What makes a prescription? If the eye were a perfect sphere then all we would need to correct vision would be a sphere lens. Though there are many people who can be corrected with a sphere lens many patients require a spherocylindrical lens because they have astigmatism. A spherocylindrical lens is made up of sphere power and cylinder power.   Optometrists and ophthalmologists think of spherocylindrical lenses differently. Ophthalmologists think of adding the sphere and the cylinder.

  Outline General History Presenting Complaint Sign vs Symptom Double Vision Injuries to the eye Past Ocular History Past Medical History Medications Social History Family History   General History A history is obtained by asking specific questions. Try to condense the patient’s story to only include pertinent facts. You need to be like a detective and search for pertinent facts.

1. You don’t repeat material Repeat, Repeat, Repeat The more times you repeat something the longer you remember it. When I went through the Exam Review packets I would go through about 20 questions at a time then grade myself. If my score was an 80% or higher I would move on if not then I would repeat that set of questions. Why? If I was missing more than 80% of a set of questions that means that I really did not understand that set.

The COA will give you basic knowledge to help you become a more competent tech. You will find that as you study you will learn things that you never heard of before. I learned why a rose bengal drop was used and the differences between soft and hard contact lenses. You will learn something new and you will become more competent because of it. The COA will give future employers more confidence in hiring you The general trend in jobs for ophthalmic assistants is going up.

I created this 10 week study schedule that requires a little less than 1 hour a day. I chose to use my lunch hour because I wanted to focus on family at home. You will need the Certified Ophthalmic Assistant Exam Review ManualThere are five columns the first column represents the chapter from the Certified Ophthalmic Assistant Exam Review Manual. The second column is that name of the chapter. There third column represents the percentage of questions on the actual COA exam.

Orbit Exophthalmos – a forward protrusion of the eyes. Occurs in graves disease. Blowout fracture– break in the bony orbital floor walls Extraocular Muscles Strabismus – when eyes are out of alignment. When the foveas of the two eyes are not focused at the same object double vision occurs. Strabismus is broken down into what kind of deviation it is (exo or eso) and if it is continually present or only present when one of the eyes is covered.

I wanted to lay out a few ways that you can become a COA. 1. 1,000 hours of work Experience + JCAT + COA Exam This is the most common way to become a COA. You have to work for an ophthalmologist for 1,000 hours (6 months full time) and pass the exam. You will also have to be sponsored by a doctor before you can set a test date.