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Ophthalmic Medical Technicians

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Assist ophthalmologists by performing ophthalmic clinical functions. May administer eye exams, administer eye medications, and instruct the patient in care and use of corrective lenses.

Related: Cardiovascular Technologists & Technicians Medical Assistants Neurodiagnostic Technologists Ophthalmic Medical Technologists Surgical Assistants

Industries: Health & Counseling

Summary
Details

Assist patients to insert or remove contact lenses.
Call patients to inquire about their post-operative status or recovery.
Administer topical ophthalmic or oral medications.
Clean or sterilize ophthalmic or surgical instruments.
Take and document patients' medical histories.
Conduct visual field tests to measure field of vision.
Assess refractive conditions of eyes, using retinoscopes.
Conduct binocular disparity tests to assess depth perception.
Assist patients to select eyewear.
Clean or sterilize ophthalmic or surgical instruments.
Take and document patients' medical histories.
Conduct tonometry or tonography tests to measure intraocular pressure.
Operate ophthalmic equipment, such as autorefractors, phoropters, tomographs, or retinoscopes.
Measure and record lens power, using lensometers.
Conduct ocular motility tests to measure function of eye muscles.
Adjust or make minor repairs to spectacles or eyeglasses.
Measure and record lens power, using lensometers.
Measure corneal curvature with keratometers or ophthalmometers to aid in the diagnosis of conditions, such as astigmatism.
Assist physicians in performing ophthalmic procedures, including surgery.
Assess refractive conditions of eyes, using retinoscopes.
Take anatomical or functional ocular measurements of the eye or surrounding tissue, such as axial length measurements.
Instruct patients in the care and use of contact lenses.
Maintain ophthalmic instruments or equipment.
Measure visual acuity, including near, distance, pinhole, or dynamic visual acuity, using appropriate tests.

Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.

Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

Education

Postsecondary certificate

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

48960/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

23.54/hr

Currently Employed

1,490

Yearly Projected Openings

200

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Cautiousness
Attention to Detail
Dependability
Stress Tolerance
Empathy
Self-Control

Binocular vision test sets
Chart projectors
Corneal topographers
Depth perception apparatus
Exophthalmometers
Eye charts or vision cards
Eye occluders
Interferometers
Keratometers
Laser fax machine
Lid plates for ophthalmic surgery
Medical computed tomography CT or CAT scanners or tubes
Medical syringes with needle
Mercury blood pressure units
Ophthalmic lensometers
Ophthalmic perimeters
Ophthalmic prisms
Ophthalmic retinoscopes
Ophthalmic slit lamps
Ophthalmic spectrophotometers
Ophthalmic tonometers
Ophthalmic transilluminators
Ophthalmic visual function analyzers
Ophthalmoscopes or otoscopes or scope sets
Opticians tools
Personal computers
Phoropter units
Photo attachments for microscopes
Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
Tangent screen test objects kits
Thickness measuring devices
Ultrasonic examination equipment
Vision testing stereoscopes

Electronic mail software
Internet browser software
Medical software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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