Optician Certifications

[Cindy Hamlin]

I need a bit of help for a project I am working on and was hoping you could help.

Here in the States we have many different optical certifications:

ABO-American Board of Opticianry
ABOM-american Board of Opticianry Master
NCLE, an Associates Degree, HFCLSA, etc....

I was wondering what certifications other countries have. Can you tell me the name and what they mean (if they are letters like ours). Please do not include optician's licensing, although important, it does not fit into my project.

I thank each of you in advance!

~Cindy

[David Wilson]

Cindy,
In Australia we have a certificate in optical dispensing. It is a two and a half year course and qualifies people for licensing in Australian states where there is licensing and in New Zealand. It does not confer any letters after the person's name. However, the Australian course is also delivered in New Zealand (by external studies and practical blocks) and New Zealanders can use the letters FADONZ (Fellow of the Association of Dispensing Opticians of New Zealand), assuming that they join the association and are financial. Our course qualifies them for fellowship in their association.
I am in charge of the external studies course offered across Australia and New Zealand that I am speaking about, through the Open Training and Education Network - Distance Education (OTEN-DE), a government technical institute).
I hope that this helps.

I am sure that John would prefer to answer for the Brits, but if he is away I can help you there as well.

Regards
David Wilson

[John R]

Like Australia we have a Dispensing certificate which is run by ABDO I think it lasts 3 years here, Maria will be able to confirm that.
ABDO stands for Association of British Dispensing Opticians.

[David Wilson]

Pleasure, John.
Cindy,
The British qualification also confers on them the right to the letters FBDO (Fellow of the Association of British Dispensing Opticians). The don't use the A in the letters. It use to be FADO, when it was the Association of Dispensing Opticians. Perhaps Maria can fill you in on their FBDO(CL) and their refraction course, which I think is referred to as "delegated functions".
Regards
David Wilson

[Cindy Hamlin]

So in all of your countries all you have to do it get licensed and along comes the certifications? There is no additional testing that can be done or additional advancement other than experience? Or is that what Maria is going to tell me? Are you required to take continuing education to keep your licenses current?

I appreciate you help thus far.

~Cindy

[mullo]

Cindy, In Canada we have different Licencing in different Provinces. Each province has their own board and provincial legislation. There are different associations within the province also which help with continuing education and the integrity of the industry in that province. Examples; British Columbia has Dispensing and Contact Lens Certifications from the Board called the College of Opticians of B.C., the association is called D.O.A.B.C. You have to attend one seminar a year held by the Board to be covered for continuing ed. While in Ontario, there is one licence (they are attemting to change this) for both Dispensing and Contact Lens Fitting, the Board is called The College of Opticians of Ontario, the association called the O.O.A and continuing education is done through vendors, the Board and the O.O.A. Last but not least (as well as all other provinces and their own setup) there is an Association called the O.A.C. or Opticians Association of Canada. They are trying (and getting there) to have one National Licence and continuing ed for all provinces. They have already achieved reciprocity in most provinces so you can transfer licencing throughout most Canadian provinces. Hope this long winded speal helps.....Mullo

[John R]

Originally posted by cah2020
So in all of your countries all you have to do it get licensed and along comes the certifications?

Well after you have passed the exams.

There is no additional testing that can be done or additional advancement other than experience? Or is that what Maria is going to tell me?

I guess the next step for a dispensing optician in the UK is to become a Optician. Maria please respond....

Are you required to take continuing education to keep your licenses current?

You can carry on earning cet points here, but wether this is a requirement or not, i do not know. (sorry)

[Maria]

I appear to be the font of knowledge! (and just to let you know how inappropriate that is, I spelt knowledge wrong initially :))

As the others said, the first qualification is the ABDO one. You either study this on block release (spending 4 weeks a year for three years at the ABDO college, the rest of time in practice, doing assignments all year), day release (going to college one day a week, working in practice the rest of the week), or full time for two years at college and then a year working as a pre-reg. So it takes three years which ever way you do it, and you get the letters FBDO after your name on completion.

You then have four further study options.

FBDO CL is the contact lens course. This takes just less than a year, done one evening a week at college, with fitting experience under a supervisor at work. You generally then go on to work exclusively as a contact lens fitter. This tends to be the popular choice. The money is also considerably better then that of a regular DO. You can also be a FBDO (Hons) CL

FBDO (Hons) LVA is the low vision aids course. Not so popular, and I don't know a great deal about it. It takes a year. People tend to work in hospitals after that one.

FBDO (Hons) DGO is the Geometric Optics of Ophthalmic Lenses honours course. Very Darryl Meister. I don't know anyone who's done this one, as even the course outline looks hard. I imagine that after you've done this, you work for Sola. I'm not sure what the D stands for, but it's probably diploma.

If you got really, really good marks in your original ABDO exam, you can join the second year of the optometry degree course. You would then do the second and third year of that, then a year of pre-reg work, ending with a practical exam. The letters after your name then are BSc MCOptom, which is Bachelor of Science, Member of the College of Optometrists. But they have to be really good marks!

As far as I know, that's it. Hope it was some help.

[John R]

Heres a link to one of the collages doing an Optical course
Bradford Collage and yes its in Yorkshire.

[Cindy Hamlin]

All of that edjumacation has certainly paid off for you! :0)

Thanks also to MULLO!


I know there are more countries represented on the board than UK, Australia and Canada. Come on help a girl out!


~Cindy

[David Wilson]

I know there are more countries represented on the board than UK, Australia and Canada. Come on help a girl out!


~Cindy [/B][/QUOTE]
Cindy,
Don't forget New Zealand. You have that infor too (in my original post).

Regards
David

[Cindy Hamlin]

Sorry, David! I was looking at the countries in under your name not in the post! I missed the New Zealand in your post.

Sorry!

~Cindy

[Clive Noble]

Hi Cindy,

Sorry to have taken so long in answering on this thread, I've just returned from a trip abroad.

Opticians certification in Israel... wow ...

I really don't know how to answer this.
Yes, I believe there are a couple of schools teaching 'opticianary'

I know that one of them was not recognised by the Ministry of Health and the students just paid a lot of money to learn a few facts about optics.
I've had some of the 'graduates' from this place come to me for a job, they just about know which end of the screwdriver to hold so when they push down, it doesn't go through their hand!

From what I've seen, the other school is better.
'Opticians' come out knowing whether to use a screwdriver or an optical hammer to replace a screw that's fallen out!

I'm also not too certain if there is any real law regarding who can practise as as optician.
I thought there was, but I see many examples of optical assistants with no formal training, (just many years experience on the job,) who have opened their own practices.

Some are just dispensing joints (bring a Doc's Rx and I'll make your specs in 30 mins)
Others take on an Optometrist which gives them more credibility.

Optometry is a different story, there is a very fine school in Jerusalem that's started to turn out excellent optometrists, but unfortunately, it seems that there are too many optos for too few jobs! We're only a small country.

Sorry I can't be of more help, and good luck with the project.

Clive

[Optom]

Hello,

Let me put some more on this tread.
In many African countries optical profession is not regulated,I know of South Africa,Tanzania,Zimbabwe and Nigeria where registeration exist.
I can tell you of Tanzania confidently,It is regulated by Opticians Act of 1963 which is based on British GOC rules model.
A graduate from school which is recognised and listed by Internationl Optometric & Optical league(now World Council of Optometry)is accepted for registration to practise in Tanzania.
There is also a school of optometry in Moshi,a town on foot of Mount Kilimanjaro which is training optometric students for 3 years diploma program,based on European standard.

I hope this little information adds to your knowledge.

Regards,

S Kapasi