Orthoptics BMedSci

Program Overview

Through hands-on clinical placements and specialized coursework, students gain expertise in ocular alignment, vision disorders, and medical microbiology. This recognized program fosters clinical skills, research engagement, and career opportunities within the NHS and beyond.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This program prepares students for a career in orthoptics, specializing in the diagnosis and management of various eye conditions. It is approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). It covers topics such as ocular misalignment (strabismus), eye movement disorders, ocular diseases, and medical microbiology. Students will also learn about the NHS structure, medical ethics, and law. The program emphasizes hands-on clinical experience through placements in orthoptic departments across the UK and Ireland. Students will also have the opportunity to engage in research projects or literature reviews in their final year.

Outline:

The Orthoptics BMedSci program is a three-year full-time program that starts in September. It is structured as follows:

First Year:

• Participation and Society: This module introduces students to issues related to understanding individuals and their place in society, including theoretical models of disability, psychosocial impact of disability, concepts of self and identity, attitudes and their measurement, health beliefs and behaviors, and the role of gender, socioeconomic, and cultural factors in healthcare and education.
• Clinical Orthoptics: This module introduces clinical testing techniques, such as different aspects of vision, ocular alignment, binocular vision, ocular motility, and ophthalmic tests relevant to orthoptic practice.
Students gain expertise through demonstrations and practice on peers and normal subjects at the University, combined with clinical placements at different hospital sites.
• Optics: This module introduces students to the principles of geometric and physical optics, with particular reference to the eye.
• Strabismus and Ocular Motility: This module introduces basic orthoptic concepts, focusing on the investigation of normal Binocular Single Vision, the investigation, diagnosis, and management of concomitant strabismus and heterophoria.
It emphasizes investigative techniques, interpretation of findings, diagnosis, and management plans. Aspects of visual perception relevant to orthoptic practice are introduced. Normal child development is also discussed, highlighting how orthoptic assessments may need to be adapted depending on the age and ability of the child. It introduces the clinical appearance of the normal human eye and a number of common pathologies encountered in eye clinics.
• Associated Professional Studies: This module is divided into two parts: Professional ethics and the organizational structure of the NHS and health policy in the UK.
Professional ethics provide awareness and discussion of medical ethics, law, and appropriate professional behavior as a healthcare professional, including wider issues affecting clinical practice and research. The organizational structure of the NHS and health policy in the UK introduces students to management structures and practices within the national health service and an introduction to screening in healthcare. The clinical placement element provides experience of testing concomitant and incomitant strabismus and further develops clinical skills and application of theoretical knowledge to the practice situation. Reflective practice skills are also developed.
• Strabismus and Ocular Motility: This module builds upon the first-year module, deepening the understanding of binocular vision, strabismus, and ocular motility defects, with specific emphasis on more complex ocular motility disorders.
Knowledge of the investigation, diagnosis, and management of these disorders is further developed with insight into current research. It also includes knowledge of neurological conditions affecting visual function and how these conditions are diagnosed, their clinical characteristics, and management from an ocular perspective. Students learn to use objective and subjective methods of refracting patients. It also considers the nature of low vision aids, illumination, and the spectral sensitivity of the human eye. Students become competent with the methods of investigation and are able to describe the clinical appearance of the normal human eye. It also covers the management and prognosis of tumors, particularly ocular types.
• Research Methods and Statistics: This module introduces the basic principles of research methods and statistical analysis.
It includes how to conduct scientific literature searches, critically evaluate a research paper, develop a research question, design an experiment, and be aware of what to include in a research protocol. Students are taught investigative procedures, examination techniques, and disease recognition, and practice is given on peers and patients.
• Clinical Orthoptics: This module consolidates the application of theoretical knowledge to clinical situations and further improves clinical skills in all aspects of orthoptic work.
It enables further improved reflective skills and understanding of the value of evidence-based practice.
• Research Project: This module requires students to independently conduct an empirical research project.
The project involves converting a hypothesis into an experimental design, developing a project protocol, obtaining ethical approval, conducting a well-controlled experiment, and analyzing the experiment data using appropriate descriptive statistics and graphical presentation. A presentation of preliminary experiment findings is given. The write-up of the experiment must be written in such a manner that it can be replicated and understood by the readers.
• Strabismus and Ocular Motility: This module deepens the understanding of binocular vision, strabismus, and ocular motility defects, with specific emphasis on more complex ocular motility disorders.
Knowledge of the investigation, diagnosis, and management of these disorders is further developed with insight into current research. It also demonstrates knowledge of neurological conditions affecting visual function and how the conditions are diagnosed, their clinical characteristics, and managed from an ocular perspective.
• Sale, Supply, and Administration of Medicinal Products: This subject area facilitates practice in the area of prescription-only and non-prescription exemption listed medicines for Orthoptists, by enhancing knowledge of the pharmacokinetics and actions of these specific medicines.
It advances learning and understanding of the different non-pharmacological and pharmacological approaches to modifying disease and informs students of the potential for adverse effects and how to minimize them. Students are enabled to apply the principles of evidence-based practice, including clinical and cost-effectiveness. These areas of knowledge and understanding will enable graduates to be annotated on the register with the Health and Care Professionals Council, to use exemptions to sell, supply, and administer specific listed medicines for any condition within their scope of practice.

Assessment:

Students are assessed through a combination of exams, coursework, and practical tasks.

Teaching:

Students learn through hands-on clinical placements in orthoptic departments across the country, as well as lectures, seminars, and practical classes. They are supported by experienced teachers and orthoptists both at the University and on placements. The University provides outstanding facilities, study spaces, and support, including 24/7 online access to the online library service.

Careers:

Most graduates work in eye departments in the NHS. Other opportunities include working in orthoptic clinics in private hospitals, health centers, or schools for children with special needs. The course also provides an excellent foundation for future postgraduate research in orthoptics and related fields. Graduates have worked in various countries, including New Zealand, Australia, the USA, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Malta, Cypress, Denmark, and Gibraltar. Orthoptists can progress into more senior positions and clinical management as their clinical experience develops. They may also take on specialist roles involving ocular assessment, diagnosis, and treatment in fields such as low vision, stroke and neuro-rehabilitation, vision screening, and ocular diseases such as glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and cataracts.

Other:

• The program is recognized worldwide.
• The School of Allied Health Professions, Nursing, and Midwifery offers a distance learning Masters in Vision and Strabismus specifically aimed at orthoptists and excellent PhD opportunities.
• The University of Sheffield is within the top 100 in the world for clinical and health subjects.
• The School of Allied Health Professions, Nursing, and Midwifery sits in the Faculty of Health and brings together expertise from across three core areas: human communication sciences, nursing and midwifery, and orthoptics.
• The School works closely with organizations such as the Royal College of Nursing, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Health and Care Professions Council to ensure that teaching meets the needs of the NHS workforce.
It has a close relationship with the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, which is home to the dedicated Health Sciences Library and high-quality clinical teaching and research spaces.
• Students benefit from the internationally recognized Patients as Educators program, which allows students to learn from real patients.
• The School is part of the University's Health Sciences School in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, and Health.
• The relationship with the Royal Hallamshire Hospital eye department means that orthoptic students learn within a high-quality clinical teaching environment.
• Orthoptic students will also work in orthoptic departments across the UK and Ireland to build on communication skills and develop the practical skills needed to start their career.

Please use 2024-25 information as a guide. £9,250Home students 2024 annual tuition fee £29,110Overseas students 2024 annual tuition fee