Omar Mohiuddin, UAB MSOT Class of 2016

Omar Mohiuddin, a graduate of the MSOT Class of 2016, has quickly become one of our most impressive alumni in a remarkably short period of time. I had heard about some of his accomplishments, so I was excited to call him and find out more.

Sarah C. Tucker, MS, OTR/L, Assistant Professor, UAB MSOT: I remember when I interviewed you for the program that you were very focused on pursuing a career in low vision after graduation. Can you tell me more about how you got interested in this specialty area?

Omar Mohiuddin (MSOT, 2016): I knew I wanted to work at the Duke Eye Center before starting OT school. I used to work at a small ophthalmology practice in English Village where I answered calls, checked in patients, took histories, reviewed superbills, and handled all the money – it was literally just me, the doctor and three exam rooms. I read an article on low vision OT in the Duke Vision magazine during my lunch break at work and knew my goal would be to work for someone like Dr. Diane Whitaker and the Duke Eye Center who understood the value of OT, multidisciplinary care, and everything OT had to offer for low vision clients. I still love the article and the other individuals mentioned in the article are also alumni of the UAB Low Vision Graduate Certificate program and good colleagues of mine now. I work weekends doing low vision home visits through Tomeico Faison’s company.

ST: As soon as you graduated, you started working at Duke Eye Center, is that correct?

OM: Yes. I graduated on December 16th, 2016, and the job was posted on December 18th. They were looking for someone with experience to be the first low vision occupational therapist to work in the Division of Vision Rehabilitation and Performance, yet they hired me as a new graduate and were willing to wait for six months while I took my NBCOT exam and moved to the area.

ST: Tell me more about the Duke Eye Center and your role as an occupational therapist.

OM: I spend a significant amount of my time doing traditional low vision rehabilitation, assessing and treating patients with vision loss. I work primarily with adults, but also with some pediatric patients. I am also a part of a concussion management program, where I work with athletes with vision issues associated with concussions. We help them receive appropriate accommodations for both school and work, with what we call the “Return to Learn Protocol”.

I am also involved in the Duke Sports Vision Center (DSVC) which is the first multidisciplinary, academic-medicine based sports vision center comprised of ophthalmology, optometry, neuroscience, athletic training, and occupational therapy. The DSVC aims to apply and produce evidence-based practice to improve visual-motor performance of athletes. For example, we look at current evaluations and determine if they are valid and whether or not they are predictive of on-field performance. We are trying to establish the gold standard in the field of sports vision. Through this program, I have the opportunity to work with high school, college, and professional athletes outside of a traditional medical model. I am able to apply the OT practice framework and my activity analysis skills to contribute to this program as an occupational therapist. Because of the athletes’ schedules and my clinic schedule, I often end up working with them in the afternoon, evenings, or weekends

ST: You sound like you have found a way to fill up your schedule very quickly in a short time. What do you do for fun outside of your workday?

OM: Yes, I am pretty busy. In my “free time” I have found myself running the Eye Shine Foundation, a non-profit that aims to create opportunities for visually impaired youth in the triangle region of North Carolina to socialize and participate in recreational events. After being on the board for a year, I moved into the role of president in November 2018. I also work per diem on weekends and recently purchased my first home. I do have friends in the area and recently went to the Envision conference in Birmingham, where I was able to catch up with old friends and family.