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Potential professional school students have a tough choices to make regarding a career path into a doctorate level health care profession. Most people throughout their lives have visited the "eye doctor" for routine care as well as more specialized services. At times there is confusion between these professions that all begin with the letter "O". Many undergraduate students looking to pursue a career in eye health care are unaware of the differences between optometrists, ophthalmologists, and opticians. So this is an objective guide using several sources to help potential students determine which pathway they would like to pursue to become an "eye doctor".
Optometrists (Doctors of Optometry, Optometric Physicians)
Definition: Optometrists (Doctors of Optometry, O.D.'s) are the primary health care professional for the eye. Optometrists are primary eye doctors who diagnose and treat diseases and disorders of the visual system with medications, glasses, contact lenses, visual aids, visual therapy, rehabilitative services, and minor surgical procedures. Optometrists provide more than 70% of the primary eye care services in the United States (source: American Optometric Association, www.aoa.org ). People seeking routine eye care should consult an optometrist first for primary eye care services. If the patient has an eye-related issue or disease that the optometrist cannot treat through medical means (topical ocular or oral medications), outside the realm of primary eye care, he or she will refer the patient to an ophthalmologist for more specialized medical eye care and/or eye surgery.
Official AOA definition of an Optometrist
http://www.aoa.org/x5878.xml
Education: To become an optometrist, one must complete the Doctor of Optometry Degree (O.D.) which is a very rigorous 4-year health professional doctorate degree. Most optometry students have completed a 4 year bachelors degree with an accompanying "pre-medicine" curriculum and a are a competitive group of students. Applicants must take and perform well on the Optometry Admissions Test (OAT). The average matriculation GPA for successfully admitted optometry school applicants in 2007 was 3.44 (source: www.opted.org ). Optometry School is a very intense 4 year program covering medical sciences, optometric sciences, optics, and doctorate-level clinical training. Here is a sample curriculum from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida:
http://optometry.nova.edu/admissions/study.html
Optometrists must pass 3 national board exams (NBEO's-National Board of Optometric Examiners) and a state licensing exam in the state they are practicing in. Continuing education is also required to maintain an optometric license.
Some optometrists complete a 1-year residency in a specialty area such as ocular disease, contact lenses/cornea. pediatrics, vision therapy, co-management of ocular surgery, etc.. This is a growing trend.
Ophthalmologists (Eye Physicians and Surgeons)
Definition: Ophthalmologists are the eye care specialists and eye surgeons providing primary and secondary, medical/surgical eye care. This eye doctor has completed four years of college, four years of medical school and four years of residency and internships relating to the diagnosis and treatment, including surgery, of diseases of the eye. Ophthalmologists may also perform intricate surgical procedures including cataracts removal and lens implant, corneal transplant, glaucoma surgery and various laser procedures. Ophthalmologists are the Surgeons of the Eye and the Specialists of the eye providing specialized eye health care. If you are in need of more specialized treatment of eye diseases or ophthalmic surgery, your optometrist will refer you to an ophthalmologist and co-manage your care throughout the process. Optometrists and Ophthalmologists are eye doctors that collaborate to provide patients with the best possible eye health and vision care.
Opticians
Definition: Opticians are not eye doctors rather they are professionals that make, verify and deliver lenses, frames and other specially fabricated optical devices and/or contact lenses upon prescription (from an optometrist or ophthalmologist) to the intended wearer. The opticians' functions include prescription analysis and interpretation; determination of the lens forms best suited to the wearers needs; the preparation and delivery of work orders for the grinding of lenses and the fabrication of eye wear, the verification of the finished ophthalmic products; and the adjustment, replacement, repair and reproduction of previously prepared ophthalmic lenses, frames and other specially fabricated ophthalmic devices. Certification by the American Board of Opticianry or the National Contact Lens Examiners is optional. Some states have regulatory agencies that license opticians.
Optometrists (Doctors of Optometry, Optometric Physicians)
Definition: Optometrists (Doctors of Optometry, O.D.'s) are the primary health care professional for the eye. Optometrists are primary eye doctors who diagnose and treat diseases and disorders of the visual system with medications, glasses, contact lenses, visual aids, visual therapy, rehabilitative services, and minor surgical procedures. Optometrists provide more than 70% of the primary eye care services in the United States (source: American Optometric Association, www.aoa.org ). People seeking routine eye care should consult an optometrist first for primary eye care services. If the patient has an eye-related issue or disease that the optometrist cannot treat through medical means (topical ocular or oral medications), outside the realm of primary eye care, he or she will refer the patient to an ophthalmologist for more specialized medical eye care and/or eye surgery.
Official AOA definition of an Optometrist
http://www.aoa.org/x5878.xml
Education: To become an optometrist, one must complete the Doctor of Optometry Degree (O.D.) which is a very rigorous 4-year health professional doctorate degree. Most optometry students have completed a 4 year bachelors degree with an accompanying "pre-medicine" curriculum and a are a competitive group of students. Applicants must take and perform well on the Optometry Admissions Test (OAT). The average matriculation GPA for successfully admitted optometry school applicants in 2007 was 3.44 (source: www.opted.org ). Optometry School is a very intense 4 year program covering medical sciences, optometric sciences, optics, and doctorate-level clinical training. Here is a sample curriculum from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida:
http://optometry.nova.edu/admissions/study.html
Optometrists must pass 3 national board exams (NBEO's-National Board of Optometric Examiners) and a state licensing exam in the state they are practicing in. Continuing education is also required to maintain an optometric license.
Some optometrists complete a 1-year residency in a specialty area such as ocular disease, contact lenses/cornea. pediatrics, vision therapy, co-management of ocular surgery, etc.. This is a growing trend.
Ophthalmologists (Eye Physicians and Surgeons)
Definition: Ophthalmologists are the eye care specialists and eye surgeons providing primary and secondary, medical/surgical eye care. This eye doctor has completed four years of college, four years of medical school and four years of residency and internships relating to the diagnosis and treatment, including surgery, of diseases of the eye. Ophthalmologists may also perform intricate surgical procedures including cataracts removal and lens implant, corneal transplant, glaucoma surgery and various laser procedures. Ophthalmologists are the Surgeons of the Eye and the Specialists of the eye providing specialized eye health care. If you are in need of more specialized treatment of eye diseases or ophthalmic surgery, your optometrist will refer you to an ophthalmologist and co-manage your care throughout the process. Optometrists and Ophthalmologists are eye doctors that collaborate to provide patients with the best possible eye health and vision care.
Opticians
Definition: Opticians are not eye doctors rather they are professionals that make, verify and deliver lenses, frames and other specially fabricated optical devices and/or contact lenses upon prescription (from an optometrist or ophthalmologist) to the intended wearer. The opticians' functions include prescription analysis and interpretation; determination of the lens forms best suited to the wearers needs; the preparation and delivery of work orders for the grinding of lenses and the fabrication of eye wear, the verification of the finished ophthalmic products; and the adjustment, replacement, repair and reproduction of previously prepared ophthalmic lenses, frames and other specially fabricated ophthalmic devices. Certification by the American Board of Opticianry or the National Contact Lens Examiners is optional. Some states have regulatory agencies that license opticians.
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I've heard of retinoscopy wars, but this is the funniest point in this thread.
