Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (Per Diem Olympia)

Provide technical and patient care support either in a clinic or on the phone as a member of the Eye Care team. In clinic perform measurement and evaluation tests and perform specified procedures. On phone acts as a triage point for urgent, emergent and general Eye Care needs. May support fitting of contact lenses and provide patient instruction.

• Patient Assessment: Anticipates and recognizes changes in the patients eye health status and needs for eye care.


• Clinic only - History taking: Presenting complaint/history of presenting illness, past ocular history, family history, systemic illness, past and present, medications, allergies and drug reactions.


• Phone only - Using the Eye Care triage process, provides telephone consultation to patients. Determines priorities of patient care based on essential patient needs and available resources.


• Clinical Exam (clinic only)


• Basic Testing Skills: 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, Visual field evaluation.


• Perform Patient Services Procedures: Ocular dressings and shields, Drug delivery, spectacle principles, assisting patient, minor surgery assist and instruction.


• Instrument Maintenance: Acuity projectors, ophthalmoscopes, retinoscopes, lensometers, perimeters, tangent screen, phoropters, slit lamps, ultrasound, keratometers, lenses, tonometers, muscle light, special instruments, surgical instruments.


• Patient Care: Encourages patient compliance with established therapeutic and medical treatment. Promotes patient self-care responsibility for meeting their own eye health needs. Adheres to Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington documentation standards. Provides a safe environment for each patient and adheres to Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington safety standards.


• Clinic - Basic principles, fitting procedures, patient instruction, trouble-shooting problems, verification of lenses, cash handling, retail opinions for contact lenses .


• Appointing:


• Clinic - May check-in or make follow up appointments.


• Phone - Provides appropriate schedule guidance through use of technical skill and judgement along with established protocols.

Qualifications:

• N/A

• High School Diploma OR General Education Development (GED) required.

• Registered Medical Assistant (Washington) within 2 months of hire
  

• Ophthalmic Assistant Certificate required at hire from The Joint Commission on Allied Health Personel in Opthomology
  

• Basic Life Support required at hire
  

• Customer service skills.
• Computer experience in a MS Windows environment; Keyboarding skills.
• General medical knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, anatomy, physiology, systemic diseases, ocular diseases, ocular emergencies, and metric conversion fundamentals of microbial control.

• Experience working with contact lens patients and products.
• Experience working in an ophthalmology or optometry practice.
• Graduate of an accredited medical assistant, ophthalmic assistant or allied health professional program.