HEALTH
Optometrist Khyber Alam says the vision loss a patient had the other morning is sometimes indicative of serious problems including tumours and oncoming stroke. Alam, who ran tests and referred the patient for urgent hospital attention, was mindful not to alarm the patient but his sense of haste was well-judged.
![Optometrist Khyber Alam with a patient.](/web/20170203141658im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/2/q/n/w/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gu2qm3.png/1485992980242.jpg)
The patient's wife called him the next day to say the patient had dodged possible death by a matter of hours.
"My heart was beating fast because it was my first patient with that sort of pathology," says Alam.
Alam is a managing optometrist at an OPSM practice. He typically sees between 10-16 patients per day, addressing a variety of issues including everything from reading-related headaches to cataract surgery recovery.
The management side of his role, he adds, began four months ago when the optometrist who had been mentoring him in his graduate year left the practice.
Alam says he didn't anticipate the responsibility of a management position so soon in his career but he is embracing the opportunity.
"Once you graduate from university, it's difficult to even ease into your job but then having to manage things on your own is a responsibility that can either break you or strengthen you," he says. "I took it in a positive way and I actually work a lot better when I'm a little bit stressed."
Alam completed his master of optometry at Deakin University in mid-2016. Born in Pakistan, where his parents arrived as refugees from Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan war, Alam settled in Afghanistan in the 1990s. But he arrived in Australia as a 13-year-old refugee after the 2001 war in Afghanistan evolving out of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
A youth leader in his Muslim community, Alam is part of a research project with Deakin University academics entitled "Considerations When Providing Optometric Care for Muslim Patients".
The project, which received more than $4000 funding from the Victorian Optometrists Training and Education Trust, is due for completion this June and aims to help optometrists understand important cultural considerations associated with treating patients.
Alam says he intends to spend 2017 exploring his options for research.
"I'm going to work in practices where I think I deal with more pathology so my understanding of my field increases, so I can look into a PhD perhaps," he says.
The patient from the other morning was transferred to the cardiology ward for an artery-related infection and Alam's part in that proved a valuable learning experience.
"One of the things we've been taught at the university is delivering bad news in a good way.
"You have to be calm yourself.
"His wife called from the hospital and she could not phrase her gratitude. That was something I'll never forget."