cool
22:29
tech at the moment where they can put a
22:30
tiny wire into the brain grab the clot
22:32
and take it out and the person is so
22:34
much better on the end of it which means
22:35
that we're dealing with a completely
22:37
different patient when we go to
22:38
rehabilitate them and we're having to
22:40
expand our concept of rehabilitation so
22:42
I think that's really exciting for the
22:44
next five to ten years because the whole
22:45
paradigm is going to change in how we
22:47
think about stroke rehab but in terms of
22:50
a more general sense the aging
22:52
population in Australia is going to need
22:54
to stay mobile for as long as possible
22:56
and I think we're going to play a huge
22:58
role in that and it like some people
23:00
think our H Care that's boring but from
23:02
personal experience is one of the most
23:04
rewarding and fun jobs to have because
23:06
the possibilities are endless and these
23:08
people are just so grateful to have your
23:09
help with doing things they want to keep
23:11
doing so I think that's a big role that
23:13
we're going to play in the next five to
23:14
ten years as well I would say definitely
23:18
in psychology because of a range of
23:22
factors probably mostly technology is
23:24
that we're moving to more of a stepped
23:26
care model so clients with sort of more
23:29
general
23:30
concerns can be serviced through
23:34
you know apps and online therapies and
23:37
then the more complex presentations are
23:39
coming to the clinicians so that's
23:42
really exciting
23:43
particularly for therapy because
23:46
clinical psychologists would be the
23:50
professionals who are seeing those are
23:52
more of the complex and a presentation
23:55
so we're getting to sort of use our
23:57
skills you know the way that they were
23:59
designed to rather than sort of just
24:01
seeing more of the general kind of
24:02
everyday presentations and I'd also say
24:05
there's a lot of changes at the moment
24:08
going on with the way Medicare is
24:10
structured and and the training pathways
24:14
for psychologists so there if anyone is
24:17
interested in psychology there used to
24:19
be sort of a ability to go through as a
24:21
general psychologist and they're now
24:23
removing that one of those the four plus
24:26
two pathways so it's becoming and also
24:29
with the changes to medicare rebates
24:30
it's becoming increasingly important to
24:32
have the clinical specialty so if you do
24:35
have the opportunity to do that I think
24:36
that would be very important for the
24:38
future in this field so for pharmacy I
24:42
think there's been a big increase in
24:45
interesting quality use of medicines and
24:48
reducing medication misadventure
24:50
so pharmacists are being seen as key
24:55
players in team-based care a lot more
24:57
and I think having pharmacist says
25:00
medication experts is really the way the
25:04
profession is going in the future has
25:08
anyone seen the movie Gattaca or am I
25:09
too old for this audience yeah so I
25:12
think we're kind of heading there but I
25:15
want to take the negative away from that
25:17
and say that we're hopefully heading
25:18
into a more if you want to do genetic
25:21
counseling watch Gattaca because it's
25:22
almost compulsory but we're heading
25:26
towards the preventative model where
25:27
we're moving away from waiting until
25:30
something devastating happens
25:32
genetically and then assessing the
25:33
family - hopefully identifying the
25:36
incident
25:36
advance to avoid the devastation that
25:39
can surround that event so the good
25:41
thing about genetics and the optimistic
25:43
thing about genetics is if we know
25:44
there's a risk we can sometimes mitigate
25:47
the risk through management strategies
25:49
for example the best example is in
25:51
cancer where we if we identify a faulty
25:54
cancer gene in a person we can improve
25:58
improve the prognosis for their family
26:01
because we know what risks need to be
26:02
managed I've just gotten back actually
26:07
from Taiwan where they're launching a
26:10
trial into a new medication to prevent
26:13
macular degeneration and those sort of
26:17
clinical trials and developments in
26:20
medical therapy are just always coming
26:24
out I've got another staff member going
26:26
to Chicago next week so it's just
26:28
constantly moving forward I mean that's
26:31
in terms of AMD which is a huge burden
26:33
on the Australian society and aging
26:35
population but you know if you were to
26:37
go get laser eye surgery today we would
26:39
recommend a different procedure that you
26:41
would have gotten two years ago and the
26:44
advances in cataract surgery and lenses
26:46
and wear
26:47
the great thing about being a North
26:48
Optus is where the people that do all
26:50
the diagnostics and all the imaging and
26:54
