What does a certified ophthalmic assistant do?
Certified ophthalmic assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real certified ophthalmic assistant resumes:
- Perform documentation and manage troubleshooting activities with the Compulink EHR software.
- Check angles, Intraocular pressure by application and tonopen.
- Screen patients in a general ophthalmology and optometry practice.
- Perform contrast sensitivity, corneal topography, pachymetry, and Fundus photography.
- Specialize in patient education to inform patients of their diagnosis, conditions and procedures and/or surgical interventions need.
- Check IOP using an applanator or tonopen.
- Recognize by physicians for outstanding demeanor and keen sense of compassion.
- Assist in setting up and running the retina portion of the practice.
- Go over all allergies, give pt all paperwork need, and will prescribe their medications to a pharmacy.
- Prep surgical room, sterilization of instruments, load IOL cartridges, pass surgical instrumentation, and prepare phaco machine.
- Assist registration when need in telephone triage and scheduling appointments
- Perform assistance for several ophthalmic specialties including retina and oculoplastics.
- Well-Inform in electronic health record, insurance and assisting patients who require additional financial assistance.
- Design a new phone triage protocol to assist clinical coordinators with patient to provider communications.
- Provide strong contributions as key member of busy ophthalmology practice design to identify and evaluate problems.
Certified ophthalmic assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Certified Ophthalmic Assistants are proficient in Patients, Patient Care, and Ophthalmology. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Detail oriented, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Certified Ophthalmic Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 18%
Managed Patient Assistant Program for glaucoma patients who could not otherwise afford the treatment expense of medically necessary medications.
- Patient Care, 8%
Assisted Physician in all aspects of patient care, including office surgery, refracting, gathering medical history and patient screening
- Ophthalmology, 6%
Provided strong contributions as key member of busy ophthalmology practice designed to identify and evaluate problems.
- COA, 5%
Maintain COA certification with continuing education courses.
- Triage, 4%
Designed a new phone triage protocol to assist clinical coordinators with patient to provider communications.
- Visual Acuity, 4%
Performed patient work up including patient history, visual acuity, IOP and documenting them accurately via EMR.
Common skills that a certified ophthalmic assistant uses to do their job include "patients," "patient care," and "ophthalmology." You can find details on the most important certified ophthalmic assistant responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a certified ophthalmic assistant to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what certified ophthalmic assistants do because "medical assistants must be able to understand and follow medical charts and diagnoses." Additionally, a certified ophthalmic assistant resume shows how certified ophthalmic assistants use analytical skills: "calculate medical diagnostic test results, collect medical data. "
Detail oriented. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling certified ophthalmic assistant duties is detail oriented. The role rewards competence in this skill because "medical assistants need to be precise when taking vital signs or recording patient information." According to a certified ophthalmic assistant resume, here's how certified ophthalmic assistants can utilize detail oriented in their job responsibilities: "obtained patient histories and performed diagnostic testing with great attention to detail. "
Interpersonal skills. This is an important skill for certified ophthalmic assistants to perform their duties. For an example of how certified ophthalmic assistant responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "medical assistants need to be able to discuss patient information with other medical personnel, such as physicians." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a certified ophthalmic assistant: "lead by example with strong interpersonal skills, which provides comfortable relationships with physicians, patients, and coworkers. ".
Technical skills. For certain certified ophthalmic assistant responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "technical skills." The day-to-day duties of a certified ophthalmic assistant rely on this skill, as "medical assistants should be able to use basic clinical instruments so they can take a patient’s vital signs, such as heart rate and blood pressure." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what certified ophthalmic assistants do: "generated patient history and work-ups, technical pre-surgery cataract testing, and visual field testing. "
The three companies that hire the most certified ophthalmic assistants are:
- Cleveland Clinic17 certified ophthalmic assistants jobs
- Kelsey-Seybold Clinic14 certified ophthalmic assistants jobs
- Massachusetts Eye and Ear7 certified ophthalmic assistants jobs
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Compare different certified ophthalmic assistants
Certified ophthalmic assistant vs. Paraoptometric
An optometric technician is responsible for performing administrative and clerical tasks to assist patients with their vision problems and needs. Optometric technicians work in the laboratory, constructing glasses and lenses according to the ophthalmologist's advice. They clean and inspect vision equipment and ensure that the facility is well-maintained. An optometric technician must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns, manage information on the database, and release customers' orders.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, certified ophthalmic assistant responsibilities require skills like "patient care," "ophthalmology," "coa," and "triage." Meanwhile a typical paraoptometric has skills in areas such as "blood pressure," "oct," "dr," and "insurance claims." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Paraoptometrics tend to reach similar levels of education than certified ophthalmic assistants. In fact, paraoptometrics are 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Certified ophthalmic assistant vs. Ocular care technician
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that certified ophthalmic assistant responsibilities requires skills like "patients," "ophthalmology," "coa," and "triage." But an ocular care technician might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "medical charts," "fundus photography," "physical assessments," and "fda."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Ocular care technicians tend to reach higher levels of education than certified ophthalmic assistants. In fact, they're 8.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Certified ophthalmic assistant vs. Eye technician
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from certified ophthalmic assistant resumes include skills like "ophthalmology," "coa," "triage," and "pachymetry," whereas an eye technician is more likely to list skills in "schedule appointments," "fda," "patient customer service," and "test results. "
When it comes to education, eye technicians tend to earn similar degree levels compared to certified ophthalmic assistants. In fact, they're 0.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Certified ophthalmic assistant vs. Optometric technician
Types of certified ophthalmic assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
