Speech and language therapist to orthoptist
A speech and language therapist already meets 61% of what the orthoptist role asks for. The move turns on 24 required skills not yet in the profile.
59.5/ 100
1 How much of what an orthoptist is expected to do is already part of a speech and language therapist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the orthoptist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An orthoptist role treats 39 of its required skills as things a speech and language therapist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- apply context specific clinical competences
- apply organisational techniques
- communicate in healthcare
What stands in the way is 24 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 42 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An orthoptist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a speech and language therapist background worth leading with.
- already held neurology health and welfare
- already held record healthcare users' progress related to treatment information skills
- already held paediatrics health and welfare
- already held pathology health and welfare
- already held professional documentation in health care health and welfare
- already held health care occupation-specific ethics arts and humanities
All 42 carried skills, including the 39 the orthoptist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn contact lens fitting techniques required
- still to learn neuro-ophthalmology required
- still to learn ophthalmological examination methods required
- still to learn orthoptics required
- still to learn treatment of strabismus required
- still to learn types of strabismus required
- still to learn anaesthetics required
- still to learn neurophysiology required
- still to learn carry out orthoptic treatments required
- still to learn receive patient referrals with eye conditions required
- still to learn supervise orthoptic treatments required
- still to learn perform vision rehabilitation required
- still to learn provide therapy of the visual system required
- still to learn test visual acuity required
- optional, not held prescribe corrective lenses optional
- still to learn conduct specialised orthoptic tests required
- still to learn determine eye disease progression required
- still to learn diagnose problems of the visual system required
- still to learn undertake healthcare examination required
- optional, not held record healthcare users' billing information optional
- still to learn advise patients on vision improvement conditions required
- still to learn promote ocular health required
- still to learn optics required
- still to learn pharmacology required
- still to learn provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health required
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an orthoptist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 carry out orthoptic treatments practise this
- 02 conduct specialised orthoptic tests practise this
- 03 contact lens fitting techniques study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 42 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- already held apply context specific clinical competences skill
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held communicate in healthcare skill
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
- already held deal with emergency care situations skill
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held educate on the prevention of illness skill
- already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held first aid knowledge
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held health care legislation knowledge
- already held health care occupation-specific ethics knowledge
- already held human anatomy knowledge
- already held human physiology knowledge
- already held hygiene in a health care setting knowledge
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held manage healthcare users' data skill
- already held medical informatics knowledge
- already held medical terminology knowledge
- already held neurology knowledge
- already held paediatrics knowledge
- already held pathology knowledge
- already held professional documentation in health care knowledge
- already held promote inclusion skill
- already held provide health education skill
- already held psychology knowledge
- already held record healthcare users' progress related to treatment skill
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
- already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held pedagogy knowledge
- already held use foreign languages for health-related research skill
- already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn paediatric psychology required
- optional, not held select intraocular lenses for surgery optional
- optional, not held participate in medical inventory control optional
4 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held select intraocular lenses for surgery optional
- optional, not held prescribe corrective lenses optional
- optional, not held participate in medical inventory control optional
- optional, not held record healthcare users' billing information optional
45 held skills the orthoptist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role audiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role audiometry knowledge
- not needed by the target role autism knowledge
- not needed by the target role behavioural neurology knowledge
- not needed by the target role bobath therapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct polysomnography skill
- not needed by the target role conduct research on speech-related topics skill
- not needed by the target role counsel on communication disorders skill
- not needed by the target role counsel patients on improving speech skill
- not needed by the target role cued speech knowledge
- not needed by the target role diagnose speech disorders skill
- not needed by the target role encourage healthcare user's self-monitoring skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate the psychological impact of speech problems skill
- not needed by the target role exercise patience skill
- not needed by the target role facial gymnastics knowledge
- not needed by the target role formulate a case conceptualisation model for therapy skill
- not needed by the target role hearing loss knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret diagnostic tests in otorhinolaryngology skill
- not needed by the target role linguistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role lip reading knowledge
- not needed by the target role logopaedics knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage the neuropsychiatric sequelae of stroke skill
- not needed by the target role monitor patients' progress related to treatment skill
- not needed by the target role movement techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role neuropsychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role organise relapse prevention skill
- not needed by the target role otorhinolaryngologic conditions knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform therapy sessions skill
- not needed by the target role phonetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role phoniatrics knowledge
- not needed by the target role promote good habits to avoid communication disorders skill
- not needed by the target role provide stroke rehabilitation services skill
- not needed by the target role psychiatry knowledge
- not needed by the target role psychoacoustics knowledge
- not needed by the target role psycholinguistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role refer healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role sign language knowledge
- not needed by the target role special needs education knowledge
- not needed by the target role speech techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role supervise speech and language team skill
5 further entries not listed here
11 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn contact lens fitting techniques required
- still to learn neuro-ophthalmology required
- still to learn ophthalmological examination methods required
- still to learn orthoptics required
- still to learn treatment of strabismus required
- still to learn types of strabismus required
- still to learn anaesthetics required
- still to learn paediatric psychology required
- still to learn neurophysiology required
- still to learn optics required
- still to learn pharmacology required
Other moves recorded from speech and language therapist
Common questions about this move
Can a speech and language therapist become an orthoptist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A speech and language therapist already covers 61% of what an orthoptist is expected to do: 42 skills carry over, 39 of which the orthoptist role treats as required.
What skills does a speech and language therapist need to become an orthoptist?
24 required skills are missing, plus 4 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by health and welfare. The single most important is carry out orthoptic treatments.
How hard is the move from speech and language therapist to orthoptist?
Its learning distance is 59.5 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.