all the assessment of these diseases and
26:59
these processes so we're really in the
27:01
thick of the progress that's happening
27:06
in the industry so yeah I think that
27:08
there'll be completely different
27:10
treatments in a few years time there's
27:15
probably a few drivers have changed so
27:17
technology being one so things like
27:19
using telehealth we're less focused on
27:22
our own neighborhood and looking more at
27:24
providing rural services global services
27:27
using robotics for children with autism
27:30
or augmented reality so some of that
27:33
technology is driving areas of change
27:36
with the changes to the NDIS which is
27:40
funding a lot of how our services are
27:42
provided we're moving more to functional
27:46
type services where we're out in the
27:48
community
27:48
with clients less of that traditional
27:51
sitting at the table with picture cards
27:53
doing therapy so while we still do a lot
27:56
of that early intervention work the the
27:59
way we practice is changing and some of
28:01
that that is driven by the funding
28:03
bodies where we you know we're sourcing
28:06
our funds from I guess the other there's
28:09
are quite a few other areas that are
28:11
emerging in practice so working speech
28:13
pathologists working as intermediaries
28:15
in the court system working in juvenile
28:18
justice and adult justice settings
28:20
because there's a huge proportion at
28:22
least 50% who have a communication
28:24
impairment so there are quite a number
28:28
of areas that are emerging for practice
28:30
and probably by that you know by the
28:32
time you finish your master's degree if
28:35
it's in speech pathology that haven't
28:36
even been identified yet so I think some
28:39
of the government changes are also
28:41
leading to new opportunities for ways to
28:44
work as a speech pathologist you know if
28:50
you've got any questions you want to put
28:51
to any of the clinicians you can put a
28:53
general question or can choose your
28:54
discipline of choice yes that's right
28:58
this is a microphone for you sorry thank
29:00
you
29:01
hello so how does NDIS change the is it
29:05
to change the field is it because
29:06
there's more access well I think it's
29:08
given access so looking at the the
29:11
clients who were able to access those
29:13
services so say for example adults with
29:15
disabilities previously were funded by
29:18
government services I guess there's a
29:21
whole group of people who weren't really
29:23
receiving lots of services we now have
29:25
choice and control as to how their
29:27
services are provided so those clients
29:31
previously would have been serviced by a
29:32
government organisation now they're
29:34
coming into the private sector and they
29:35
have direct control over to how their
29:38
services are delivered and you know
29:40
we're looking at more functional so you
29:42
know going with clients into the
29:44
community to provide their services
29:45
rather than working in a purely clinical
29:47
setting so you know looking at more
29:49
functional therapy I would say physio
29:52
echoes that sentiment that you know
29:54
we've got this whole population of
29:55
people that we
29:56
really didn't have access to you because
29:57
the government services were a little
29:59
bit limited for us particularly when
30:00
discharging from hospital and now they
30:02
are in like exactly as he said in
30:04
control of the services that they want
30:06
and they know what their goals are and
30:08
you can work in any context to help them
30:10
achieve the goals so a client I had last
30:13
week he really wanted to be able to use
30:14
the gym and he was a bit scared about it
30:16
because he has a mental illness and he
30:18
was worried about the environment and
30:20
we're just I basically go to the gym
30:21
with him every Saturday and work on just
30:24
you know becoming familiar with basic
30:26
equipment and I would never have had
30:27
that opportunity I think before the NDIS
30:29
came into can I just add to that it's
30:32
really revolutionized orthotics from a
30:34
low vision perspective so one of the
30:36
largest employers of the thoughtlessness
30:37
Vision Australia and guide dogs as well
30:41
and they go out into the community and
30:44
provide that therapy and visual aids and
30:49
visual assistance to patients in their
30:51
homes and in their communities you know
30:53
helping them to work out which bus
30:54
they're trying to catch when they can't
30:56
see and that's been a major injection
30:59
for orthotics on that Street
31:12
what's the difference between clinical
31:14
psychology and other types of psychology
31:16
yep so there so there are so psychology
31:22
is very broad term so it's sort of
31:23
looking at generally the scientific
31:26
study of brain and behavior and clinical
31:29
psychology is the specialty of that
