Have you ever looked at the size of a medical dictionary?  It’s huge!  The ophthalmic terms alone can fill a small volume.  How is anyone ever supposed to learn what all of those words mean? Well it’s simpler than you may think; break them down into parts!  Many medical terms, especially the long, complicated, multi-syllabic terms, are made up of simple prefixes, suffixes and roots.  While the resulting word may seem complex, the parts are much easier to learn.  This intermediate level series of  this program is designed to help you as you continue your education as a paraoptometric. Intermediate Terminology is the first unit in this series and provides a foundation to the other units by familiarizing you with the pieces and parts of ophthalmic terminology.  

The eye is one of the most complex organs in the body with more than 2 million working parts.   As a paraoptometric, it’s important to know and understand the ocular anatomy and how these unique parts interact together to provide the gift of vision.  This unit, part of the intermediate level of the AOA’s Online Paraoptometric Training-Navigator program, will provide an overview of the anatomical structures and functionality of the orbit, extraocular muscles and external structures of the eye.

The eye is a small organ that provides big access to the world through sight!  Every part of the eyeball provides a piece to the vision puzzle so a paraoptometric needs to understand what these uniquely vital ocular structures are and how they work.  Welcome to this anatomy unit, part of the intermediate level of the AOA’s Online Paraoptometric Training-Navigator program.  In this unit, we will provide an overview of the anatomical structures and functionality of the anterior segment, posterior segment and visual pathway of the eye. 

A number of patients that come in to an optometrist’s office have healthy eyes and a vision exam is all they need.  However, there are some patients who present to an optometrist’s office with eye conditions that can negatively affect their vision, their ocular comfort or both.  Welcome to the intermediate level of the AOA’s Online Paraoptometric Training-Navigator program.  In this unit, we will discuss some of the most common ocular conditions that may be encountered in an optometrist’s office.

There are a number of ocular conditions that negatively affect vision and the health of the eye.  But there are also systemic conditions that can significantly impact the eye and how effectively and efficiently it provides vision.  Among those are diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid conditions and autoimmune disorders.  Those are some the systemic conditions we’ll cover in this intermediate level unit of the AOA’s Online Paraoptometric Training-Navigator program.  

Welcome to Ophthalmic Surgery, an intermediate level unit of the AOA’s Online Paraoptometric Training-Navigator program.  There are a number of surgical procedures that can positively impact a patient’s vision or improve their visual function.  While these procedures are typically not performed in an optometric office, a paraoptometric assistant will often be faced with patients who need or desire these procedures so it is important to have a basic understanding of these surgeries and their indications.  

Why do most patients come to an optometrist’s office?  An eye examination! While most patients associate a visit to the optometrist with a refraction, there are important ocular health issues that are also evaluated during an eye exam.  Welcome to Eye Examinations Part One an intermediate level unit of the AOA’s Online Paraoptometric Training-Navigator program. In this unit we’ll work through the steps that are taken when assessing visual acuity.  We’ll work through objective and subjective vision testing, keratometry, ophthalmoscopy and binocular vision testing. 

In Eye Examinations Part One, we covered the various procedures and equipment used in an optometric office to determine a patient’s refractive error.  In this second part of the Eye Examinations unit, we’ll go through the tests and instrumentation used to evaluate the patient’s ocular health.  We’ll look at tonometry, visual fields, biomicroscopy, fundus photography, tomography, and corneal topography.  

Pharmacology is the science of drugs and that is what we’re covering in this unit of the intermediate level two of the AOA’s Paraoptometric Skill Builder program.  Drugs are used in an optometrist’s office to treat ocular conditions as well as aid in the diagnostic procedures performed there.  In this unit, we’ll cover the modes of drug delivery in eye care and describe the types and usage of ophthalmic drugs. 

When a patient comes in for an eye exam, they want to know all about their correction.  What can they see?  Why can’t they see?  And how can they see better?  This multiple unit program is designed to help you expand your education as a paraoptometric.  In this unit, we’ll discuss the basic behavior of light, define the various refractive errors and how they are corrected with ophthalmic lenses. 

After an eye exam, the patient leaves the office clutching a very important piece of paper; their prescription.  The prescription is what communicates the findings of the patient’s refractive exam to the individual creating the optical vehicle for vision and provides the basis for both spectacles and contact lenses.This unit will work through the components of an ophthalmic prescription including the sphere, cylinder, axis and add power.  It will also discuss the role of prism in correcting eye conditions.  This multiple unit program is designed to help you expand your education as a paraoptometric.

Ordering new lenses and frames is an important part of a visit to the optometrist’s office and helping patients make good choices is part of the professional dispensing services a paraoptometric provides.  This multiple unit program is designed to help you expand your education as a paraoptometric.  In this unit we’ll expand on factors that influence lens options and frame selection. 

Even if the optometric office you work in doesn’t fit and dispense eyeglasses and contact lenses, the majority of patients who come through the doors will be wearing one, the other or even both to correct their refractive error.  This is why it is important that the paraoptometric in the practice has a good understanding of both of these modalities.  This unit will focus on the role of contact lenses in the practice.  We’ll take a look at some of the unique instrumentation used in contact lens fitting and discuss the ordering and dispensing of contact lenses and help you better understand two pieces of legislation that impact the contact lens practice.