Ophthalmic Assistant

250 Hours / 12 Months / Mentor Supported

Course Overview:

Ophthalmic Assistants play a vital role in eye care. They perform ophthalmic procedures under the direction or supervision of a physician. An ophthalmic allied health professional assists the ophthalmologist by collecting data, administering tests and treatments, and supervising patients. This course provides all the practical information you need to complete your day-to-day tasks as an Ophthalmic Assistant. You will learn detailed information on paramedical training, ophthalmic technology, and efficient office management. This course also covers the anatomy, physiology, optics, pharmacology, and microbiology of the eye.

After completing this course, you should be able to:

• Identify the core elements of eye anatomy and optics
• Identify the steps for dealing with patients and maintaining patient records
• Comprehend contact lenses and the visual field
• Identify eye and vision disorders
• Identify surgical techniques and special procedures related to the eye

Course Outline:

Ophthalmic Assistant Module 1
Basic Sciences

• Anatomy of the Eye
• Visual Pathway
• Ocular Muscles 
• Physiology of the Eye
• Alignment of the Eyes
• Intraocular Pressure
• Color Vision
• Physical Optics
• Geometric Optics
• Spherical & Chromatic Aberrations
• Pharmacology
• Locally Administered Drugs
• Anesthetics
• Side Effects of Systemic Medications
• Microbiology
• Bacteria, Viruses & Fungi
• Specimen Collection for Culture

Ophthalmic Assistant Module 2
Clinical Practice

• Office Efficiency and Public Relations
• Dealing with Patients
• Scheduling Appointments
• Filing & Office Equipment
• Medical Ethics 
• History Taking
• Patient Information
• Preliminary Examination
• Vision Assessment
• External Examination
• Ophthalmic Equipment
• Computerized Corneal Topographic Analysis
• Electroretinography
• Refractive Errors
• Emmetropia & Ametropia
• History of Spectacles
• Facts about Glasses
• Production of Prescription Lenses 

Ophthalmic Assistant Module 3  
Contact Lenses & the Visual Field

• Rigid Contact Lenses
• How the Corneal Contact Lens Works
• Evaluating the Fit & Adjustments 
• Soft Contact Lenses
• Advantages & Disadvantages of Soft Contact Lenses
• Disinfection & Cleaning
• Correction of Astigmatism
• Advanced Techniques in Contact Lens Fitting
• Follow-up Keratometry
• Role of the Corneal Topography
• Gas-permeable Lenses 
• Managing a Contact Lens Practice
• Visual Fields
• Facilities for Field Testing
• Tangent Screen
• Special Perimetric Techniques
• Automated Visual Field Testing
• Threshold Testing
• Frequency Doubling (FDP)

Ophthalmic Assistant Module 4
Ocular Injuries & Eye Disorders  

• Diagnosis of Ocular Injuries
• Intraocular Foreign Bodies
• Contusions, Penetrations & Lacerations 
• First-aid Care by the Ophthalmic Assistant
• CT & MRI Scans
• The Urgent Case
• Ocular Emergencies
• Common Eye Disorders
• Common Retinal Disorders
• Glaucoma: Primary & Secondary
• Congenital Glaucoma
• Examination of the Newborn, Infant and Small Child
• Common Pediatric Disorders 
• Maintenance of Ophthalmic Equipment
• Lensmeter
• Keratometer

Ophthalmic Assistant Module 5  
Surgical Techniques

• Aseptic Techniques
• Minor Office Surgery
• Complications During &/or After Office Surgery
• The Operative Patient
• Types of Eye Surgery
• Highlights of Ocular Surgery
• Eye Dressings
• Assisting the Surgeon
• Amoric Environment
• Lasers in Ophthalmology
• Types of Lasers and Their Clinical Use
• Ambulatory Surgery
• Postoperative Recovery
• Computerized Corneal Topography
• Keratoconus
• Refractive Surgery
• Wavefront Aberrations and Custom Ablation

Ophthalmic Assistant Module 6
Special Procedures & Community Programs  

• Ocular imaging
• Optical coherence tomography
• Other macular abnormalities
• Vitreomacular traction
• Glaucoma
• Keratoconus screening
• Computerized corneal topography
• Corneal topography analysis
• Keratoconus
• Specular microscopy
• Diagnostic ultrasound
• Treatment of strabismus
• Ophthalmic photography
• Video recording
• Image presentation
• Visual aids for the partially sighted
• Factor of age
• Low-vision optical devices
• Selection of a visual aid
• Blind persons in the modern world
• Art and the eye
• Reading problems in children
• Role of brain and eye dominance
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

Ophthalmic Assistant Module 7
Expanded Roles in Eye Care Delivery  

• Computers in ophthalmic practice
• Special ophthalmologic applications
• Role of assistants in eye care
• Allied health personnel in ophthalmology
• Clinical Roles for Ophthalmic Medical Personnel
• Education of Ophthalmic Medical Personnel
• Ophthalmology ethics
• Confidentiality
• Genetics ethics
• Ophthalmic allied health personnel: scope of practice
• Allied health personnel
• Defining scope of practice
• Licensure and certification
• Determining the scope of practice
• Insurance risk and malpractice
• Testing of ophthalmic skills
• The development of ophthalmic assistants
• Assisting in the international community

All necessary materials are included.

Certifications:

Upon successful completion of our Ophthalmic Assistant course, students will be prepared for an entry-level position as an Ophthalmic Assistant and will be prepared to sit for the American Board of Opticianry (ABO) certification by taking the The National Opticianry Competency Examination (NOCE).

System Requirements:

• Cable and DSL internet connections are recommended for the best experience.

• CPU: 1 GHz or higher
• RAM: 2 GB or higher
• Resolution: 1280 x 720 or higher
• Speakers / Headphones
• Microphone (Webinar / Live Online sessions)

• Microsoft Windows 7 or 10 (Home, Pro)
• Mac OSX 10 or higher.
• Latest Chrome OS
• Latest Linux Distributions

NOTE: While we understand that our courses can be viewed on Android and iPhone devices, we do not recommend the use of these devices for our courses. The size of these devices do not provide a good learning environment for students taking online or live online based courses.

• Latest Google Chrome is recommended for the best experience.
• Latest Mozilla FireFox
• Latest Microsoft Edge
• Latest Apple Safari

• Office suite software (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or LibreOffice)
• PDF reader program (Adobe Reader, FoxIt)
• Courses may require other software that is denoted in the above course outline.