31:30
which looks at the treatment of mental
31:32
disorders there's also a general
31:35
psychologist who has done the undergrad
31:38
degree and then done an internship and
31:41
become just a general psychologist and
31:44
so the difference between what they
31:47
would do practically to a clinical
31:49
psychologist is a clinical psychologist
31:52
has is more specialized they've done an
31:55
additional post-grad training in
31:57
psychopathology and evidence-based
32:00
treatment so it's just it's it's in
32:04
practically it can it can sort of
32:08
overlap a little bit but it's becoming
32:11
more of a requirement in in most sort of
32:15
fields to have the additional specialty
32:18
now
32:27
I've got a question for Mia you said
32:32
that you followed the people that you
32:33
see through their journey while you're
32:35
helping them with their diagnosis I was
32:36
wondering what point you traveled with
32:39
them on that journey and if you pass
32:41
over to a another type of psychologist
32:43
or um I guess that's a cage of the role
32:45
is knowing what your limitations are as
32:47
a practitioner and knowing whether the
32:49
person needs more support than you're
32:50
able to provide so an example of a
32:52
typical journey that a patient will take
32:54
with me is that I'll see them at about
32:55
ten weeks time to do a newly available
33:00
DNA based test for chromosome
33:02
abnormalities I'll deliver that result
33:04
in about a week following that so I'll
33:06
call them and let them know if there's
33:07
an increased chance that their baby is
33:09
affected with a chromosomal disorder
33:12
I will then bring them in and have a
33:13
lengthy chat with the couple about what
33:15
that means for them and potentially the
33:18
child I'll also do some risk sort of
33:21
calculations in terms of what the
33:22
predictive value of the test is and the
33:24
likelihood that the baby just truly
33:25
affected so there is kind of a
33:26
scientific and mathematical component to
33:29
all of that and then I will follow that
33:31
patient up until about until they finish
33:34
their testing until about 16 or 17 weeks
33:36
down like pregnancy so it's sometimes
33:39
about a month of ongoing checking in
33:41
phone calls if I identify that that
33:43
person has a history of mental illness
33:45
or that I mean pregnancy can make
33:48
everyone a bit on edge but if somebody
33:50
hasn't identified our risk factor or I
33:52
can see that they're not coping I will
33:55
then refer on to a psychologist in that
33:59
scenario otherwise if I feel that you
34:02
know we have some question is that we
34:03
can use to assess assess that but
34:06
otherwise I will be in contact with them
34:07
and often I'll be in contact with them
34:10
potentially for many years to come as
34:13
they come back with future pregnancies
34:14
so they bring the child in and we so we
34:17
have a really nice relationship at six
34:20
and that's what makes the job extremely
34:21
rewarding
34:27
yes really when I talk about genetics
34:34
counseling a lot of people don't know
34:35
what there's no explain so how do you
34:37
get referred by to like how do you get
34:41
referred by patients you know so their
34:43
referral pathway for me as a genetic
34:45
counselor it's an emerging profession
34:47
it's very new I didn't know what it was
34:49
myself until I read a newspaper article
34:50
about this fabulous new profession in
34:52
The Sydney Morning Herald one Sunday and
34:54
I read and I said that's exactly what I
34:56
want to do with my lives so it's very
34:58
new it's very exciting but explaining
35:01
its people's a nightmare I spend half
35:02
the time at social functions with my
35:04
family explaining what I do and no one
35:06
no one understands it still so what I do
35:10
say is that we get referrals from GPS
35:14
obstetricians and other health
35:16
professionals because for them genetics
35:18
is not a comfort for many of them
35:20
they're not comfortable with it so we're
35:22
very specialized in a very small area of
35:26
medicine and health and we get referrals
35:29
from other health practitioners to
35:31
organize that facet of the patient
35:34
journey and it's becoming genetic
35:37
counseling is becoming very heavily
35:38
embedded in medicine now so particularly
35:41
in oncology in obstetrics of prenatal
35:44
pediatrics we're kind of everywhere so
35:47
we're sort of forcing our way in and
35:49
people are starting to learn who we are
35:51
so I explained it as the science meets
35:55
the human side because you get to do for
35:58
me it's just the dream job because it's
35:59
the best of both worlds
36:04
there's a question at the top of the
36:06
list and because because mirrors I'll
36:09
think about and because it's a vu video
36:13
is that a week okay yeah I can go with
36:15
that
36:15
