Paraoptometric associates create caring first impressions for eye care

“There’s going to be a small puff of air. . .” 

You’ve heard the words echoing from the patient workup room a thousand times before, but this reassuring dialogue can mean the difference between a patient at ease and one who is uncomfortable when they enter the exam room. 

Matthew Baseley, CPOT, CPOC, a paraoptometric specialist at Bridgeview/Midwest Eye Consultants in Greenwood, Indiana, knows exactly how to create a relaxing and supportive atmosphere for patients.  

What led you to optometry? 

I was a restaurant manager, and I was looking for a change. Both my mother and my sister worked for Bridgeview at separate locations. Both locations were hiring, so my mother and sister encouraged me to apply. That’s what got me started. It was such a nice change—I was used to working 11 to 11 every day, so it was a huge difference in schedule. And the customer service aspect of restaurants is very similar to what we do as paras. I’ve been here eight years and moved into management and training.  

Why do you feel paraoptometrics are a vital part of the care team? 

Paras are the lifeblood of the practice, especially for our doctors. There's so much that the paras can do for them to lighten the load. It could be checking patients in, posting charges or filing insurance. In the patient workup, we do all basic pre-testing for the doctor, saving them time in the room so they can spend more time with the patient, actually treating the patient.  

We enable those doctors to see all the patients they want to see and focus more directly on that aspect of the day, because that's why they became doctors, right?  

Why is certification important to you? How has it changed your career? 

I started out learning on the job, and my practice encouraged me to pursue certification. After the initial training, I went on to get all the certifications available through the Commission on Paraoptometric Certification (CPC)—I now have my Certified Paraoptometric (CPO), Certified Paraoptometric Assistant (CPOA), Certified Paraoptometric Technician (CPOT), and Certified Paraoptometric Coder (CPOC).

I’m a very academically inclined person, so I like to learn and understand. After working with the doctors and learning with them, I wanted to get certified, plus there were financial incentives for doing so. After the first one, which was fairly simple, I figured I should keep going. I had a lot of fun going through the coursework. It made me want to keep going and reach the next level. It has allowed me to do more for my doctors.  

How has AOA membership impacted your career? 

It’s been great. After joining under one of our doctors after my certification, I had the opportunity to do a job task analysis for the CPC. Later, I joined the CPC and started attending conventions and meeting some of my peers. 

I've learned so much more and gained a deeper understanding of what's going on in the world of optometry, outside of what I'm doing at work. It has helped me more in my job as the person who helps develop the clinic. I’m seeing what's new, what's out there, what we can look forward to or what we don't have. How can we do something differently?  

What advice would you give to those interested in a career in paraoptometry? 

It's a great field. I have talked to people before, either new staff or people who have thought about it, and their first thought is, ‘I have to go to school for that or have this license to be a para,’ and it’s not true. They will teach you everything you need to know. My company has a whole department dedicated to training.  

This is a great starting point for someone who has an interest in the medical field but doesn’t want to immediately get additional certification. This is a really good area for people to be in, especially if they want to switch modes and get into a different field entirely.