How Does an Optometrist Spend a Workday?
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What Is an Optometrist?
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An optometrist is an eye doctor who has a Bachelor of Science degree and also a doctorate in optometry that takes four years to earn. Optometrists spend the third year of their training interning in eight-week rotations to get hands-on experience with all aspects of patient care. Before they become licensed to practice optometry in a particular state, they must pass a series of board examinations. Optometrists care for all aspects of vision, except surgery.
Routine Vision Care
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Whether or not an optometrist operates a private practice, all optometrists spend a large portion of each day providing vision care for patients. They discuss patients' concerns about their eyesight before conducting routine eye examinations. If a patient has a need for corrective lenses, optometrist measures how strong the prescription for glasses needs to be. She determines whether the patient needs bifocals and advises the patient about his choices for eye wear. An optometrist also evaluates a patient's ocular health by looking into the eye itself, as well as the retina. She performs pressure tests on the eye to rule out glaucoma and may use drops or other techniques to immobilize the eye to look more closely. Many optometry practices include dispensaries where patients can purchase glasses and contact lenses. Each patient's records are kept in confidential files that must be updated with every visit. Routine eye examinations can take between 30 to 45 minutes each, so an optometrist can see no more than about 15 patients in an 8-hour work day.
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Emergency Vision Care
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Optometrists make time available to see patients when they have an emergency. They can remove foreign objects from eyes and prescribe medication for infections and other ocular conditions. They will recognize when a patient's eye care needs must be referred to a hospital or other specialist and can expedite the time it takes for the patient to be seen.
Vision Therapy Providers
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Optometrists who specialize in the development of vision may include vision therapy in their optometry practice. These behavioral optometrists provide a battery of standardized tests to evaluate a patient's eye movements, eye teaming skills, visual spatial skills, visual perception and visual motor integration. When indicated, the patients are enrolled in a program of vision therapy that is often facilitated by trained therapists who see the patient one-on-one over a period of several weeks.
Infant Vision Screening
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Many optometrists participate in a grant-funded program that provides free eye examinations for infants. This important service screens for some very serious ocular conditions such as amblyopia, strabismus and cancer. If an infant needs corrective lenses, the Infant See program may discover this early. These appointments take about 45 minutes each, so many optometrists limit the Infant See examinations to one per day.
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