Optometry with Preliminary Year (MOptom)

Why study this course

This 5-year programme consists of a foundation year followed by our 4-year MOptom programme, and will provide you with the required knowledge to register as an optometrist.

We combine progressive healthcare education, high quality patient care, world class research, and exceptional clinical and teaching facilities to inspire you to become an outstanding optometrist.

Today’s optometrists are autonomous eyecare clinicians who play a direct role in improving patients’ eyesight and eye health. Optometrists practise in diverse healthcare settings including community, hospital, and domiciliary environments. They work with patients and the public to assess, diagnose, treat, and manage problems with the eyes and visual system. They may help patients by prescribing optical appliances such as spectacles and contact lenses, by managing eye health problems including with therapeutic drug or laser treatments, as well as providing preventative, rehabilitative and other eye care management advice to members of the public.

Eye healthcare is a rapidly evolving field, and registered optometrists can choose to train further in an expanding range of clinical sub-specialities. Many of today’s optometrists prescribe medicines for eye problems independently of a doctor and play a vital role in eye healthcare teams.

Our programme will allow you to gain the knowledge and skills to register as an optometrist with the General Optical Council. You will learn to manage confidently and autonomously a wide range of optical and medical eye problems at qualification. You will have unique opportunities to observe and work in our in-house University specialist eye clinics led by our highly qualified multi-disciplinary eyecare team. Later, during your programme, you will take on more responsibility for patient care and hone your clinical skills whilst working both during your extended clinical learning in practice organised by the College of Optometrists and in our University specialist clinics.

Embedded in our programme are opportunities to achieve selected higher qualifications from the College of Optometrists, preparing you for expanding roles and future changes in the optometric profession. You will establish an excellent foundation for further specialist postgraduate clinical or research career pathways, and you will be well prepared to address lifelong learning, leadership, and professional development challenges, allowing you to thrive in modern UK optometric practice.

Accreditations

• General Optical Council (GOC)

Careers and placements

Career prospects

Employability

Optometry is a dynamic profession and the role of the optometrist as part of the eye care team is changing and expanding. Therefore, the career options for optometrists are varied and plentiful, ranging from the hospital eye service to community practice, to the voluntary sector or optical industry, research or teaching in the UK and internationally, making this an exciting degree to embark upon. Registration also opens possibilities to work or train abroad, since an optometry qualification from the UK is highly regarded worldwide.

The MOptom provides the opportunity to gain invaluable clinical skills and experience. Those graduating with the MOptom will be able to register with the General Optical Council and practice in the UK as an optometrist. The focus on specialist clinical eyecare practice in Year 4 means you will be equipped to start working in specialist areas of practice from the outset should you wish, including glaucoma, medical retina, acute eye care and low vision rehabilitation. Additionally, within 6 months of qualifying you could choose to complete the training needed to become an independent prescribing optometrist.

Students not wishing to pursue employment as an optometrist in the UK, or for students seeking to pursue a more science-based degree or further research, may choose to exit the programme at the end of year 3 with a BSc degree .

Types of jobs:

• Primary care optometrist – as a primary care optometrist you will assess, diagnose, treat and manage problems with the eyes and visual system. You may help patients by prescribing optical appliances such as spectacles and contact lenses, by managing eye health problems including with therapeutic drug, as well as providing preventative, rehabilitative and other eye care management advice to members of the public.
• Hospital Optometrist - as a hospital optometrist, you would be a key part of the eye care team, working in either the NHS or a private hospital, with a clear focus on managing eye health problems including with therapeutic drugs or laser.
• Industrial Optometrist - you’d be involved in the research, design, development, testing or marketing of new equipment or optical appliances, ensuring they are safe and of a good quality for patients.
• Academic Optometrist - if teaching, researching, practising or a combination of all three appeals to you, becoming an Academic Optometrist could be for you. You might be based in universities, research institutions or other organisations throughout the world.

Graduate careers

• Optometrist
• Primary Care Optometrist
• Hospital Optometrist
• Academic Optometrist
• Industrial Optometrist
• Researcher

Placements

There will be placements throughout Years 1 to 4 of the MOptom. During Year 1 and 2 you will have observational placements in our public eye clinic or in the specialist clinics we offer as part of the NHS Wales University Eye Care Centre in collaboration with Cardiff and the Vale University Health Board. In Year 3 you will spend time seeing patients in our public Eye Clinic. In Year 4 you will undertake 44 weeks of learning in practice in primary care or in a hospital organised by the College of Optometrists.