Elevating Eye Care with a UCSI Optometry Degree

by StudyMalaysia.com on September 3, 2014 | Top Stories

It is a little known fact that the eyes provide clues to a person's physical health. Optometrists play an important role in deciphering these clues.

An optometrist is an eye care professional who is trained to perform eye examinations. They are experts in optical lenses, eye health, and visual performance. Among their important roles are; assessing, diagnosing, as well as, managing ocular or vision diseases, injuries and disorders for their patients.

Optometrists are primary health professionals registered under the Malaysian Optical Council, which is the professional council that regulates optometry in Malaysia. This regulation protects both the patients and optometrists by ensuring that only those qualified can practise optometry.

Why become an optometrist?

One of the advantages of being an optometrist is that it is a respectable occupation. In addition to being a registered health professional, optometrists have the option of being self-employed or a partner of an optometry retail centre. This is ideal for those who have an entrepreneurial attitude as there is no cap to the remuneration from a retail centre – it depends on the hard work and initiative of the owner.

Although prescribing eye glasses and contact lens is part of optometry, UCSI students learn the other skills including preventive care, visual therapy and rehabilitation

For those who want to climb the career ladder, the field of optometry is exceptional. They are in demand in both government and private hospitals.

Optometrists can also work with the manufacturers of ophthalmic products, military hospitals or clinics, and as consultants for insurance companies and industrial safety programmes. Besides that, they can also opt for the health officer positions at the Ministry of Health, World Health Organisation office, community health clinics, as well as, at the Association for the Blind.

For those who are interested in research, they can conduct research projects through various available funding and grants for postgraduate work in the masters or PhD level. A career in academia in a public or private university is also an option.

The UCSI Advantage

UCSI University's (UCSI) Bachelor of Optometry (Hons) degree is a four year undergraduate programme conducted at the UCSI Kuala Lumpur campus.

In the early years of the optometry degree, students will be taught the basic human sciences. This includes human and ocular anatomy; how the human body, muscles, nerves, eye and other organs are positioned and how they function. In the biochemistry aspect, students will learn about the chemical function of the human body.

Upon having a firm grasp of the basics, students will then move on to learning how to use the various eye equipment and perform eye examinations. These skills are highly relevant to students who aim to work in the retail aspect of optometry which involves dispensing spectacles and contact lenses.

Students of this degree will be trained in every aspect of ocular health including preventive care, visual therapy and rehabilitation. They will be able to diagnose and manage eye diseases in addition to managing patients with special needs such as low vision and other visual problems.

To give its students a realistic study experience, UCSI's School of Optometry has an in-house clinic and optometry retail centre.

Students will also be able to manage patients who cannot read or are unable to perform well in sports due to the poor coordination of the hand, eye and the visual system.

Other aspects covered by the programme include colour vision, binocular vision and vision therapy, as well as, low vision, sports vision, paediatric optometry and public health along with community optometry.

In line with its praxis® approach, which advocates the application of theory to practice, UCSI's School of Optometry has a purpose-built optometry retail centre and clinic on campus. Coupled with the latest cutting-edge optometry equipment, these ensure that students are adequately prepared to deliver world-class eye care for their patients.

UCSI's praxis® approach focuses on hands-on learning, which sees students using professional optometry equipment.

With its focus on ensuring students gain as much hands-on experience as possible, UCSI also organises community outreach programmes and eye care awareness campaigns as well as collaborations with public and private hospitals and retail centres.

By interacting early with members of the public, students would be able to empathise with their patients and subsequently, become better optometrists.

For students interested to advance their knowledge of research, UCSI also provides research opportunities in collaboration with other universities.

This focus on a solid curriculum, ample hands-on experience and lecturers who are experienced optometrists themselves clearly makes UCSI's School of Optometry the unsurpassed choice for optometry.

To know more about the UCSI University's School of Optometry programmes, contact us at 03-9101 8882 or www.ucsiuniversity.edu.my/onlineenquiry.