Allied Health Recruitment and Training Tool Kit; Educational Training Resources; American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives

		AAOE Homepage

		Business Operations & Finance

		Coding & Reimbursement

		Compliance & Risk Management

		Human Resources

		Information Technology

		Marketing & Business Development

		Membership

		Professional Growth

		Young Ophthalmologists

		Academy Home

Allied Health Recruitment and Training Toolkit

Ophthalmic Educational Training Resources

The American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives and The Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology are dedicated to working together with other ophthalmic medical professionals to identify, develop, and implement initiatives that will support the recruitment and retention of ophthalmic medical personnel.

Ophthalmic Educational Training

Educational training for beginning students as ophthalmic assistants can include one or a combination of the following:

Formal educational training through an accredited program/school
Available for candidates who choose to attend a program accredited by a national accrediting agency. Provides a progressive training experience that prepares students for highly competent technical support. Additionally, the structure and environment is conducive to learning that utilizes realistic training, state-of-the-art equipment, evolving professional standards of care and may include a clinical component. Classes are designed to give a focused educational experience within a small group size allowing for a high level of student-teacher interaction. Many educational organizations have job placement programs to assist graduates in finding more immediate employment upon completion of their coursework.

The Commission on Accreditation for Ophthalmic Medical Programs (CoA-OMP) provides a listing of Ophthalmic Assistant/Clinical Assistant Programs and Ophthalmic Technician/Medical Technologist Programs.

Independent or self-study
Primary method of training for individuals who are already working in the field:

Allied Health On-the Job Training Kit Easily and thoroughly train new allied health personnel. Contents:
Ophthalmic Medical Assisting: An Independent Study Course, 4th Edition Text and Exam: The core text for beginning ophthalmic allied health professional. Includes two new chapters and updated content. The course consists of a full-color textbook and an examination booklet. NEW!Fundamentals of Ophthalmic Medical Assisting DVD: Enhance your allied health staff's patient care skills with this updated DVD. It provides step-by-step instruction for the various procedures an ophthalmic medical assistant needs to perform and demonstrates how to use equipment and execute many of the diagnostic tests described in the Ophthalmic Medical Assisting: An Independent Study Course text. Topics include history taking, visual acuity testing, confrontation visual fields, pupil evaluation, slit-lamp assessment, applanation tonometry, clinical optics, ocular motility, and more. The Primer: Introduces beginning clerical and clinical staff to basic concepts in ophthalmology and to working in an ophthalmology office. JCAHPO Learning Systems Software: Interactive software offers benefits beyond traditional classroom training. Text-based instruction includes an interactive glossary to explain unfamiliar terms and video demonstrates actual procedures. The interactive functions allow ophthalmic professionals to manipulate equipment and view patient response as if it were a real life examination. Six multi-media courses on the CD. Ophthalmic Medical Personnel On-the-Job Trainers' Guide and Curriculum: A detailed guide that physicians and administrators can use to train new and current allied health personnel.
Ophthalmic Medical Assisting Starter Kit Start training your allied health staff with these high-quality materials. The kit includes: Ophthalmic Medical Assisting: An Independent Study Course text and exam The core text for beginning ophthalmic allied health professionals blends medical and sceintific fundamentals with practical skills including examinations, diseases, procedures, practice management and ethics. Successful completion of the examination also serves as a prerequisite for the written certifying exam offered by the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO). Only original examinations are accepted by the Academy. Fundamentals of Ophthalmic Medical Assisting DVD, Second Edition Step-by-step instructions for various ophthalmic procedures and demonstrations of how to use equipment and execute diagnostic tests. Note: The fifth edition of the Ophthalmic Medical Assisting: An Independent Study Course textbook and exam will be available February 2012. Only original examination sheets will be accepted. Copies of the examination answer sheet cannot be accepted. Fourth edition exams will need to be submitted to the Academy for scoring by June 2013.
JCAHPO Learning Systems® CD-ROM A sophisticated interactive CD-ROM that uses cutting-edge animation, simulation, and video to teach basic skills in six key areas (Keratometry, Lensometry, Ocular Motility, Retinoscopy/Refinement, Tonometry, & Visual Fields) vital to most ophthalmology practices.
JCAHPO & ATPO offer continuing education opportunities through participation in non-traditional, non-classroom instructional activities such as: Audio Lectures, Articles, Internet Based Courses, Videotapes and Refinement Print-based Modules. Visit http://www.jcahpo.org/

Distance Learning
Provides a means for individuals to expand their knowledge base while pursuing other educational coursework, on-the-job training, or work. Educational materials and courses provide a means for a pre-determined curricula and pathway designed to teach specific skills at a reasonable cost.

Accredited by JCAHPO - Program enables students to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to function as an ophthalmic assistant, providing quality care under the supervision of a registered eye care practitioner.

Students study the theory and skills essential to practice. Included are: anatomy and physiology of the eye, pathology of the eye, visual fields, diagnostic techniques, optics and history taking. All candidates must be employed by an ophthalmologist.

On-The-Job training
Most significant to individuals seeking alternatives for training other than formal academic programs and offers flexibility to individuals who have financial obligations and need to begin working immediately. Physicians extend opportunities to train staff increasing the potential for better long-term retention. The individual is supervised during the term of the training by medical professionals in the physician's office. As satisfactory progress in both On-The-Job Training and related self-study is achieved, staff is advanced in accordance with the employers’ wage schedule.

View handout of the archived web conference On-the-Job Training (OJT) Strategies for Your New Ophthalmic Assistant [PDF 1.55 MB]

TOP

Techniques Electronic Newsletter

Techniques features articles written to help member administrators and physicians enhance the capacity of their ophthalmic technical personnel and support the practice’s training and retention activities. The focus of this newsletter is to enhance the capacity of practices to provide on-the-job training for technicians, and to increase the pool of qualified technician in the marketplace.

View Techniques Archive>>

Additional Articles:

Finding, Hiring and Keeping Great Technicians [PDF 108K]

TOP

CODEquest Coding College

Take advantage of convenient seminars sponsored with your state or specialty society to get up-to-date, state- and specialty-specific coding information. JCAHPO Category A CEUs Offered.

TOP

Tool Kit Index:

I.	NEW WAYS TO THINK ABOUT RECRUITMENT
II.	JOB APPLICANT SOURCES & HOW TO FIND THEM
III.	RECRUITMENT TOOLS
IV.	Current Page: OPHTHALMIC EDUCATIONAL TRAINING RESOURCES
	TOOL KIT HOME