How did I not know about this? This is an incredible career!
What brought you to the Orthoptics course at Sheffield?
“So I actually had no idea what orthoptics was. I had my heart set on the University of Sheffield dental course, but I didn’t get the grades I needed. Then the university offered me orthoptics through Clearing, and I only had a few weeks to decide if I wanted to do it. So I went to my local hospital and just asked ‘do you have an orthoptics department?’. The next day I came in and did two days of work experience and just absolutely loved it. I’d previously had thoughts about doing primary school teaching, and orthoptics has a little mix of paediatrics but it’s also medical based. I was like, ‘how did I not know about this? This is an incredible career!’.”
What did you enjoy most about the course?
“First of all, all of the lecturers were really friendly and approachable. They were fully supportive on the course; you could ask them anything.
“Orthoptics is also a vocational degree; the tutors want to make sure you know what the job is, so you do lots of placements and clinical skills. It was my favourite part of the course. You get to go off for a month to a different city and orthoptics department, and meet new people.
“The one thing I’d recommend is to build a little pot of money for placements at the beginning. You get an allowance to cover the cost of things like accommodation which you claim back from the university, but it’s helpful to have that initial payment. You also get a £6,000 grant from the government each year, which helps a lot too.”
How has your degree informed your current career path?
“So I actually did my interview for my first job at King's College Hospital on the same day as my strabismus exam! I got to do school screenings, which was fun, and I was also involved in the neuro-ophthalmology clinic. I was lucky that King’s really pushed for orthoptists with extended roles, so I got to improve my skills quite quickly.
“In 2023 I moved to Royal London Hospital, where I’m leading the school screening service. So we go into special needs schools in the area and run clinics for adults with learning disabilities. I really love what I’m doing at the moment.
“Orthoptics is just a great career if you want to push yourself. It’s so small that you can quickly move up the bands. I’m now doing some things which doctors used to do, which helps ophthalmology departments run better.
I think that’s the future of orthoptics; the population is growing and eyes are getting older, but the workforce of ophthalmologists isn’t getting any bigger. So I think the solution is for allied health professionals to upskill and do advanced clinical practice roles to fill those gaps.
Alis Sejourne
BMedSci Orthoptics
“As for how the degree has helped me, placements were a great preparation for what my life as an orthoptist would be like. The course also teaches you that core orthoptic knowledge, which I’m really grateful for. Behind all the fancy stuff is always the core orthoptics. It’s how you do your clinical tests, and that goes back to what you’re taught at Sheffield.”
You helped set up an orthoptics FutureLearn course which features students from the University - how did that come about?
“The FutureLearn course is a great resource I wish had been there when I was applying. During COVID we had less patients attending clinic so my boss asked if we could start any new initiatives, and because I’d initially done a FutureLearn course for dentistry, I thought ‘why not make one for orthoptics?’ I just started emailing people, and everyone was really keen to get involved. It just kind of accidentally turned into this big course!
“It’s basically a free, three week course broken up into sections like ‘what is orthoptics’, basic eye anatomy, conditions we treat, and extended roles. It’s a great information hub, which sits alongside things like work experience, the BIOS careers advice service, and university Open Days.”