Optometry

By Zoe Flood

Published: 15 August 2004

What do you come out with? A BSc. You can then go on to do a further pre-registration year with a qualified optometrist, after which you can register with the General Optical Council.

Why do it? Because you are meticulous, scientifically minded and fascinated by one of our most important senses. You will come out of the degree with an extremely important skill that will almost always ensure you a well-paid, secure job and will also give you the added satisfaction of knowing that you are not only helping those with problems but helping to prevent future problems from developing.

What's it about? A basic grounding in the scientific and clinical knowledge is essential, but optometry students will also develop clinical skills, a sound understanding of optics and optical appliances and professional skills such as patient communication. The core of the course will cover areas such as human biology, clinical biology of the visual system, visual perception and optometric pharmacology. Beyond the theory, you will learn how to administer all the techniques needed by an optometrist in daily practice, including dispensing, in conjunction with how optical appliances can be manipulated to address particular problems. Optometry students are expected to have an awareness of themes beyond daily practice, such as how diseases such as diabetes affect vision.

What are the students like? Caring yet deeply motivated to do what is a highly specific and vocational degree. Drawn to the medical profession, they are generally aware of the importance of their work, despite the fact that it is something most people take for granted.

How is it packaged? Courses are generally modular, with time roughly split on a 50:50 basis between lectures and practicals. The largest proportion of assessment will be by written examination, with the rest split evenly between coursework and practical assessment.

How long is the degree? Three years, or four if you come from a non-science background and do a foundation year.

How cool is it? Fairly, provided you don't mind being up close to eyes for the rest of your life.

What A-levels do you need? Cardiff asks for at least two from biology, maths or physics; City asks for the same, although includes chemistry as a possibility. Aston wants biology and maths or physics.

What grades? Cardiff and Aston want AAB, while City asks for ABB.

What do students say? Sian Parfitt , who recently graduated in BSc Optometry from Cardiff. "I had a fantastic three years studying here, with excellent teaching. It's a really enjoyable place to study."

Will you be interviewed? Generally not. City and Cardiff hold visit days from those applicants who have been made an offer.

Will it keep you off the dole? Yes, certainly.Once graduates have completed their final pre-registration year, and registered as an optometrist, they have little difficulty in finding jobs in either the public or private sector.

Where can you do it? APU, Aston, Bradford, Cardiff, City, Glasgow Caledonian, Manchester and Ulster.

Where's the cutting edge? Cardiff works on the functioning of the retina and on ocular changes associated with diabetes, and also runs the Down's Syndrome Vision Research Group, which aims to understand why children with Down's Syndrome are more prone to eye defects. At Aston, it's ophthalmic and physiological optics, and psychophysics. City researchers work on developing laser scanning technology, on the effects of alcohol and other drugs on the visual system and on the applications of smart optics for vision sciences.

Where are the stars? At City, Dave Thompson is working on a computerised visual system to computerise optometric assessment and Alison Mayhew specialises on the loss of visual function experienced when one eye functions better than the other. Dr Marcela Voltruba at Cardiff is an expert on the pathophysiology of inherited optic neuropathy.

Professor John Wild heads Cardiff's Clinical and Investigative Vision Sciences Research Group and personally works on methodologies for the refinement of the visual field examination, the relationship between structure and function in glaucoma and the investigation of drug-related visual field loss.

Related courses: Ophthalmic dispensing, orthoptics.

Added value: Both Aston andCardiff have their own purpose-built eye clinics that serve the double purpose of catering for the local community and giving students somewhere to put their new skills into practice. City's close connections with Moorfields Eye Hospital mean that third year students are often taught by practising consultants.