The National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) and Intrepid Spirit Centers (ISCs) are part of specialized centers dedicated to improving outcomes for service members and families affected by traumatic brain injury (TBI) and related conditions. These centers deliver integrated, evidence-based, and patient-centered care through interdisciplinary teams, while also supporting research and education aligned with the Department of Defense’s readiness and resilience priorities.
Work Schedule: Hours of work will be scheduled between the hours of 6:00AM – 6:00PM (typical clinic hours are 7:00AM -4:00PM, typically Monday – Friday, depending on location). Specific work schedule will be assigned by the government service chief for the specific clinical specialty. The specific schedule for each two-week period will be provided one month in advance.
Qualifications:
· : Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) degree from an accredited optometry school with a state license to practice optometry.
· : Current, full, active, and unrestricted license to practice as a Neuro-optometrist.
· Board certification in neuro-optometry demonstrating a high level of competence and expertise in the field. Must have an active certification from American Board of Certification in Medical Optometry (ABCMO) certification in medical optometry, which includes specialization in areas like ocular disease, retinal disease, and glaucoma.
· Certification: BLS – American Heart Association
· Experience: Two years of experience as a Nero-Optometrist.
· Must be a U.S. citizen
Job Duties:
· Diagnose and treat visual problems related to neurological conditions and traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Through rehabilitative treatment, neuro-optometrists retrain and strengthen the neural connections in the brain to improve binocular vision. Neuro-optometric rehabilitation focuses on strengthening the visual skills needed to perform regular daily activities for increased independence and improved quality of life.
· Mentor in the area of neuro-optometry; provide the full range, depth, and scope of professional medical and health services to patients who are involved in concussive events. Accountable for assessment, testing, diagnosis, implementation, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of serious, complex, unprecedented, severe neuro-optometric cases of acquired, systemic, or TBI.
· Analyze, develop, plan, and implement individualized patient-specific, rehabilitation programs and techniques; provide training to patients and family members on the preferred and best methods to encourage recovery.
· Provide expert consultation, to an inter-disciplinary team of professionals and administrators; apply individualized patient-centered treatment to complex patients with co-morbidities, such as, but not limited to, unprecedented traumatic brain injury, posttraumatic stress disorder, and pain.
· Prepare, research, analyze, and provide comprehensive analysis and reports based on test results, interdisciplinary consultation and conference with providers to review the diagnostic findings, prognoses, therapeutic recommendations and respond to inquiries or concerns regarding the full evaluation.
· Assess the performance of vision and how vision integrates with all of the other senses. Apply advanced technology, neuro-visual testing and traditional evaluation methods.
· Diagnose and treat visual inefficiencies or delays by providing services to the entire spectrum of the patient population (pediatric to geriatric), in all areas of injury or condition: traumatic brain injury, infant vision, developmental delays, special needs, vision-related learning problems, sports enhancement, strabismus, amblyopia and other acquired brain injuries.
· Utilize advanced and state-of-the-art diagnostic and evaluation techniques, to include electro-diagnostic testing, allowing for the provision of extensive assessment of the patient’s neuro-sensory system and how well vision is functioning as the dominant sense and how the brain receives information from the outside world, processes, stores and integrates information with the other senses in order to understand and respond to the surrounding environment.
· Provide an initial comprehensive vision examination to include a total evaluation of external and internal eye health, analysis of the functional visual abilities of oculomotor control, eye teaming ability, stereopsis, binocularity and visual field. Perform an extended sensorimotor analysis, to include performance testing of the visual input skills (including visa graph testing, infrared measurement of eye movements when reading, primitive reflex testing as it relates to overall visual development and eye-hand motor testing). Perform neuro-visual testing to determine how the visual system processes information, how vision integrates with the other sense modalities and determine whether vision is supporting or interfering with performance potential.
· Perform sensory view, electro-diagnostic testing of vision and ocular-motor function, to include electro- retinogram (ERG) and electro-oculogram (EOG). Assess vestibular performance, inner ear function, proprioception, sensation of the muscular system, balance function, vestibular-ocular reflex function and sensory integration function. Assess patient’s visual perceptual abilities and skills: the ability to visually discriminate differences and similarities among forms such as in different orientations, sizes, or if embedded within other forms, visual laterality and directionality; visual memory (the ability to remember the characteristics of a given form after a brief presentation); visual sequential memory (the ability to remember for immediate recall, a series of forms in their specific order of presentation); visual motor integration (the ability to take in, analyze and reproduce visual information using paper and pencil); spatial and phonological awareness skills (the ability to listen to and look at information analytically and to recognize that the words heard and spatial patterns seen are organized sensory elements that are represented in reading, spelling, writing and arithmetic); silent word reading fluency (the ability to recognize printed words accurately and efficiently); and word reading efficiency (the ability to recognize and pronounce printed words accurately and fluently).
· Develop and provide specific individual therapeutic treatment and rehabilitation to improve and enhance patient’s visual function.
· Develop treatment plans, such as exercises, use of corrective lenses, prisms, filters, patches, vision training computer software, therapeutic pharmaceutical agents, medical contact lenses, and other materials and equipment, are designed to bring a set of skills to conscious awareness and promote repetition and practice by the patient to achieve a level of mastery. The treatment programs shall provide the utmost benefit in the targeted areas of significant challenge with which the patient is dealing. Create, design, and provide individualized neuro-visual therapy sessions, specific procedures, exercises, activities, perceptual and logic games arranged in such a way as to increase the individual patient’s visual awareness, efficiency, processing, visual auditory integration, visual memory and visually guided movement. Instruct therapists on the proper diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, equipment, timing and milestones of success. Monitor the effectiveness of drugs to determine the results of therapy and treatment on the Patient’s condition. Conclusions, recommendations and decisions are accepted as authoritative from inter-disciplinary team members, staff, faculty, peers, colleagues, and senior leadership.
· Develop and provide specific individual therapeutic treatment and rehabilitation to improve and enhance patient’s visual function. Treatment plans, such as exercises, use of corrective lenses, prisms, filters, patches, vision training computer software, therapeutic pharmaceutical agents, medical contact lenses, and other materials and equipment, are designed to bring a set of skills to conscious awareness and promote repetition and practice by the patient to achieve a level of mastery. The treatment programs shall provide the utmost benefit in the targeted areas of significant challenge with which the patient is dealing. Create, design, and provide individualized neuro-visual therapy sessions, specific procedures, exercises, activities, perceptual and logic games arranged in such a way as to increase the individual patient’s visual awareness, efficiency, processing, visual auditory integration, visual memory and visually guided movement. Instruct therapists on the proper diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, equipment, timing and milestones of success. Monitor the effectiveness of drugs to determine the results of therapy and treatment on the Patient’s condition. Conclusions, recommendations and decisions are accepted as authoritative from inter-disciplinary team members, staff, faculty, peers, colleagues, and senior leadership.
· Complete training to obtain knowledge and maintain competency in the following systems: MHS Genesis, Dragon dictation software, and Microsoft Office programs.
· Comply with regulatory, MTF, and Joint Commission quality inspection/ peer review/ utilization management requirements, and applicable system applications.
· Contractor employees shall prepare all documentation to meet or exceed established MTF standards, to include, but not limited to: timeliness, accuracy, content, and signature. Contractor employees shall only use DoD approved abbreviations for documentation in the patient health records. (DoDI 6025.13 and DoDM 6055.05)
· Document and close notes in MHS Genesis within three (3) business days of patient encounters.
· Respond to beneficiary messages submitted and received in the MHS Genesis secure portal systems within one (1) business day.
Pay: $90.00 per hour
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
Work Location: In person
