Highly Specialised Orthoptist - Education Lead

Job overview

A fantastic opportunity has become available for a full-time substantive post dedicated to leading on education as a highly specialised orthoptist in a busy and expanding London eye Department.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and highly motivated Orthoptist to lead on the department’s orthoptic undergraduate teaching programme; UCL Orthoptics MSC programme; departmental teaching and peer-review learning; assisting in the coordination of medical student placements for students from Queen Mary University of London’s Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry; and supporting with the sign-off of competences for colleagues within the service.

As part of general orthoptic duties the post-holder will work as a highly specialised autonomous practitioner to assess, diagnose and manage any patients referred to the Orthoptic, Paediatric and Neuro-ophthalmology departments. The Orthoptic department is a highly specialised department that provides comprehensive, quality and specialised Orthoptic services to the Trust as part of a multi-disciplinary Ophthalmology Team.

Our department consists of a close-knit multidisciplinary team consisting of 6 Orthoptists, 8 Optometrists, 10 consultants across paediatrics and adult services, a National Retinoblastoma service, ECLOs, a nursing team including HCA’s, photography and administrative teams.

There are significant opportunities to develop within the role, gaining experience in extended roles and  being involved in audit and research.

Main duties of the job

a)    To lead on the co-ordination, provision and delivery of Orthoptic teaching to undergraduate and MSc Orthoptic students.

b)    Demonstrate, teach and supervise where appropriate a range of medical and non-medical personnel from student orthoptists to a range of healthcare professionals based within the Trust but particularly within the ophthalmology service (such as HCAs, ophthalmic technicians - though not an exhaustive list).

c)    To evaluate the provision of teaching to orthoptic students as a means of striving to be the optimal placement site nationally.

d)    To support with signing off competences for members of the wider ophthalmology team such as ophthalmic technicians.

e)    To co-ordinate departmental teaching for the wider ophthalmology team.

f)    To co-ordinate journal club/peer-review meetings for the orthoptic team to ensure evidence-based best-practice.

g)    To provide teaching of orthoptics and perimetry to multidisciplinary groups across the Trust e.g. occupational therapists, endocrinologists, neurologists, etc.

h)    Work as an autonomous practitioner to assess, diagnose and manage any patient referred to the Orthoptic Department.

i)    Participate in educational activities ran by and for the Orthoptic Department. This includes the teaching of pre-registration optometrists, medical undergraduates, junior doctors and other health care professionals, in addition to co-ordinating and teaching undergraduate orthoptic students.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.