um okay again absolutely I work very
36:18
yeah I work very closely with clinical
36:20
geneticists um clinical geneticists are
36:23
doctors who've gone and done a medical
36:25
degree and have gone on and done a
36:29
specialization as a geneticist so they
36:32
will take you know the full extent of a
36:35
medical degree and done it and then
36:36
they've done a specialization in
36:38
genetics and then they'll usually
36:39
specialize in a field of genetics so
36:43
I'll work alongside geneticists but in
36:48
my current role I don't work on a daily
36:50
basis with a geneticist I handle what I
36:53
can handle as a genetic counselor and
36:55
when it gets to something that's very
36:58
requires a specialist in that particular
37:01
area like maybe neurology or something
37:05
like that then it will go we will refer
37:08
on to a clinical geneticist and there
37:12
was a question here's the job prospects
37:15
I think that's a really good one in
37:16
terms of you know what the future's
37:17
looking like for you and you can hear
37:19
from what the panel have already said
37:20
about the range of opportunities there
37:22
are within each of those professions but
37:24
I'm going to put the question to each of
37:25
them and just just a vacant you could
37:28
tell us please what do you think the job
37:29
prospects are for your career do you
37:32
have a sense that there are jobs out
37:33
there that it's changing that
37:35
availability would be well I think with
37:38
the NDIS there's been a huge kind of in
37:42
flux in terms of speech pathologists
37:46
looking for work and I'd say usually
37:48
every day at least five new positions
37:50
advertised online and I think that we've
37:53
probably have a bit of a skills shortage
37:55
so in depending on where you want to
37:59
work there's probably more limited jobs
38:01
in terms of working in the hospital
38:03
settings so if you wanted to work in
38:05
acute care with adults there probably
38:08
are more limited roles but in terms of
38:10
working in pediatrics or in the area of
38:13
disability
38:13
there's a huge range of choices and and
38:16
probably if you're willing to look at
38:18
rural positions then there's a lot more
38:21
range of options in the rural setting
38:26
well orthotics definitely has a skill
38:28
shortage there's heaps of jobs really
38:33
all over Australia those who want to get
38:36
a job in Sydney usually have jobs
38:38
lightened up before they even graduate
38:40
but also Australia is a main orthotics
38:45
teaching hub for the whole asia-pacific
38:48
region so I've got a number of friends
38:50
who are working in Malaysia Indonesia
38:53
I've got one friend who went over to
38:56
Sweden for a while so we definitely kind
39:00
of export our orthotics skills if you're
39:02
interested in doing some work overseas
39:06
yeah you shouldn't have no problems
39:08
getting a job in Australia the job
39:13
prospects are excellent there's a
39:16
shortage of genetic counselors I my last
39:19
jobs in genetic counseling have not been
39:21
advertised I've been approached there's
39:24
there's jobs that are advertised that
39:26
get no applicants at the moment so
39:28
that's the level of the whoops the
39:30
shortage that we're talking about
39:32
it's an international issue so I've been
39:36
approached for jobs in Singapore and
39:38
various other countries because they are
39:40
similarly short of genetic counselors so
39:44
excellent okay
39:47
Pharmacy I think it really depends where
39:50
you want to work so if you want to work
39:52
in industry or in hospital it's harder
39:55
to get those jobs but our graduates have
39:57
been really successful in getting those
39:59
positions if you want to work in
40:01
community pharmacy
40:02
it's know that they're everywhere
40:05
everyone I'm sure you know in most towns
40:07
is two or three community pharmacies so
40:10
I think there's 24,000 pharmacists
40:13
working in community pharmacy across
40:16
this Australia so if you want to work in
40:18
I work on Sundays five minutes from my
40:21
house and I do home medicines reviews
40:23
for people who live in the same street
40:25
as me
40:26
it is definitely a job where if you want
40:28
to work close to home you can and if you
40:31
want to travel anywhere in the country
40:32
you can get a job yes also very good for
40:37
clinical psychology so yeah that there's
40:43
you have the opportunity in there's a
40:46
range of different like we've said you
40:47
can work in a range of different roles
40:49
and also I've got friends who have
40:53
started to work for themselves only a
40:55
few years after graduating from the
40:57
program and start their own businesses
40:59
so there's that option as well there's a
41:00
lot of variety and flexibility to make
41:03
your own hours and as there's more
41:06
awareness about mental health and
41:08
