People who work in eye care have many different levels of education and on-the-job experience. State licensing boards and professional certification organizations also require many eye care workers to meet certain standards of practice and determine the types of care that they are allowed to provide. This is called "scope of practice."
There are basically three types of eye care workers. Professionals are the people we most often refer to as "doctors." Technicians and technologists are the professionals "extenders" who perform certain vital support services. And then there some interesting related occupations that require professional training outside the visual sciences.
Professionals
There are three major categories of professionals:
- Ophthalmologists are doctors of medicine or osteopathy who have received training beyond medical school in the specialty of eye care and diseases. They are the only professionals who are licensed to diagnose and treat all eye problems and provide total care.
- Optometrists complete four years of graduate education at a college of optometry in order to receive the degree of Doctor of Optometry (O.D.). They are qualified to examine patients for eye problems and to prescribe and fit eyeglasses and contact lenses. In many states and several provinces, optometrists may prescribe and administer drugs in the diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases.
- Opticians can fit and dispense glasses and contact lenses based on prescriptions written by other professionals. Their training varies among states and ranges from on-the-job experience to completion of two years of approved courses.
Technicians and technologists are "professional extenders" who provide a wide range of support services from grinding lenses to assisting in surgery. Their preparation ranges from on-the-job training to two or more years of post baccalaureate education.
Job descriptions in this category include: Orthoptists, Ophthalmic technicians and technologists, Ophthalmic (medical) assistants and Ocularists.
Related occupations include medical personnel who have chosen to concentrate their professional efforts in the field of eye care. Although they may have received technical training, their specialization is based mainly on experience and personal preference. These include; Ophthalmic researcher, Ophthalmic writer, Ophthalmic photographer, Ophthalmic administrators, Visual sciences information specialist, Ophthalmic nurses including nurse anesthetists.
The roles of eye care practitioners may seem well defined. As you read further, you will see that there is a trend toward the blurring of the traditional boundaries in the scopes of practice. Eye care is a dynamic science, technology, and industry where new professions are added, and there are new opportunities for practitioners at every level.
Recently there have been dramatic changes in career roles as a result of increased economic competition and the availability of new technologies at almost every level of practice. Professionals are frequently competing for the same patients and are learning to market a wider range of services in more convenient locations to serve the eye care consumer.
Places of Employment
Health care is often referred to as an "integrated delivery system." This means that there are many different sets of health services provided by different types of personnel indifferent types of facilities. All these services are connected and interrelated. So, how does a patient know whom to see, for what, and where to go?
Twenty years ago, the delivery system was less complicated. A patient went to the office of a family doctor. The doctor either treated the problem or sent the patient to a specialist. All surgery was performed in hospitals. It was simple, but there was very little choice about which doctor to see, where to go, when to schedule an appointment, and how much it would cost. Questions about your own health care were discouraged.
Today, the patient chooses whom to see for a health problem. This person is called a "primary care provider." In eye care this could be a family doctor, an ophthalmologist, an optometrist, or the school nurse. This person is the patient's entry point into the complex, integrated network of eye care services. Although the modern system is complicated, patients have many choices of how, when, and from whom they wish to receive their eye care. And there are so many pricing options that today's patients are called health care consumers.
What are the implications for eye care workers? Consumers take good quality vision services for granted. Training, licensing, and professional certification are expected of almost all vision care providers. What busy consumers really want is convenience and good value for their dollars and this is one of the main reasons why the eye care industry is expanding and changing rapidly.
