Christina Awad

I completed my Bachelor of Medical Science at UTS and I’m now doing a Master of Orthoptics. I am 22 years old, and I come from a Lebanese background. I have two sisters, with me being in the middle (middle child syndrome is real). 

I am very passionate about helping people and having the ability to work alongside eye surgeons and specialists to provide the best possible eye care to patients is all I’ve wanted in a career. Being able to help a patient’s vision get better and improve their quality of life is very rewarding and a real passion of mine.

I had always wanted a job in the health care field where I was able to interact with patients on a daily basis, and I have always found eyes really interesting! When I was completing my undergraduate degree, I would always choose an eye disease to research and write my assignments on when we could choose our own topic. I also have a family friend who is an orthoptist, and he told me all about the job because before talking to him, I had never heard of it! 

I did a lot of research into different universities, and I loved the look of the UTS medical science program and the layout of the degree. I was very nervous about starting my undergraduate degree at UTS because I didn’t know anyone and had no school friends at the uni. However, this made me socialise and meet new people, and now I have met some lifelong friends.

Orthoptics encompasses so many different areas with the eyes and vision. For example, in the subject Eye and Visual Systems, we are learning all about the anatomy and biology of the eye and how it works. Whereas, in the subject Binocular Vision and Ocular Motility, we are learning about patients who have eye turns (i.e. not straight eyes) and how to treat and manage them. 

The most rewarding aspect of the course is learning how to perform all these different tests on patients and understanding the purpose of them and what you need to look for. For example, I could use skills I learned from the Binocular Vision and Ocular Motility subject and practice with my family. Whilst doing this, I actually discovered that my little cousin has an outward eye turn when she looks in the distance. It is really important that I found this because it could have turned into a lazy eye if it was left untreated. The ability to find these ocular conditions and diseases and thus being able to treat patients and help their vision improve is an incredibly rewarding feeling. 

This postgraduate degree is fast-paced and content-heavy; I learn so much in just one week! However, I can still balance my work and social life by staying up to date with my uni work and ensuring I complete each week’s work before the new week begins. 

My goal is to work in a clinic that primarily works on patients who have eye turns, as everything I am learning in the Binocular Vision and Ocular Motility subject is super fascinating! However, I would also love to experience working on all different types of patients with various ocular diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration to broaden my skill set and feel confident in examining patients with all different eye conditions.

I strongly encourage students interested in a health care career and have an interest in eyes to apply for the Master of Orthoptics because it is a gratifying job and can help so many people in the community. The content is new and exciting, and the staff are excellent! Because it is a much smaller cohort than most of your undergraduate degrees, you interact with the teachers so much more and get to know everyone really well. 

If I had a dollar for every time I explained what orthoptics is to someone, I would be swimming in money. Therefore, my aim is to let as many people as I know about orthoptics because it is an incredible career, and there are so many different avenues and specialisations you can go into to choose what area your most passionate about! I highly recommend applying as you will make amazing friends along the way, be taught by incredibly intelligent staff, and learn more about the eyes and vision than you could ever think of.

Learn more about Orthoptics at UTS