there's reduce stigma more people are
41:09
open to seeing a clinical psychologist
41:12
so the there are much more job prospects
41:15
than previously I would say that physio
41:19
mimics the speech side of things in that
41:21
the hospital jobs are harder to come by
41:23
but that being said we've moved to a
41:25
merit-based system of new grad positions
41:27
so if you do well enough in your
41:29
university course and you interview well
41:31
then you will get a new graduate
41:33
position out of a major metro sydney
41:35
hospital then once you've got the foot
41:37
in the door in that manner it's been
41:38
easier to climb the hospital that up but
41:41
in every other aspect physio is
41:43
expanding rapidly and particularly as we
41:45
have already said with the NDIS and
41:46
other funding opportunities and there's
41:49
just such a broad range of areas in
41:51
which you can work from working to
41:53
someone from someone else to opening
41:54
your own practice to working overseas so
41:56
yeah I would say physio is also
41:58
excellent for jobs and many
42:01
opportunities to actually open your own
42:02
practices you're just saying Georgia so
42:04
I think each of you could do something
42:06
where you could actually sort of run
42:07
your own business in many ways yeah okay
42:10
thank you any more questions from the
42:13
floor before I've got one more question
42:14
I think it'd be great I'd down the bad
42:15
gifts thank you just microphone thank
42:18
you hey um this is for Adelle so with
42:22
with the Medicare like restructure and
42:25
getting rid of the four plus two pathway
42:27
is there anything that education
42:30
providers will do to kind of compensate
42:32
for that lack of
42:34
training and specialized training what
42:38
do you mean so by education providers
42:39
like UTSA and master's programs so
42:43
because if the if the if Medicare is
42:47
gonna be restructured then general
42:48
psychologists will be redundant in the
42:51
future so I don't think they'll be
42:53
redundant I think that they're just
42:55
slowly changing the training pathways to
42:59
encourage more people to do the the
43:00
post-grad qualification so there are a
43:03
lot more post-grad spots than there used
43:06
to be and a lot more programs like UTS
43:08
now offering clinical psychology and
43:11
yeah so it's just becoming becoming more
43:15
in line with what it is internationally
43:16
that you need that postgraduate
43:18
qualification thank you other questions
43:26
one more just to finish up I think on a
43:28
and a positive note even though it's a
43:30
difficult question but you know
43:32
obviously the work you do is with people
43:33
and so part of that of course is
43:35
managing as you say being empathetic
43:36
communicating well but there are
43:38
emotional impacts of the work you do so
43:40
can you please tell us again we'll start
43:42
without George Stanley into what's you
43:44
know one way that you might do with some
43:46
of the emotional impacts of the work
43:47
that you want to take it was hard to
43:51
learn because it was a big shock when I
43:52
first started working it took me about
43:54
six months to settle in but just having
43:56
friends who are in the same field as you
43:59
particularly if you are working in a
44:01
hospital because the things that you see
44:02
in a hospital of you know people that
44:04
the worst end of sicknesses and someone
44:06
who understands exactly what you've seen
44:08
at work today is really helpful to have
44:10
and being able to talk through that of
44:12
an evening yeah I would really recommend
44:15
you make sure you've got that structure
44:16
around you if you're gonna go into that
44:18
line of work I would say having very
44:22
good support around you particularly a
44:24
lot of the majority of our cohort went
44:28
into private practice and that's
44:29
notoriously not as good for support as
44:32
some of the other sort of public
44:35
settings so I got a peer supervision
44:39
group with some of
44:40
my colleagues set up and that's been
44:43
invaluable being able to talk about
44:45
cases and just vent and share your
44:48
experiences and have that commonality
44:50
you know that you're not alone because
44:51
when you first graduate you doubt
44:53
yourself so much and you think you know
44:55
you think you're really incompetent and
44:57
and everything's a challenge so it's
45:00
really helpful to have a peer
45:01
supervision group having really good
45:04
boundaries as well and not working not
45:05
taking on too much and having very good
45:08
self-care and just knowing what the
45:10
early warning signs are that you might
45:12
be a little bit burnt out or you might
45:13
have a bit of vicarious trauma and
45:15
getting support for that yourself as
45:17
well I think as a pharmacist you're very
45:22
rarely working alone when I do
