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Orthoptists

  • Bright Outlook
  • Rapid Growth

Diagnose and treat visual system disorders such as binocular vision and eye movement impairments.

What you’d do

  • Evaluate, diagnose, or treat disorders of the visual system with an emphasis on binocular vision or abnormal eye movements.
  • Examine patients with problems related to ocular motility, binocular vision, amblyopia, or strabismus.
  • Perform diagnostic tests or measurements, such as motor testing, visual acuity testing, lensometry, retinoscopy, and color vision testing.
  • Provide nonsurgical interventions, including corrective lenses, patches, drops, fusion exercises, or stereograms, to treat conditions such as strabismus, heterophoria, and convergence insufficiency.
  • Develop nonsurgical treatment plans for patients with conditions such as strabismus, nystagmus, and other visual disorders.
  • Provide instructions to patients or family members concerning diagnoses or treatment plans.
  • Interpret clinical or diagnostic test results.
  • Refer patients to ophthalmic surgeons or other physicians.

Skills that matter

  • Active Listening
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Critical Thinking
  • Speaking
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Writing

How to get there

Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher

Also called

  • Clinical Orthoptist (CO)
  • CO (Certified Orthoptist)

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