Opticians demand 'more appropriate name' for their profession

Taipei, Jan. 6 (CNA) Hundreds of opticians demonstrated in Taipei on Monday, urging the Ministry of Health and Welfare to adopt "optometrist" to describe their profession in English, because the word, they said, better represents the work they do.

The demonstration was organized by the Optometrist Society of Taiwan, which demanded that the ministry stop using "ophthalmic optician" as the official English translation for their profession and change it to "optometrist" within one month.

Huang Chun-chen (黃群宸), chairperson of the national group representing the profession, said the name change was supported during a health ministry meeting with healthcare professionals on Dec. 27 by most of the professional groups, including nurses, physical therapists and medical examiners, but not doctors.

The ministry does not need to hold more meetings on the issue, said Legislator Chen Gau-tzu (陳昭姿) of the Taiwan People's Party, because people undergoing training to work as an optician in Taiwan are known as optometrists in countries including Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.

However, the different word for the profession in English has made it difficult for those in Taiwan to engage with their international counterparts, according to Legislator Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷) of the Kuomintang at the demonstration.

Deputy Health Minister Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) told reporters following the demonstration that the decision to use "optician" as the English translation of the profession was made after consulting the Ophthalmological Society of Taiwan.

The proposed change is not just about what the job is called, it will also affect the practices of different eyecare health professionals, who have not reached an agreement on their respective fields of work, Lin said.

According to the ministry, six meetings have been held since 2019 to forge a consensus for the English translation of the profession regulated under the Optometric Personnel Act introduced in 2020.

The discussions on the English translation have always been linked with expanding what an optician can do under the law, and that has been the main issue, the ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Ophthalmological Society of Taiwan representing eye doctors in the country said optometrists are healthcare professionals who completed post-graduate studies, which is very different from the training received by an optician in Taiwan.

Ophthalmologist Wang I-jong (王一中), who is chairperson of the medical group, said at a news conference on Monday that it will require a more professional training system for opticians in Taiwan to qualify as optometrists.