By now it’s been very well understood that optometrist are trained professionals who are involved in the treatment of vision and other defects related to eyes. They conduct eye tests to determine the patients problem prescribe medications and eyewear according to their requirements. Besides this they also operate with the machines for work such as hardening and polishing of lenses and glasses.

After completing the degree in optometry there can be many career options for an optometrist like:

• Starting up with their own eye clinic
• Optical shops
• Lens manufacturing units
• Can tie up with multinational companies dealing in eye care products
• Can pursue higher education in this field
• Opt for research in optometry
• Can also work as occupational health specialists in the vision care of industrial workers
• Can take up teaching profession in optometry
• Optometrist can also become ophthalmologist but after certain years of practice.
• Chiropractors
• Podiatrists
• Speech language pathologists
• Can work in optic industries by using the practical applications of optics like lens technology and laser technology which is used by NASA in industrial research

The U.S bureau does the calculation for the annual salary of an optometrist. Their salary package is decided according to their working hours. Usually their salary ranges depend on their skills and experience. According to a survey the annual salary of optometrist in U.S is USD 90000. Moreover, there is 10 % of total optometrist who earn more than this. It is also stated that the salaried professionals earn more than the ones who do their own practice.

Other benefits

Besides the basic salary the optometrist also earns attractive bonuses and perks depending on the experience they have. They also earn the benefits of pensions and disability benefits, which automatically raise their salary.

Skills

Becoming an optometrist is not at all an easy task. It requires lot of hard work and dedication.

An optometrist should be comfortable working in any kind of environment. According to an U.S data it is estimated that more than 130 million people in U.S wear some form of eye wear. It is also estimated that nearly half of the remaining population has the requirement of eye care services.

Required skills for an optometrist: -

• Strong communication skills
• Caring and friendly personality
• If practicing optometry, then should provide treatment under the guidance of senior faculty
• Should present papers and conduct case studies based on optometry
• They should know the skills of handling the instruments
• They should be able to detect major vision changes like detecting blindness, cataract etc
• Ability to communicate efficiently with the children and elders
• Good administrative and organizational skills
• Should have good convincing powers (in terms of selling lenses and glasses)
• The optometrist doing private practice should have effective business skills

Education

Optometry is a four-year professional level-program, which leads to the Doctor of Optometry, O.D degree. Like the other basic health professions, the first year is devoted to the didactic study of health sciences and optics, and, by the fourth year the study is totally about clinical sciences.

OAT (Optometry Admission Test) is conducted for the candidates to get admissions in good optometry colleges. According to an U.S data, 19 colleges in US provided this course in 2009. To be an optometrist a candidate should have strong science background including subjects like Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, and English.

An optometry program includes classroom and laboratory study of visual and health sciences related to disorders of vision. Various courses in pharmacy, optics, biochemistry etc are also included. Since optometrists are also experts in diagnosing systemic diseases, they also study human anatomy, pharmacology, pathology and psychological statistics etc as their subjects during their four-year program.

Important Advancements

There are optometrists who indulge in teaching professions or conduct research.

An optometrist is a person who intends to care about the primary vision of eyes. Their main function is to diagnose eye related problems and provide advice to patients. They also prescribe glasses and contact lenses and perform the surgical medications and treatments like vision therapy.

They are also the primary health care professionals who tests glaucoma and diagnose the presence of systemic diseases like diabetes, hypertension in our body, which directly or indirectly affect our eyes. They prescribe drugs to the patients to help them in the diagnosis of eye problems and their treatment.

Usually the optometrist goes for general practice sessions. Some do their specializations include treating the elderly, children and partially sighted persons. Others are specialized in developing and implementing the ways to protect the worker’s eyes during their work sessions. Some also specialize in contact lenses, glasses and vision therapy. A few are there who teach optometry and perform research.

Most optometrists are private practitioners who handle their business and run their office. Many a times they buy a franchise of some optical stores. Besides this they also develop patient’s base, hire employees, keep record of paper work and order necessary equipments and machines.

So we can imagine that today the work of optometrist not only involves prescribing glasses and fitting them but much more ahead. They are trained to provide best treatment to the patient’s. Even people, who don’t require corrective eye wear can also go to the optometrist for a routine eye checkup to prevent, detect and cure eye diseases.

Usually people confuse optometrist with ophthalmologists. Ophthalmologists are physicians who perform eye surgery, diagnose diseases of eye etc. At times they also prescribe lenses and glasses for patients like an optometrist does.

The increased use of computers in our day-to-day life is causing a lot of strain on our eyes, which usually many people ignore. With continuous increase in vision problems there is also a significant increase in optometrist. An optometrist is responsible for examining, diagnosing, treating and managing diseases of the visual system. The optometrist can choose to practice in their cities, suburbs or rural areas. Ultimately their main aim should be to cure the illness. If the eye examination reveals some kind of disease, or the need for surgery, the optometrist should immediately do the needful.

Some important roles performed by an optometrist are: -

• It’s the duty of the optometrist to provide proper care to the patients
• To examine the eye sight of the patients and detect symptoms and signs of injury, diseases etc
• To check for the signs of general health problems like diabetes
• Talk with patients to know about the case history
• Offer advice and help to patients to choose their contact lenses and glasses
• They also help in supervising and training the junior staff
• They should remain up to date with their patients profile and work
• Analyze test results and treatment plans for the patients
• Help the customers to select eyeglasses and lenses that are suitable for their face so that they can make correct frames.

Even though an optometrist can diagnose and treat vision problems they still cannot perform surgical procedures without a license. Only a licensed optometrist can perform eye surgeries. This is also a reason for many optometrists to open joint practices and referring patients to one another. Many renowned companies having a vision plan also hire optometrists for regular check up of their employees. At times an optometrist also consults an ophthalmologist regarding the surgery for a cataract patient or refers the patient to an ophthalmologist.

Since at times the job of the optometrist can be tiring so they can also appoint optometrist manager or assistant to ease their workload. An assistant optometrist handles all the administrative as well as clinical work of the office.