The Dr Lindsay Rountree episode

Optometrist and academic, Lindsay, studied optometry at the University of Cardiff, graduating in 2007. After working in practice for a few years, she returned to education to compete a PhD. Today, she is a lecturer at the University of Bradford and is programme lead for the school’s Master’s programme in optometry.

Here are three things we learned about Lindsay when recording The OT Podcast.

1 Frequent visits to the optometrist as a child prompted Lindsay’s path into optometry

As a teenager, when Lindsay was considering her career options, she knew what she did not want to be. This included not being a doctor or a dentist. However, with a love for biology, she did know that she wanted a career that would enable her to utilise this passion. After briefly toying with podiatry, she recalled the frequent visits she would make to the optometrists as a child – she was highly myopic.

At 16, Lindsay completed a work placement at her local optometrists and filled in her UCAS forms accordingly. Lindsay shares: “Right up to the UCAS form deadline, I still wasn’t sure… It wasn’t until I started the course that I thought, ‘Oh, okay, maybe I can do this; maybe this is the right choice for me’.”

2 The visual field test is here to stay

Lindsay works as a lecturer at the University of Bradford, with research interests in a wide range of areas including glaucoma, mental health among optometrists, myopia management, ophthalmic public health, and contact lens research. She is also passionate about the visual field test.

When asked by OT’s Ceri Smith-Jaynes whether the visual field test is at risk of being made redundant in light of new technology, such as optical coherence tomography, Lindsay remains unconvinced.

“I think some people might tell you, yes, but they tend to be the people who research OCT and structural tests more often,” Linsay said.

“I think no,” she shared, adding: “Simply, that’s because the structure-function relationship is really complicated for a number of different reasons.”

Returning to the visual field test later in the podcast, Lindsay said: “I think most of what I spend my time saying about visual fields is that it might feel old fashioned, but it’s still very relevant – we can’t get rid of our Humphreys quite yet.”

She added: “It’s human nature that you’d like to get rid of the things that feel more subjective and feel more variable. But we do have to remember that things like OCT can still be variable. Even though we think that we are imaging in exactly the same way it doesn’t mean there’s no variation there at all. In some ways, that variation can be useful.”

3 Lindsay is a member of the Ling Long tour

The Ling Long tour sees Lindsay hike with colleagues over a May Bank Holiday every year as they gather socially to connect while enjoying the outdoors.

Organised by Dr Chris Longley, Lindsay travels with University of Bradford colleagues to the Yorkshire Dales for walks, food and good company over the long weekend.

“It’s a really nice way to connect with colleagues outside of a work setting. It’s healthy – we’re out walking – and from a mental health point of view, it’s great. I really enjoy it,” she said.

The Dr Lindsay Rountree episode

OT will release a new episode of The OT Podcast bimonthly. You can listen to The OT Podcast on our website, or via all the main podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Castbox. Be sure to catch-up and listen to other episodes, featuring experts including Imran Hakim, Ian Cameron, Dame Mary Perkins, and Professor Nicola Logan.

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