Optometric Assistant/Technician Training Programs

Program Description: The Optometric Technician Program at Madison Area Technical College is a one-year technical diploma course that can be completed in nine months of full-time study. New students are admitted into the classroom-based program every August.

Persons already employed in an eye care setting may enroll in the program delivered via the Internet. The online program is only offered via a part-time schedule (course work is taken over 4 semesters) and new students are admitted each August and January.

For additional program information please go to the school's website and click on "Programs of Study".

Program Description: Vision Care Technology at Spokane Community College was the first and is still the only vision program in eastern Washington State. It is the only program in the western United States where all sectors of the optometry industry come to recruit new staff because of its national reputation for developing top professionals.

The vision industry within the Inland Northwest grew dramatically in the last 20 years because of the pool of professionals trained in the SCC Vision Care Technology program. Now, new testing methods, faster eyeglass manufacturing, higher requirements for quality, larger product lines, and more regulations mean increased technology and better training is needed to "see" more patients get better eye care.

Program Description: Initiated in 2003 by Mary Rosenbaum O.D., this certification preparation course is offered through the Florida Community College of Jacksonville. The course includes 176 hours of instruction two evenings per week plus one Saturday per month from July to December. Multimedia classrooms and fully equipped exam lanes are made available at The Vision Care Institute on the campus of Vistakon. Students will make site visits and take tours of local optometry offices, Marco Ophthalmics, SafeLite optical lab, and Vistakon. Hands on practicals as well as written examinations are used to test skills learned. Graduate will be eligible to take the CPOA examination held in Jacksonville in December. Contact Dr. Rosenbaum at (904)612-6638 for more information or visit www.fccj.edu.

Program Description: Indiana University is located in the beautiful rolling, wooded hills of southern Indiana. The campus is consistently listed as one of the most beautiful campuses in the country. The IU School of Optometry offers a two-year program providing education for students to earn an Associate of Science degree (A.S.) in Optometric Technology/Opticianry. The course work and clinic practicum experience prepares a student with the education to complement the work of eye doctors. A variety of clinical experiences are offered by working alongside doctor of optometry students at the Bloomington clinics: Atwater Eye Care Center, the Community Eye Care Center, and the Contact Lens Clinic. Indiana University also has clinics in Indianapolis and Guanajuato, Mexico.

Students learn how to work alongside optometrists performing certain eye tests, helping people select eyewear and assisting in contact lens care. With a complete on-site optical laboratory, students also have a unique opportunity to learn how to fabricate and fill spectacle lens prescriptions.

Because it is positioned within the IU School of Optometry, the program offers many unique and valuable benefits to students pursuing a career in the paraoptometric field.

Program Description: Prince George's Community College is located in Largo, Maryland just 2 miles off the Capital Beltway. The Optometric Assistant Program has been taught there for the past 10 years. Held on Wednesday nights in the summer months, the lectures cover the entire course text/guide book from the AOA Paraoptometric section. Seven local Doctors of Optometry take turns teaching various sections of the course. A final examination and good attendance is required to get a certificate from Prince George's Community College. Completing the course enables the student to be eligible for the AOA final examination. For more information please contact Donna Barker at PGCC: 301-322-0796.