Originally Posted by
rbaker
Graduate said:
“Opticianry is an academic profession,oph.tech is not,it is similar to office assistant but at different levels e.g.COA,COT,COMT.”
I must disagree with this statement. Since less than one fifth of one percent of those practicing or claiming to be “opticians” have completed anything like a formal degree granting education it’s quite ludicrous to claim “professional” status, unless its in your own mind.
In order to be a COA, COT or COMT you must be certified by the Joint Commission for Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO.) A visit to their web site at www. jcahpo.org give you all of the info you need to understand the various levels of practice. Certified ophthalmic medical technologists (COMTS) have become widely used in the ophthalmic medical practice and, therefore, persons with this certification are in great demand. There are approximately twenty thousand board certified ophthalmologists in the United States, while the Joint Commission for Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO) lists the number of active COMTs in the United States as approximately seven hundred.
Emory University’s entrance requirements to their COMT program are fairly typical:
Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree earned at a satisfactory level of achievement from an accredited institution (or, for foreign students, completion of equivalent study). A major in science with a background in biology or physics is preferred. Non science major applicants will be considered if they have demonstrated an aptitude in the required courses. The following courses are strongly suggested of all applicants: biology, six semester hours; physics, six semester hours; chemistry, three semester hours; statistics, three semester hours; and general psychology, three semester hours. In addition, these courses are recommended and preferred within three years of matriculation: optics, three semester hours; anatomy, three semester hours with lab; physiology, three semester hours with lab.
Now, admittedly, you may encounter some individuals working in ophthalmology practices who call themselves COA, COT or COMTs but do not have proper credentials. Hmmm . . . in that sense its sort of like opticianry, ain’t it.
Bookmarks