Celebrate, empower, advance: Make the most of Paraoptometric Appreciation Month

August 30, 2026

September is Paraoptometric Appreciation Month, the only formal observance dedicated to honoring optometric staff and recognizing the value they contribute to the success of an optometric practice. Learn how doctors can celebrate their staff and paraoptometrics can advance their careers.

Tag(s): Practice Management, Perfect Your Practice

Paraoptometric Appreciation Month 2026

Key Takeaways

September is Paraoptometric Appreciation Month, the only formal observance dedicated to honoring optometric staff.
Take this opportunity to share staff appreciation on social media using #AOAParaMonth2026.

Give the gift of AOA associate membership to encourage professional development.

Paraoptometric Appreciation Month, the only formal observance dedicated to honoring the practice staff who critically support the delivery of optometric patient care, is observed every September.

Who are paraoptometric staff?

All optical staff:

Optician
Contact lens technician
Optometric scribe
Front office/manager
and more

Reinforce the value paraoptometric staff bring to your practice—this month and year-round—with these three suggestions.

Enroll staff as AOA associate members.

Enrolling staff as AOA associate members is an easy, cost-free way for AOA member-doctors to grant optometric practice staff access to valuable paraoptometric programs and services, educational materials and discounts on event registration fees.

AOA associate membership grants staff access to:

Commission on Paraoptometric Certification (CPC) Credit and AOA CE Hour approved training and certification preparation materials in AOA EyeLearn, including the Para Speaker Series.
Member rates for AOA events, such as Optometry’s Meeting®.
Volunteer and networking opportunities on a national level.
All CPC and AOA publications and newsletters.

Learn how enrolling staff as AOA associate members leads to practice success.

Encourage paraoptometric certification.

As optometric scope of practice continues to allow doctors of optometry to practice at the top of their license—utilizing the fullest extent of their education and training to meet the increasing demands on the U.S. healthcare system—optometric staff shouldn’t be overlooked. Increased responsibilities, procedures and demands on doctors of optometry translate into a greater need for proven, skilled support on the part of paraoptometric staff.

Developed by a panel of AOA doctors and paraoptometrics, paraoptometric certification ensures practice staff stay up to date in contemporary CE and professional development. Each level of certification requires successful completion of an exam prepared and administered by the CPC, with the assistance of Professional Testing Corporation (PTC), to ensure mastery of the specific skillsets.

Practices can help ensure their staff have every opportunity for success—and it begins with the CPC Paraoptometric Examination Candidate Handbook. This regularly updated manual helps candidates better understand the processes and procedures to become certified, and how to retain certification through renewal. It’s not only required reading prior to applying for and taking certification examinations, but also the handbook is the go-to resource for staff seeking certification.

Engage on EyeLearn Professional Development Hub

The AOA EyeLearn Professional Development Hub, a member-exclusive, centralized education resource, offers an ever-expanding catalog of CE and professional development courses, webinars and resources oriented to advance clinical proficiencies and practice management expertise, available whenever and wherever you’re ready to learn. Further, EyeLearn hosts and archives impactful webinar content, such as the Para Speaker Series and the Lecture & Theory portion of the AOA Paraoptometric Micro-credential: Optometric Surgical Assisting.