Optometrist

Optometrist is a licensed independent practitioner who work as part of VA team collaborating with other optometrists, ophthalmologists, nursing staff, technicians, administrators, and relevant associated health disciplines. This position is aligned under Surgery Service with the Salt Lake City VA Health Care System.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package.

An optometrist is a licensed independent practitioner who will provide direct patient care to our Veteran population. Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Duties:

• Delivering high quality primary optometric & vision care services as delineated in the clinical privileges.
• Examining eyes, lids, adnexa, and the visual systems of patients.
• Providing basic low vision evaluation and services.
• Diagnosing, managing and treating refractive conditions, binocular functions, ocular diseases and conditions, ocular complications of systemic disease, etc.
• Ordering diagnostic ocular imaging.
• Providing patient & family education regarding ocular health issues.
• Referring patients to ophthalmology for diagnosis, treatment and management of systemic and ocular conditions revealed through optometric examinations.
• Evaluating, managing and triaging emergent, non-surgical eye conditions.
• Managing patients referred with complaints typical of routine eye care disorders.
• Performing health services and mandated examinations such as diabetic retinopathy & glaucoma screenings.
• Conducting clinical evaluations such as: medical & ocular history; visual acuity measurement; pupillary function testing; color vision testing; extraocular muscle function & binocularity testing; refractive & accommodative testing; external examination of the eye & adnexal structures; biomicroscopic evaluation of the ocular adnexa, anterior, and/or posterior segments of the eye, including gonioscopic & fundus lens evaluation; ophthalmoscopic, tonometric, & perimetric evaluations; etc.
• Collaborating with other optometrists, ophthalmologists, nursing staff, technicians & administrators to facilitate operations within the service to meet common goals.
• Performing administrative components of patient care management, including timely completion of progress notes, consults & encounters for all patients, appropriate documentation in medical records, etc.
• Assisting Connected Care Team with certifying competency of telehealth technicians with regards to Tele-Eye program and other initiatives as needed.
• Providing interpretation of teleretinal images.
• Performing as part of a team, with excellent communication skills and interpersonal relationships with all other eye care providers and support staff.

Work Schedule: Full-Time; Mon - Fri 8:00 am to 4:30 pm; Management reserves the right to change schedule to accommodate patient needs. Including extended hours and weekends.

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Optometrist Basic Requirements: To qualify for appointment to this position, all applicants must possess the following:

• Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.) in accordance with section 7402(c) to title 38, United States Code (U.S.C). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• Education: Degree of Doctor of Optometry resulting from a course of education in optometry. The degree must have been obtained from one of the schools or colleges approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the year in which the course of study was completed. Approved schools are United States and Canadian schools or colleges of optometry listed as accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE), in the list published for the year in which the course of study was completed.
• Licensure/Registration: Optometrists must possess a current, full and unrestricted license to practice optometry, and maintain a current 1 registration in a state, territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia that requires successful passage of all parts of National Board of Examiners in Optometry intended for basic licensure. The Optometrist must maintain current registration in the state of licensure if this is a requirement for continuing active, current licensure.
• Residency Training or Comparable Experience: Optometrists must have successfully completed residency training, approved by the Secretary of VA in an accredited post-graduate training program, or have comparable experience, as described below:

(1) Approved residencies are those with accredited or within pre-accredited status by the ACOE, in the list published for the year the residency was completed.

OR

(2) Two years of licensed clinical optometric practice in the United States consisting of active involvement in the management of medically complex patients.

• English Language Proficiency: Optometrists appointed to direct patient-care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7402(d) and 7407(d).

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: All applicants must be physically and mentally able to perform efficiently the duties of the position. The selected candidate should be physically and mentally capable to perform the duties of the position. Physical activity includes sitting, standing (up to2hours), walking (up to 2 hours), bending and reaching.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.