45:25
medication review I I do go out to
45:28
patients homes by myself but you're
45:30
usually part of a team and I think
45:32
that's definitely in community pharmacy
45:36
we quite often have a chuckle after
45:38
people leave but obviously not well
45:41
anyone else is in the shop it is it's it
45:45
is interesting to see what walks in the
45:47
door sometimes and I think you do get
45:49
really to see the full gamut of life and
45:53
people's experiences and it is it's very
45:56
it's very eye-opening when you're a
45:58
junior pharmacist and you're you're
46:00
getting but now I don't think there's
46:02
too much that could faze me I think I've
46:04
been held up at least four times I've
46:08
been you know I've managed to perform
46:13
CPR I've had someone have a heart attack
46:16
in the pharmacy I've had amazing things
46:20
happen so I think over 20 years you kind
46:22
of get all these experiences and then
46:24
there's not much that can faze me these
46:26
days usually it's its water off a duck's
46:29
back yes difficult at times to disengage
46:36
but I'd second are what Adele said about
46:39
self-care and talking with colleagues
46:42
and we as genetic counselors have our
46:45
supervision meetings with people so that
46:47
we can discuss what's what's going on so
46:51
you don't feel like you're alone and
46:54
we reflect a lot on how we've done
46:56
things and and not just to beat up on
46:58
ourselves but just for for learning ah
47:00
future our reference and to learn how to
47:04
do things better yeah thank you yeah I
47:07
think it is difficult and often often
47:12
because we are very much involved in
47:14
Diagnostics and very we very involved
47:17
with children we do we are often the
47:20
first people to pick some of the these
47:22
stuff up and I think the best thing is
47:27
just working as a team and having not
47:30
working in isolation journeying with the
47:33
patient as they go through the process
47:35
and you present them with the news and
47:38
following up on that patient and just
47:40
making sure you've got a healthy work
47:43
pace with good colleagues by your side
47:45
and you know I think following the
47:48
patient through also it makes a big
47:49
difference and just journeying with them
47:51
and seeing the progress we're very lucky
47:54
in ophthalmology that the vast majority
47:56
of our treatments are very effective I
47:59
think it's okay to be emotionally
48:02
invested in your clients because that's
48:04
really what drives you to want better
48:06
outcomes it's not you know there's not a
48:08
lecturer there that's checking your
48:10
academic performance but having you know
48:13
when you're really emotionally invested
48:15
in your clients you're driven to find
48:18
out what the new research is look for
48:19
better outcomes and it's okay to be
48:21
human I think that's what makes you a
48:23
good health professional that you relate
48:25
to somebody and you can see them where
48:29
they are at any given time when they
48:30
come in we do spend a lot of time doing
48:32
social stuff in our clinic as well as
48:35
having clinical case conferencing
48:37
sometimes we'll have social events where
48:39
staff have a chance to talk to each
48:41
other and support each other outside the
48:44
clinical setting and I think it's okay
48:46
to recognize that everybody deals with
48:48
things in different ways so
48:50
understanding your reflective style
48:52
some people might need to talk about
48:54
something straight away other people
48:56
like to reflect on it for a little while
48:58
and I recognize that sometimes when I
49:01
carry everyone else's burden that I also
49:03
need to look after myself
49:05
so that you know I have a Venusian jizz
49:10
and having supports at many different
49:13
levels whether it's from academic input
49:15
or having some professional emotional
49:18
support I think that's really important
49:19
great thank you
49:20
key message isn't it it's about you know
49:22
communication as a health professional
49:23
but also ensuring that you can then
49:25
communicate with others afterwards and
49:27
to share your experiences and that's a
49:28
great some great lessons there thank you
49:31
so much Dracula's really appreciate you
49:33
coming along this evening wet and cold
49:34
and giving us your time it's been really
49:36
interesting to hear about what each of
49:38
you do and for you to share your
49:39
personal experiences with us so thank
49:41
you very much and thank you all for
49:43
coming along tonight I really appreciate
49:44
your attendance and best wishes
“I get to interact with patients every day, we get to follow them up and see how they’re going. It’s good to be able to see them improving and following your advice. The parents are happy. The kids are happy and I’m happy. That’s probably my favourite thing.”
