Optometry?

[HarryChiling]

Does an optometry degree from the UK allow a doctor to practice in the USA or qualify him/her to sit for the national and state exams?

[Chris Ryser]

Does an optometry degree from the UK allow a doctor to practice in the USA or qualify him/her to sit for the national and state exams?

I can not answer for the USA.......................but I can answer for Cadiadian rules.

Neither optometrists nor opticians, highly qualified with diplomas, coming from Europe cab not just sit for the exam. Their degrees are just not accepted and they have to redo the full courses first.

[HarryChiling]

Thanks Chris for posting. I am still curious as to if it is accepted in the USA?

[drk]

I'm not sure they have optometrists in the UK. I believe they have opthalmologists, opticians, and ophthalmic opticians (which would be the best approximation of an OD in the U.S., I believe).

[wmcdonald]

....is how the Brits deal with that. The diploma reads Ophthalmic Optician (Optometrist). OOs are well-trained and educated in 3-4 year courses. That seems strange here in the US, where most professional doctoral programs require a degree for entry, but that is not the case in England. OOs have to have suitable high school work to qualify them for the course in Ophthalmic Optics. The English OO cannot come to the US without completing another degree at a US university at the doctoral level. I know of several who went back and completed PhDs and were allowed to sit for their respective boards. The process is the same for physicians in England. Once a physician graduates from medical school in England with a Bachelor's Degree in Medicine, they are called doctor. If they complete the MD, they then are called "Mister". Strange, but true...........

[EyeManFla]

It won't get you a practice in Florida...but then, neither will a license from anywhere in the US either!