MORE TO OPTOMETRY THAN MEETS THE EYE

THURSDAY 14-05-2009

It is worth the hardwork and time spent when Assoc Prof Dr Haliza Abdul Mutalib manages to restore sight in the visually-handicapped especially when it involves young children or babies. The consultant optometrist and UKM lecturer tells us more about her profession.

What is optometry?
It's one of two eye care professions, the other being ophthalmology 

(which is a branch of Medicine). Optometry is a healthcare profession related to the eye and its structures. It also concerns vision, visual systems and vision information processing.

An optometrist is able to perform comprehensive eye examination on children and adults, and able to diagnose visual anomalies and able to recognise ocular conditions. 

Specialisations in optometry include Contact Lenses, Binocular Vision, Low Vision, Paediatric Vision, Colour & Visual Perception, Clinical Optometry, and Industrial Optometry.


What made you decide to embark on this career?

I was offered this course upon completing my matriculation in 1990. It was a very new programme at that time. There was very little information regarding this course as Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) was the first to introduce this course. Asking around did not help much as most people were not familiar at all with optometry as a profession. I, however, decided to give it a go. Three years into the course I "fell in love" and never looked back. Almost 20 years into this profession and not a second of regret! I am now a consultant optometrist specialising in therapeutic contact lenses.


Tell us about your education background?

I graduated with Bachelors in Optometry (Hons) from UKM and was employed in a private practice for four years. Coming from a family of mostly teachers, I decided to join UKM as a tutor before I was offered a place to do my Masters in Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at The University of Manchester Science & Technology (UMIST), in Manchester, England. 


Contact lenses and Ocular Disease have always been my preferred subjects. After the completion of my Masters (about a year), I was offered a place for PhD at the same university. I did a study on the changes of the corneal morphology (cells) when wearing different types of contact lenses. I was one of the pioneers handling a new instrument in the UK known as the Confocal Microscope. With much hardwork and a little bit of luck I managed to complete my PhD thesis in just 23 months. Looking back, I feel that it was a miracle for me to manage my studies with two young boys and a husband to care for. I was 30-years-old then. At the end of 2000, I was back in Malaysia and became a lecturer at UKM.


What do you enjoy most about your job? 

The satisfaction I gain upon accomplishing my treatment and management successfully on my patients. It is always worth the hardwork and time spent when I manage to restore sight in the visually handicapped especially when it involves young children or babies. Fitting contact lenses on babies and young children is my specialty and after spending many sessions with them these little kids soon become my friends.


What challenges do you face in your job and how do you handle them?

Challenges are there at all times staring right in your face. Just face them bravely and not shy away. My job's challenge is not limited to handling complex cases or extremely difficult patients. Keeping the momentum going everyday and trying to do the little extras like getting on doing a research study, running a clinical trial, doing an eye screening job or writing a publishable article can be really tough too. Managing your time well, working "smart" and appreciating every second of your free time really helps. Challenges are there for you to taste not to swallow.


What does it take to excel and be good at your job?

Passion for knowledge. I would think knowledge is the passport to be able to practice Optometry at high standards. You need to be well-advanced with the latest information, knowledge, and technology to be the best in this field. Having all the latest and sophisticated equipment at the practice but not being able to use them wisely will not bring any significant benefit to patients.


From your observation, how advanced are we in the field of optometry?

We are moving to be more clinical rather than optical. Many practices are now emphasising on having good clinical services rather than just an optical shop that sells spectacles. More and more people are educated now and they're aware that they should have a comprehensive eye examination by an optometrist rather than just having a quick eye test in an optical shop. The public should be aware that not all blur visions can be solved just by wearing a pair of spectacles. In many incidences, serious eye conditions might be setting in and before you know it, it might be too late to save your sight!

What advice would you give to students who want to pursue a career like yours?


They not only have to excel in their studies but also must have a high level of critical thinking as this is very much needed when it comes to managing a patient's problem or handling a certain type of treatment. I must add that due to the present curriculum and method of teaching, many students at primary and secondary levels are obsessed with getting good results in their exams. More often than not, they study really hard just to pass with flying colours. Many will be "clever" but lack in critical thinking. The courses at university are meant to groom one's thinking to be critical and able to think independently. A person who's not able to think critically will end up just being a skillful technician, nothing more than that.


What do you hope to do or achieve next?

As the head of the Optometry Department, it has always been my dream to be able to produce great optometrists. Ultimately, I'd like to see this profession achieve the highest standards in practice. I always remind (nag actually!) my students; you either be a regular optometrist or a first-rate optometrist.


Tags:http://www.malaysiantoday.com.my/node/442