Why are the admission requirements for the Master of Orthoptics so flexible?
In Australia, there are very few Bachelor’s degrees that provide in-depth education in ocular neuro-anatomy and physiology to a level at which UTS could consider them to be a pre-requisite for the Master of Orthoptics.
Our intensive postgraduate course is designed for skilled learners, using scaffolded learning to reinforce theory that is directly applied in simulated clinical teaching and in clinical placements across a wide range of Orthoptic practice.
Our Orthoptics graduates are highly regarded both nationally and internationally, working in the UK, USA, Europe and Asia as well as across Australia.
Why is UTS the only university in Australia offering a Master of Orthoptics?
Despite there having been Orthoptists in Australia since the 1950s, they were initially a very small and niche profession, and therefore are not as well known in the community as physiotherapists or other health professionals. As such, universities were hesitant to begin schools of Orthoptics as awareness of and demand for courses was relatively low.
However, with the aging of the population and the rapid increase in Ophthalmic technology, Orthoptists have vastly expanded their expertise and are highly sought after in both Australia and internationally. The Orthoptic school moved to UTS in 2015 in response to the increased demand (amongst other reasons), to grow the size of our student cohort.
How different are the subjects between studying Orthoptics and Vision Science/Optometry?
Vision Science subjects are taught at an undergraduate level, while the subjects in the Master of Orthoptics are taught at postgraduate level.
Orthoptics subjects therefore have higher intellectual and academic requirements. As such no undergraduate subject can be awarded credit towards a Master level course.
Orthoptics careers
What are graduates from the Master of Orthoptics degree doing today?
Aida Zeric – “I am currently working full-time over two clinics: one clinic in the private sector, and one in the public/community health sector. Both clinics are predominantly paediatric, and what I like most about my job is the challenge that comes with assessing the vision and binocular function of children of a variety of ages. I also enjoy a seeing a child’s vision improve as they undergo treatment, and hearing all the cute and funny things they have to say throughout the consultation.”
Genevieve Mooney – “I’m working in a variety of orthoptic disciplines including pediatrics, neuro, refractive and general ophthalmology. Every day is a little bit different and the patients definitely keep me on my toes.”
Dantong Xie – “I am currently working as a full-time orthoptist at Lions Eye Institute in both the clinic and the clinical trials department. Working in both research and the clinic gives me a variety of duties, including seeing patients and trials admin work.”
Prem Gunasekaran – “I currently work in clinical applications for a large optical company, ZEISS. My role involves presenting lectures, teaching clinical and medical staff how to use our technology, and most importantly, supporting clinics all across NSW and ACT in any way I can. The aspect I enjoy the most in my job is that every day is completely different and I get to meet many different people who share the same passion for eye health as I do.”
Zoe Deuxberry - "I am currently working full-time at The Singapore National Eye Centre as an Orthoptist. It’s the largest eye centre in Singapore where I get to work with a variety of different patients across pediatrics, strabismus and neuro-ophthalmology."
What sort of demand is there for Orthoptist jobs?
The Australian Government’s Department of Employment predicts a 3.26% expected growth in orthoptist jobs between May 2017 and May 2022.
Due to the international aging population and the rapid increase in Ophthalmic technology, Orthoptists have vastly expanded their expertise and are highly sought after in both Australia and internationally.
Over 13 million Australians had one or more chronic eye conditions in 2017-18, with 93% of people aged 65 and over being affected by long-term vision disorders.
Can an Orthoptist open their own private practice?
Orthoptists can open their own private practices, however due to the nature of their work, it is recommended that they first build a network of potential referrers.
How much can an Orthoptist earn?
The minimum annual salary for an orthoptist in Australia is $72,461, specified by the award as of July 2021. In private practices, most orthoptists negotiate a higher wage and there is scope for advanced career progression through leadership roles.
Orthoptists are included in the NSW Health Award, putting them on the same award as an Audiologist, Counsellor, Dietitian, Exercise Physiologist, Genetic Counsellor, Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist, Podiatrist, Social Worker, Speech Pathologist or Welfare Officer.
