Exercises. Optician specialists

Optician specialists

Prosthetists and orthotists

Technical specialists

There are numerous technicians working with scientific equipment - such as radiographers, who are known as X-ray technicians. Ambulance technicians work in the emergency medicine service. An ambulance technician with more advanced qualifications is called a paramedic.

Prosthetists and orthotists provide care for anyone who needs an artificial limb, (a prosthesis), or a device to support or control part of the body (an orthosis). They also advise on rehabilitation - helping patients return to normal life and work after treatment.

Prosthetists perform artificial replacements for patients who have had an amputation or were born without a limb.

Orthotists support patients with a range of splints and other devices to aid movement, correct deformity from an abnormal development of part of the body, for example club foot (talipes), and relieve pain.

Opticians test eyesight and prescribe glasses (also known as spectacles)and contact lenses, when it is necessary. The examination covers measuring intraocular pressure - the pressure of fluid inside the eye - and examining the retina. If the optician reveals an eye disease, such as glaucoma, they refer the patient to their GP for care. The GP may then refer the patient to an ophthalmologist, a doctor who specializes in diseases of the eye. UK law requires that spectacles and contact lenses should be made according to an eye test, which must have been administered by a qualified optometrist or ophthalmologist.

4.1 Make up word combinations matching adjectives and nouns.

1. ambulance, artificial, club, contact, health, intraocular, occupational, social

2. foot, lens, limb, worker, pressure, technician, professional, therapist

4.2 Give the plural forms of nouns.

a) papila[ pəˈpɪlə ], pathema [ ˈpæθəmə ], pes [ˈpəs ], phenomenon[ fɪ'nɒmə‚nɒn ], polypus [ˈpɔlɪpəs ], septum [ ˈsəptəm ], spasmus [ ˈspæzməs ].

b) sperma[ˈspɜ:rm ], stoma[ ˈstōmə ], tarsus[ ˈtɑsəs ], toxicosis [ˈtɔksıˈkəʋsıs ], vesicular[ vıʹsıkjʋlə ], viscus[ ˈvɪskəs ], zygoma[ z(a)ıʹgəʋmə ]

4.3 Which allied health professionals could best help the following people?

1 a young unmarried woman who has just given a birth to a child

2 a man who has difficulty using his right leg following a fracture

3 someone who needs spectacles

4 an elderly woman who has had a foot amputation

5 a man whose wife has Alzheimer's disease

6 a woman with a fungal infection of her feet

4.4 Complete the text.

A prosthetist works with patients of all ages as a member of a clinical team, based at a large hospital. The patients may need a prosthesis as the result of an accident, or (1)........................following a disease such as diabetes. Alternatively they may have been born without a (2)...................................

Orthotists work alongside doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and occupational (3).........................................to give the people under their care the best possible (4)............................Their main aim is to enable the patient to lead a normal life at work and leisure.

An orthotist often works in a clinic as part of an outpatient service and also visits other centres to provide a service for people with special needs. They deal with people of all ages.

For instance, children who have cerebral palsy may require (5).......................................to help them walk and many older people need special shoes to correct (6)...............................

If damaged, any part of the human skeleton may require some form of orthosis. The orthosis may be needed to reposition the body or to (7)................................................pain.

4.5 Answer questions:

1. Are there allied health professionals in your country? If there are, describe their duties.

2. Are these specialties developed in your country?

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