Orthoptics

Orthoptics is a healthcare profession specialising in the assessment and management of disorders of vision, eye movement, and binocular function. Orthoptists work with patients across the lifespan, from infants with squint and amblyopia through to adults with neurological conditions affecting the visual system, providing diagnostic assessments, therapeutic interventions, and rehabilitation support. The profession requires both detailed scientific knowledge of the visual system and the patient-facing skills to work effectively with children, adults, and their families in demanding clinical environments.

At the University of Sheffield, this three-year full-time programme is approved by the Health and Care Professions Council, and completing it enables you to register as an orthoptist and practise as a regulated healthcare professional. You will study the anatomy and physiology of the eye and the visual pathway, ocular neurology, childhood eye conditions, adult strabismus, low vision rehabilitation, and the clinical assessment techniques that form the foundation of orthoptic practice. A sandwich year gives you extended clinical experience, a year abroad broadens your clinical exposure and international perspective, and work placement experience is integral to the programme, developing the clinical competence that registration requires.

Orthoptists work primarily in NHS ophthalmology departments alongside consultant ophthalmologists, though there are also opportunities in private practice, community eye clinics, and specialist services for people with visual impairment. The profession has a strong research base, and graduates who wish to develop their practice can pursue postgraduate study in orthoptics, visual neuroscience, and clinical research. The relatively small size of the profession in the UK means that qualified orthoptists tend to have good employment prospects, and the clinical training the degree provides is the direct route into professional registration.