1 year Opticianry program anywhere??

[Nada]

I was wondering if there is a 1 year Opticianry program offerered anywhere in the US or Canada??

[mlm]

I think the BC College of Optics offers 6 month and 1 year programs. You should also look at the distance education course offered through NAIT. It is 2 years (I think, but Schwing can clarify that for you, or look at the NAIT website), but the advantage is that you work while you're studying. Hands-on is really the best way to learn, in my opinion anyway.

[mullo]

http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...8181#post38181

Check out this post or the website at bccollegeofoptics.ca

[Shwing]

Ehllo (Canadian for Hello)

:}

NAIT does not offer a fast track program

The didactic is a two year course.

Please contact the program assistant, Monique Mackay:

optical@nait.ca

[eyeprofessor]

Check out this short term program www.apcschool.edu/career_programs/ot.html

[Nada]

Thanks for the info. I think Im going to look into the college in BC which only takes 6 months but it sounds too good to be true.

[890890]

Thanks for the info. I think Im going to look into the college in BC which only takes 6 months but it sounds too good to be true.

So how's going on with the college in BC ?

[Ed_Optician]

I think Intervoro Institute in NYC can have you out in 16 months assuming no remedial coursework. They run 3 semesters a year including a full summer session 212-399-0091 or 93

Ed

[optikat]

Ehllo (Canadian for Hello)

:}

NAIT does not offer a fast track program

The didactic is a two year course.

Please contact the program assistant, Monique Mackay:

optical@nait.ca

This is a frustrating program. Unfortunately it is the only one we can use to upgrade our skills in our field while continuing to work. The Eyeglass program is 2 years then Contact Lens program is another 2 years. Once you pass the eyeglass portion you have to take the Nacor exam (a practical exam) that provides you with your license (once you pass) to practice as a legally qualified Optician. Then you can take the contact lens program and take the Nacor exam for contact lenses which will provide you with a dual license.

It is a better course than the shorter versions as we have a greater understanding both practically and theoretically. The courses that are fasttracked here don't provide you with the practical experience you need to qualify as an Optician and consequently, the failure rate at the Nacor level is quite high. If you do pass the Nacor exam there are many concerns that arise that are not taught in the schools due to time constraints. I don't feel this is the way to go. It's better to know your field adequately qualified than to get through testing and figure it out on your own. Once again...this is only my opinion.

I am currently taking the NAIT Advance Practice One for Contact lenses and I am so frustrated with it. I have passed the theory part of it with an 89% average! The first year is based on physiology, pathology and anatomy of the eye. Yet somehow, in my practical, I am to conduct a follow up exam without having inserted a contact lens!! I am to use SOAP/Chief complaint protocol to determine (for example) various keratitis patients by having a conversation! Nothing in this first year has taught me anything on contact lenses or K-readings. I can tell you what the pathologies are and what to look for but we legally cannot diagnose. I understand the background and it's importance but to base a practical on theory makes absolutely no sense. My preceptor and I are baffled at the backwards instruction on this task as this should be done after I & R, K-reading, and slit lamp instruction. The kicker is I can't go on to year two without this part of the practicum done.

It's nice to be able to work and learn at the same time as I have no other alternative. But my contact is an administrator, who contacts NAIT and then gets back to me. I am still waiting on assistance regarding the above concern from an email sent a month ago and again a week ago. So basically you are on your own with this course. Sounds like you guys Stateside have it going on better than we do up here.

Anyway...it's my first post. I mean no offence in my *rant* and if anyone can offer any assistance, I'M ALL EARS!!!

[wmcdonald]

......requires that you be employed in your area of study. The program provides the didactic component only, and your preceptor should be providing the clinical training in the office/clinic. They also have a clinical session twice yearly that brings you in to review the practical skills you should be learning in the field. Call NAIT and ask for Ian MacIvor and he will gladly assist you. I am sure he will chime in here someplace. Do not worry, it can be fixed so all clearly understand.

[Dave Nelson]

Ian can certainly give you better advice than I, but, as Warren has indicated, there are practicum requirments for the program. Slit lamp biomicroscopy is an essential and important skill to learn, and it doesn't involve "diagnosing," or "treating." Rather, we like to call it "recognize and manage." You need to be able to recognize contact lens related complications and be able to manage them effectively, and you do need someone on hand to show you these skills.

[optikat]

Oh I fully agree with you. I just feel that slit lamp requirements, for example, would be ahead of a follow up exam with patients exhibiting a specific pathology. It just seems like a backwards way of training. Learning is what this field is all about. You never stop learning and it's one of the reasons why I selected this field as a career. But it shouldn't be this frustrating.

Either way, I WILL have a dual license :cheers: !!

[Karlen McLean]

...the National Federation of Opticianry Schools at www.nfos.com.

[Graduate]

...the National Federation of Opticianry Schools at www.nfos.com.

it is www.nfos.org

[treetopper0]

There is a wonderful 4 month opticianary program in Union City, CA. It has a wonderful owner and a 30 year optician/ mathmatical genius, who has many different angles to make you learn. A little dumbfounding at first, but they make SURE you get it....I graduate in 2 days!!!!
Bay Area Optical School is the name..EXCELLENT!

[mochagelato]

Thanks for that info. I didn't know there was a 4 month program in Opticianry in Union City. However, I am nearing the end of the 2 yr on line program with Hillsborough Community College. I will be graduating in June of this yr. with an A.A.S. in Opticianry. I'm hoping this degree will lead to a teaching career in opticianry.

[tmorse]

There is a wonderful 4 month opticianary program in Union City, CA. It has a wonderful owner and a 30 year optician/ mathmatical genius, who has many different angles to make you learn. A little dumbfounding at first, but they make SURE you get it....I graduate in 2 days!!!!
Bay Area Optical School is the name..EXCELLENT!

Nice to see all the NAYSAYERS proven wrong when they suggest that you cannot become optically trained in a few months. Sure a 2-year degree can help make you a well-rounded person, but you can become optically qualified with an intensive short-term program.:cheers:

[mochagelato]

Yes, you can become a qualified trained optician by participating in a short term program. I used to work with someone who took advantage of that opportunity. She was very professional and knowledgeable. Myself, I started off as a lab technician in the surfacing and finishing lab with no experience. I was trained on the job. I eventually became a frame stylist, moving my way up to certified and licensed optician just from what I learned on the job and self study. Customers always ask if I went to school to learn opticianry. I used to say yes, I have a degree in biology, but that confused them more because that degree isn't specific to opticianry. So then I started saying no, I was trained on the job, and for some reason, that info leads to a long explanation about how it's possible to become an optician without formal education. Now, I can say yes, I went to a 2 yr Opticianry school. I think Customers tend to be more comfortable knowing they are being serviced by someone with formal education, whether it be a short or long program.

[lensgrinder]

Nice to see all the NAYSAYERS proven wrong when they suggest that you cannot become optically trained in a few months. Sure a 2-year degree can help make you a well-rounded person, but you can become optically qualified with an intensive short-term program.

I still do not think you can become optically qualified in just a few months, not properely anyway. To earn an AAS degree you need to go five semesters, each semester is sixteen weeks. In that sixteen weeks I still do not think that they get enough of what they need. I am not familiar with the program in Union City, CA, but there is so much information that I they are missing.