Orthoptist

About the role

The incumbent, in an adjunctive capacity with the pediatric ophthalmologists, assumes responsibility for diagnostic and therapeutic visual assessments of children and adults with strabismus, amblyopia, diplopia, and disturbances of binocular visual function. These conditions may be secondary to retinal detachment, cataracts, optical imbalance, neurological disorders, and/or systemic disease. The orthoptist is proficient in the visual assessment of non-verbal patients and skilled in performing diagnostic tests to evaluate visual function.

Responsibilities

• Obtain and record accurate patient histories to include chief complaint, present ocular status, ocular history, and family history, past and present medical history, medications and allergies.
• Accurately measure and record visual acuity measurements on adults, children, illiterate patients, and infants.
• Accurately measure and record spectacle prescriptions, deal with patient complaints, measure base curves, optical centers, prism of spectacles using both manual and automated devices.
• Perform tonometry in measurement of intraocular pressures using a variety of measuring devices.
• Accurately perform and record refractometry on a variety of patients using retinoscopy, autorefraction, manifest techniques, and over refractions.
• Perform extraocular muscle testing to include, Titmus stereo test, Krimsky and Hirschberg measurements, Worth 4-Dot testing, cover-cross cover, cover-uncover testing, and simultaneous prism cover testing to elicit muscle imbalances, accurate measurements and recording of muscle imbalances in primary, secondary, and tertiary positions of gaze, accurate assessment, accommodation, and convergence including fusible amplitudes and identification of syndromes and dysfunctions associated with extra-ocular muscles.
• Perform and accurately record color vision screening and diagnostic testing (Ishihara color plates, D-15 and Farnsworth Munsell 100 hue).
• Perform and accurately describe pupillary function as to light and accommodation, describing specific abnormalities to include afferent defects, anisocoria, hippus, Adie's, surgical abnormalities, etc.
• Conduct and accurately record confrontation visual fields.
• Evaluation, diagnostic testing, and recording of information for neuro-ophthalmology patients to include pursuit and saccadic eye movements, one-meter, two-meter tangent screen testing, corneal sensitivity, pupil abnormalities, etc. as directed by the physician.
• Application and instruction of use for occlusive therapy as directed by physicians.
• Under the direct supervision of a physician, instill ocular preparations as required including solutions, suspensions, ointments, disclosing agents, diagnostic agents, and therapeutic agents.
• Initiate special separate orthoptics clinic for patient instruction and visual training as necessary and directed.
• Assist in the education and training of residents, medical students, technical students, and other assigned personnel in pediatric ophthalmology activities as required.
• Aid in the formal education of technical students as assigned; this includes didactic presentation and clinical skills teaching and supervision.
• Frequent internal communication with departmental employees, faculty physicians, residents/fellows, the pharmacy, various labs, nursing personnel, and appointments/reception personnel.
• Occasional contact with outside vendors, clinical trials/study sponsors, referring physicians, and their staffs.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Certified Orthoptist through the American Association of Certified Orthoptists

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• One (1) year of experience

Skills and Abilities

• Planning skills - Moderate, consisting mainly of anticipation of clinic needs or changes. Some planning needed for the educational responsibilities assigned for resident physicians and technical students (formal and informal).
• Analytical skills - Technical aspects of patient examination skills, suggestions for improvement of clinical scheduling, gathering and interpretation of data for purposes of process improvement, data gathering for physicians in the clinical arena, relay of that information to the physician, and aid in pursuing the courses of action directed by the physician required for patient care activities.

Physical Requirements

• Occasional heavy lifting is required (patient assistance) and the ability to move ophthalmic equipment is frequent (most items are on rolling stands).
• Position requires standing for long intervals and frequent walking.

Working Environment

The work environment is normal clinical setting.