About Opticians

By Author: Salvatore Andrea
Total Articles: 6261

A professional in the eye care industry is known as an optician. Opticians are employed in various places including hospitals, eye care service centers and many other corporations. The duty and objective of an optician to do vision correction of their patients

Role of an Optician

The primary role of opticians is to fit, repair and make eye glasses. They also have a part in assisting the eye doctors during vision screening tests, setting of optometric equipments, keeping the patient records and taking care of the other basic eye needs of the patient. Their responsibility is to ensure billing is done, scheduling patient’s appointment with the eye doctor and educating the patient about the necessary dos and don'ts before the vision screening test.

Types of Opticians

In most states the opticians manufacture lenses without any legal license which is why many of them work in privately owned optical dispensary. Optometrists also employ opticians to perform medical vision testing, patient eye examination or any contact lenses fittings. In recent days there are many Online opticians too who coordinate with patient online and fix appointments and educate them about the vision tests. There are many opticians who also work in laboratories manufacturing lenses and eye glasses or in retail optical shops as sales personnel’s.

Considerations

Opticians come from various educational backgrounds. They receive a formal degree from a two to four year courses that many educational institutes offer. Many also learn the job through an apprentice program. It is imperative for an optician to hold a license to practice. Around twenty states in America has made it compulsory for opticians to hold a legal license. However an optician can also take a formal examination usually offered by the U.S board opticiantry which determines the opticians optical knowledge and training and further brush up their professional optical skills.

Although opticians are not given the right to independently write any prescription for lenses or eyeglasses but they can fill prescriptions written by the optometrists. They can also help in the determining the prescription if they have performed the vision screen test.

Jobs for opticians are yet to rise. Recent surveys show the demand for an optician is not as high as were the expectations. Only a rise in the vision correcting tests will give a boost to the opticians job growth rate. The cost of vision correction is becoming higher day by day causing many people to avoid opting for the same. A decline in the cost of vision correction might have a good impact on the widespread demand for opticians.