Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Working in a medical field... (self.Blind)
submitted by dandelionwishes_
Not high intensity jobs like a surgeon or a nurse. I was thinking of being an xray tech. I used to want to do pharmacy but honestly, I don't think it'll be a good fit for me financially and I'm not even sure why I wanted that career. I think I limited myself when looking at careers so that's why I picked it.
Anyway. There are oppurtunities for xray techs to travel around which sounds so fun and it's not too intense I think. Background: I'm blind in one eye. I was born with micropthalmia and can only see a little out of that eye. My other eye can definitely see and if I wear glasses it's even better.
I've also been a caregiver for a year and a half until I found an amazing job at a community medical center. I don't do medical work but I do deal with patients and getting them the resources they need. I speak two languages fluently so that's also a plus.
I'd like to try being an xray tech and was wondering if there'd be any reason for it to be unsafe for me. Looking into it the only danger is me lifting a patient (I'm 4'10) but I was a caregiver so I don't think it'll be too different.
What do you all think?
Anyway. There are oppurtunities for xray techs to travel around which sounds so fun and it's not too intense I think. Background: I'm blind in one eye. I was born with micropthalmia and can only see a little out of that eye. My other eye can definitely see and if I wear glasses it's even better.
I've also been a caregiver for a year and a half until I found an amazing job at a community medical center. I don't do medical work but I do deal with patients and getting them the resources they need. I speak two languages fluently so that's also a plus.
I'd like to try being an xray tech and was wondering if there'd be any reason for it to be unsafe for me. Looking into it the only danger is me lifting a patient (I'm 4'10) but I was a caregiver so I don't think it'll be too different.
What do you all think?
SugarPie89 6 points 1y ago
I think your best bet would be to talk to an Xray technician. If thats not possible do a lot of research on the career and what it encompassese. I especially find day in a life vids on youtube very helpful in understanding what a job intails.
dandelionwishes_ [OP] 3 points 1y ago
Thanks! Maybe I'll hop onto the medical subreddits. Hopefully someone answers, haha. Ooh I watch those too! They're interesting :)
uncledude 3 points 1y ago
I am a X-ray and CT technologist (my son is blind). Everything in radiology is very visually intensive. It would be very difficult to do the job with low vision. 20 years ago when we were still using film, hospitals actively recruited blind employees to operate the dark rooms. It was an excellent, well paid job where visual acuity was irrelevant. Unfortunately those jobs have gone the way of the elevator operators. Possibly other healing arts would be more accessible. Massage or even chiropractor maybe. Sadly due to the nature of the jobs there is not a lot of jobs in medicine that are available to the blind. Best of luck in finding the path that is best for you.
dandelionwishes_ [OP] 1 points 1y ago
Yeah, I've dived even more into it and had no idea how important vision is to the job. Even if my vision is considered good with correctional aids, I'm not so sure about the depth perception part. Thanks for the honest insight! I'm just starting to get back into college so I have lots of other careers in mind :)
OldManOnFire 3 points 1y ago
The Lighthouse near me has a zoom meeting each Friday for visually impaired job hunters. Today's guest speaker was the Methodist Hospital's CNO.
Two of the jobs he recommended to us were work from home telephone jobs. One was scheduling tele-medical patients and determining if a tele-medical appointment is enough or if they really need to come to the hospital. The other was to make follow up phone calls after patients are released to make certain the patients understand their medicines and their after care instructions, and to relay any patient concerns to the right doctor or specialist.
Thought I'd let you know what types of jobs the industry's decision makers are encouraging our community to try.
Two of the jobs he recommended to us were work from home telephone jobs. One was scheduling tele-medical patients and determining if a tele-medical appointment is enough or if they really need to come to the hospital. The other was to make follow up phone calls after patients are released to make certain the patients understand their medicines and their after care instructions, and to relay any patient concerns to the right doctor or specialist.
Thought I'd let you know what types of jobs the industry's decision makers are encouraging our community to try.
dandelionwishes_ [OP] 3 points 1y ago
Thank you for the suggestions! That's great that there's jobs like that for our community. We don't have much positive patients anymore but that's very similar to an aspect of my current job. I basically call covid-19 positives and ask if they need anything, etc. I'm not sure if it's a fit for me but those jobs are great!
changeneverhappens 2 points 1y ago
Thats a shame. That presentation should have been screened better.
OldManOnFire 1 points 1y ago
I didn't mean to give a wrong impression. I didn't see it as a problem. Neither did anyone else on the zoom call. Those weren't the only two jobs the CNO recommended to us, but they were the only two I paid attention to because they can be worked from home.
changeneverhappens 2 points 1y ago
Oh OK! Thanks for the clarification.
meganbernadette 2 points 1y ago
I know a legally blind family practice doctor, she trained osteopathic to do more hands on manipulation in case she lost all vision. She’s awesome!
dandelionwishes_ [OP] 1 points 1y ago
Oh wow, I've heard of visually impaired people becoming doctors but have never met one. Family prac doctors are so friendly, I love working with them! I do wonder though - did your doctor's low vision come on gradually? I'd be nervous about getting accepted into a medical program because I was born with low vision. Apparently its a dealbreaker for some :(
meganbernadette 1 points 1y ago
I know her on a personal level and she has the same eye condition as my daughter- peters anomaly, which she was born with. Corneal transplants in both eyes. One eye has a failed transplant with no vision. The other is legally blind. She worked her butt off but it is possible!
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