Become an Optical Assistant

Learn why optical assisting is such as interesting job and how rewarding it can be to help people solve their vision problems. This course is a great way to start your career as it will help you better understand everything that's involved in the job and how you can become certified and licensed optical assistant.

6 Weeks / 24 Course Hrs

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Offered in partnership with your preferred school

Meridian Community College

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Learning method

Instructor-Moderated

$135

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Starting April 16 | May 14

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Details + Objectives

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If you think you'd like to become an optical assistant, this is the course for you! You'll take a comprehensive look at the diverse world of optical assisting. You'll see why optometry is such an interesting field and how rewarding it can be to help people solve their vision problems.

You will be amazed to learn all the different places optical assistants can work! You'll cover optical assisting in private practice, healthcare clinics, the military, teaching facilities, and in retail sales. You'll discover the personal and professional skills needed to work in a front and back office and in an optical dispensary and lab. You will understand all the things optical assistants must know about frames, styles, lenses, contact lenses, and working with people. Along the way, you'll discover how the human eye works, and examine some common eye conditions. Finally, you will learn how to become certified and licensed, which will open up even more opportunities for you and identify you as an expert. This course is an ideal springboard for starting a career in this growing and ever-in-demand field!

What you will learn

Discover how to become a certified and licensed optical assistant
Learn about opportunities in optical assisting for private practice, healthcare clinics, the military, teaching facilities, and retail sales
Understand all the things optical assistants must know about frames, styles, lenses, contact lenses, and working with people
Discover how the human eye works and learn about common eye conditions

How you will benefit

Use what you learn as a springboard for starting a rewarding career in a growing field
Acquire the knowledge and skills to help people with their vision - one of the most important concerns in life
Discover how to open up more opportunities and be identified as an expert through certification

How the course is taught

Instructor-Moderated online course
6 Weeks access
24 course hours

Outline

Discover the wide range of opportunities available in optical assisting as you determine whether this fun and in-demand career is right for you.

Take a tour of the parts of the eye, and find out how they work together to create the miracle of vision. This lesson will give you a big head start on the path to becoming an optical assistant.

Common eye problems cause millions of people to need glasses, contact lenses, vision therapy, or low vision aids. You'll also learn about common eye disorders and receive important tips on protecting the eyesight.

Explore eye conditions like color-blindness, having a "lazy eye", and what it means to be legally blind.

Take a look at front office optical assisting—a great career if you're a "people" person and a multi-tasker. Learn about becoming a goodwill ambassador, triage, and the ins and outs of scheduling patients efficiently.

Check out back office assisting if you're looking to perform hands-on patient care. Learn about taking a patient's medical history, the tests used to gather vision data, and two specialty areas in back office assisting: contact lens fitting and surgical assisting.

Gain the power to understand the language of optical prescriptions! Learn how those numbers and symbols on an eye doctor's prescription translate into just the right lenses for a patient.

Learn the insider secrets of eyeglass styling so you can pick frame styles that make most people look attractive and feel confident.

Contact lenses help correct vision. Learn how optical assistants fit contact lenses and educate patients about using them correctly.

Look at the best ways to make people feel welcome, respected, and well treated at every step of their visit to a doctor's office or retail store. You'll also get great tips for smoothing the waters if problems arise.

Take a look at three of the most interesting optical assisting specialties: low vision clinics, vision therapy, and refractive surgery.

Learn how certification puts you in line for promotions and management positions as you take a look at the different types of certification you can achieve in the optical assisting field.

Instructors & Support

Dr. Beverly Smith

Dr. Beverly Smith is a Doctor of Optometry and has been in private practice for more than 24 years. She also holds a Master of Business Administration and founded a consulting firm that helps new practitioners start and manage their own eye care practices. Throughout her career, Smith has taught many future opticians, certified paraoptometrics, and fellow optometrists. Her work has been published in the professional journals New O.D. and Women in Optometry.

Instructor Interaction: The instructor looks forward to interacting with learners in the online moderated discussion area to share their expertise and answer any questions you may have on the course content.

Requirements

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites to take this course.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

PC: Windows 8 or later.
Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

FAQ

A new session of each course begins each month. Please refer to the session start dates for scheduling.

Once a course session starts, two lessons will be released each week for the 6 week duration of your course. You will have access to all previously released lessons until the course ends. You will interact with the instructor through the online discussion area. There are no live sessions or online meetings with the instructor.

The interactive discussion area for each lesson automatically closes two weeks after each lesson is released, so you're encouraged to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release. However, you will have access to all lessons from the time they are released until the course ends.

Students enrolled in a six-week online class benefit from a one-time, 10-day extension for each course. No further extensions can be provided beyond these 10 days.

Reviews

I really enjoyed this course it is easy to understand, simple and it got right to the point. You learn everything you need to know so quickly and before you know it you are finished with the lesson. Then you are so excited about what you have learned, that you just want to start the next lesson right away so you can learn even more.

This was a very interactive course. Although I am familiar with some of the info, I still learned a lot. The matching charts were very helpful too. I would take it again and would recommend it to anyone going into this field.

This is my first experience with an online course and it was a wonderful one. I would do it again, I recommend it to anyone. Great!

I normally don't like long courses and hours to study... Plus it was a nice pace for older students that haven't had a course in a while... You have encouraged me to continue on with my goals... in this exciting new career. Thank you Patricia

This course was an excellent way to expand knowledge in the optical assisting field. Its also a great way to get a head start if you're interested in certification or licensing. I enjoyed this class and recommend it to others.

This is one of the only beginners courses I have found online for optical assisting and I have learned a lot. It was very interesting and I would recommend it to anyone interested in this field.

The course itself and its content were fantastic. I learned much more than I had expected. The Instructor is knowledgeable of the course subject matter. I am ready to pursue a career in this field and I will recommend this course to others

I enjoyed this class more than any of the others I've taken on-line from a variety of schools. The instructor was EXCELLENT!!!

I'm an optical manager at a retail optical chain. This is an awesome home study class for any one new in the field or for anyone who need to polish up on their optics. I will recommend that all my employees take this class as well as the district.

I truly enjoyed this course, I am so happy I found it. It gave me a greater understanding of the responsibilities, requirements and vocabulary needed for this field. It was just the right length, not overwhelming, and the format was easy.

This is my first experience with an online course and it was a wonderful one. I would do it again, I recommend it to anyone. Great!

This is one of the only beginners courses I have found online for optical assisting and I have learned a lot. It was very interesting and I would recommend it to anyone interested in this field.

I enjoyed this class more than any of the others I've taken on-line from a variety of schools. The instructor was EXCELLENT!!!

Become an Optical Assistant

Meridian Community College