Health Technician (Optometry)

The Optometry Health Technician is a key member of the Eye Care treatment team and is responsible for assisting the Ophthalmology and Optometry staff/resident physicians in all aspects of patient care.

Duties include but may not be limited to:

• Obtains a detailed history from each patient
• Reviews patient medical record for appropriateness of follow-up appointment
• Maintains supplies and ophthalmic pharmaceuticals needed in the exam room
• Demonstrates familiarity with routine clinic and departmental procedures and performs general clinic duties including filing answering phones scheduling of appointments and patient check-in check-out
• Performs fundus and slit lamp (external) photography
• Sets up and performs external ocular photography
• Performs visual field testing in the evaluation of patients with glaucoma neurological disorders retinal diseases and other ocular disorders
• Performs auto refraction and lensometer measurements
• Assists with reading patients spectacle prescription with the lensometer
• Completes lensometry testing (a) to measure and record distance and near vision with and without glasses or contact lenses and (b) to assess color vision.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the Required Documents section of this announcement.

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

Experience and Education.

• Experience. One year of experience as a health technician or assistant in the health care field demonstrating the applicants ability to perform the work or by demonstrating a basic understanding of work in the health care field;

• Education. Successful completion of two academic years above high school with a minimum of 12 semester hours related to health technician/assistant or health technician (optometry)/assistant or associate degree or completion of an independent study course in an optometry related technician or assistant field;

• Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. Examples are listed below:
  • Six months of experience comparable to the next lower level which demonstrates the knowledge of optometry assistant theory and practices and general understanding of the health technician/assistant duties and one year above high school with a minimum of six semester hours of health technician/assistant or health technician (optometry)/assistant related courses.
  • Successful completion of a course for health care technicians or assistants hospital corpsmen medical service specialists or hospital training in a program given by the U.S. Armed Forces the U.S. Maritime Service or the U.S. Public Health Service may be substituted on a month-for-month basis.

• Ability to provide patient education for eye health and/or vision conditions to include assisting with patient contact lens insertion removal and hygiene (cleaning and disinfection) care.
• Ability to accurately enter into a phoropter the autorefractometry or habitual refractive prescription (i.e. eyeglasses prescription) or lensometer findings including sphere cylinder and axis.
• Ability to perform patient spectacle fitting and dispensing including selection of appropriate frame ophthalmic lenses interpupillary measurements (distance and near) and proper segment height determination as well as the ability to transpose sphere cylinder and axis.
• Ability to provide basic triage of patient telephone calls or optometry requests.
• Knowledge of ophthalmic medications and supplies needed in the process of restocking the eye clinic exam rooms.

• Ability to determine preliminary objective estimate and/or refinement of the optical status of the eye not to include the patients final subjective refraction.
• Ability to triage and manage eyeglasses issues (e.g. measurement of vertex distance base curve prism correction center thickness slab off Fresnel prism decentration etc.).
• Ability to perform accurate assessment of accommodation near point of convergence and ocular alignment (far and near).
• Ability to assist the eye care provider (optometrist or ophthalmologist) with ophthalmic procedures.
• Ability to assist with obtaining accurate ocular cultures and smears.
• Knowledge and ability to provide advanced patient education for eye health and/or vision conditions.

• Knowledge in working with legally blinded patients in Low Vision clinic specialty visual acuity testing such as Low Vision History ETDRS and Feinbloom (including knowledge of M notation)
• Training in use of Low Vision Devices including hand magnifiers such as CCTV and testing patients with Traumatic Brain Injury