Ординатура / Офтальмология / Английские материалы / Quick Reference Dictionary of Eyecare Terminology 4th edition_Ledford, Hoffman_2005
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A P P E N D I X 20
Manual Alphabet for Communicating With the Hearing Impaired
Reprinted with permission from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester, NY.
A P P E N D I X 21
The Braille Alphabet
Reprinted with permission from the American Printing House for the Blind, Louisville, Ky.
A P P E N D I X 22
Certification as
Paraoptometric and
Ancillary Ophthalmic
Personnel
The eyecare field is vast. It provides many opportunities for motivated persons to advance themselves. Information given here is taken from the most recent data available prior to publication; contact your certifying body for the most current information.
PARAOPTOMETRY
The American Optometric Association, Paraoptometric Section, offers three levels of certification: certified paraoptometric (CPO), certified paraoptometric assistant (CPOA), and certified paraoptometric technician (CPOT). One must qualify to take the written exam at each level, and there are several options. First, for jobtrained candidates, qualification is earned by working in the field; in addition, CPOA candidates must first earn the CPO rank, and CPOT candidates must hold current CPOA status. Alternately, candidates may qualify for the exams during their last semester in an optometric assistant or accredited technician program. Those passing the CPOT written exam must additionally pass a skills examination before the title is awarded.
Topics covered in the CPO exam are (as taken from the chapter headings of the study guide/workbook, which is sent to every registering CPO candidate) eyecare specialists and ancillary personnel, practice management, anatomy of the eye, the eye examination, refractive status, the ophthalmic prescription (referring to lenses),
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ophthalmic lenses, ophthalmic dispensing, contact lenses, common eye disorders, and terminology.
Exam criteria for the CPOA includes practice management (office procedures, patient handling, office finances, professional issues), ophthalmic optics and dispensing (prescriptions, lenses, frame selection, adjustment, and dispensing), basic procedures (basic concepts and procedures for preliminary testing, visual acuity, color vision, stereo acuity, case history, familiarity with examination instrumentation), special procedures (contact lenses, tonometry, visual fields, sphygmomanometry, first aid, low vision), refractive status of the eye and binocularity (refractive errors, refractive conditions, terminology and definitions of eye movements, binocular vision), and basic ocular anatomy and physiology (location and definition of parts of the eye, basic functions, definitions and causes of common pathological and functional disorders, basic ocular pharmacology).
The written exam for CPOT covers pretesting procedures (case history, visual acuity, vision screening and preliminary testing techniques, color vision, stereo acuity), clinical procedures (keratometry, tonometry, visual fields, sphygmomanometry, contact lenses, vision therapy, triage/first aid, low vision, special ocular procedures), ophthalmic optics and dispensing (optical principles of light, prescriptions, lenses, frame selection, adjustment), refractive status of the eye and binocularity (refractive errors, refractive conditions, eye movements, binocular vision), anatomy and physiology (general anatomy and physiology of the eye, structure, function, pathology, pharmacology), and practice management (office management, professional issues, government rules and regulations).
The CPOT practical exam utilizes five stations. Station 1 is case history. Station 2 is visual acuity, stereopsis, and color vision. Station 3 is ophthalmic dispensing (neutralization and frame PD). Station 4 is contact lenses (insert
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and remove soft and rigid lenses on a patient). Station 5 is pressure patching, drop instillation, and blood pressure measurement.
For information on the home study course and to obtain a handbook for the examinations, contact:
American Optometric Association Paraoptometric Section
243 N. Lindbergh Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63141-7881
Phone: 1-800-365-2219 or 314-991-4100 Fax: 314-991-4101
E-mail: ps@theaoa.org
The American Optometric Association has put together a self-study course that is especially recommended (but not required) for those seeking certification. Ordering information can be obtained at the address above. In addition to the home study course, there are other study materials available for those who wish to prepare for examinations. The Basic Bookshelf for Eyecare Professionals (a 24-book set published by SLACK Incorporated) was written to include all the exam content areas one needs to review for the tests. Information needed by each certification level is pointed out in the margin of the series books, although the older designations of OptA and OptT are used. Series titles Certified Ophthalmic Assistant Exam Review, Second Edition and Certified Ophthalmic Technician Exam Review, Second Edition each contain an appendix to refer CPO, CPOA, and CPOT exam-takers to questions that pertain to their exams as well.
OPHTHALMIC MEDICAL PERSONNEL
Note: JCAHPO, COA, COT, and COMT are all registered trademarks of the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology.
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JCAHPO Certifications
COA, COT, AND COMT
Those assisting in ophthalmology, generically known as ophthalmic medical personnel (OMP), can be certified at three levels: certified ophthalmic assistant (COA), certified ophthalmic technician (COT), and certified ophthalmic medical technologist (COMT). There are also subspecialty certifications in ophthalmic surgery and coding specialist. The certifying body is the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO).
Those who wish to take the computer-based examinations in ophthalmology must first qualify. One option is to enroll in a formal training program leading to the desired credential.
Most OMPs, however, are job trained. In this case, you must qualify by working in the field for a specified length of time. Your physician-sponsor must sign a form indicating that you are proficient at certain tasks. You must also hold current CPR credentials. Job-trained COT candidates must hold the COA title, and COMT applicants must already have their COT. At the COA level, one must first take and pass either the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Independent Study Course or the Canadian Home Study Course. At the COT and COMT levels, increasing amounts of approved continuing education credits are required. In addition, once the candidate has passed the written exam for the COT or COMT, a practical exam must be taken as well. At the COT level, this practical is in the form of a computer simulation. (Contact JCAHPO for up-to-date details.) Those who have certified since 1997 may also be awarded college credits from the American Council on Education for their credentials.
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The exam at the COA level includes questions covering history taking (presenting complaint/history of presenting illness, past ocular history, family history, systemic illness [past and present], medications, allergies and drug reactions, partially sighted patient), basic skills and lensometry (methods of measuring/recording acuity, color vision testing, lensometry, A-scan biometry, exophthalmometry, Amsler grid, Schirmer tests, evaluation of pupils, estimation of anterior chamber depth), patient services (ocular dressings and shields, drug delivery, spectacle principles, assisting patients, minor surgery), basic tonometry (indentation, applanation, non-contact, complications/contraindications, scleral rigidity, factors altering intraocular pressure), instrument maintenance (15 different classes of instruments), and general medical knowledge (CPR, anatomy, physiology, systemic diseases, ocular diseases, ocular emergencies, metric conversions, microbial control).
The prospective COT exam covers COA level material as well as clinical optics (optics, retinoscopy, refractometry, advanced spectacle principles, low vision aids), basic ocular motility (EOM actions, strabismus, amblyopia detection, evaluation assessment methods), visual fields (visual pathways, visual fields, methods of measuring the visual field, techniques, errors in testing, defects from disease), contact lenses (basic principles, fitting procedures, patient instruction, trouble-shooting problems, verification of lenses), intermediate tonometry (aqueous humor dynamics, glaucoma, indentation), ocular pharmacology (types, strengths, actions, and complications of over 13 drug classes), and photography (basics, fundus photography, defects/artifacts). The skills evaluation is computer simulated and covers lensometry (nonautomated, including bifocal or trifocal add), retinoscopy/refinement, detection and identification of phoria or tropia using appropriate cover tests, automated visual field testing, keratometry, and applanation tonometry.