Optometrist
General Summary: The Optometrist provides high quality care within the scope of his/her chosen specialty. This care should be comprehensive, coordinated, and patient and family-centered to achieve clinical and service excellence.
Essential Job Functions*:
- Perform vision tests and analyze results
- Diagnose sight problems, such as nearsightedness or farsightedness and eye diseases, such as glaucoma
- Prescribe eyeglasses, contact lenses, and medications
- Provide treatments such as vision therapy or low-vision rehabilitation
- Provide pre- and postoperative care to patients undergoing eye surgery
- Evaluate and examine patients referred for diabetic eye exams and refer patients to ophthalmologist or other healthcare providers as needed
- Promote eye health by counseling patients, including explaining how to clean and wear contact lenses
- Analyze test results and develop a treatment plan; administer drugs to patients to aid in the diagnosis of vision problems and prescribe drugs to treat some eye diseases.
- Diagnose conditions caused by systemic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure, referring patients to other health practitioners as needed.
- Direct and coordinate the activities of nurses, assistants, and other support personnel
- Evaluate patients with acute or unusual eye care conditions, and, when appropriate, arrange for emergency transport to a physician and/or tertiary care center with appropriate clinical skills/resources.
- Maintain all requirements for licensure including continued medical education
- Actively participate in the hospital’s quality and patient experience programs, working with the team to continually improve the patient experience.
- Actively participate in the hospital’s quality and patient safety programs and demonstrate an understanding of safety issues and practices in all aspects of work; Consistently observe universal precautions.
- Participate fairly in call rotation, if required, providing consultative services for patients in the emergency room and those requiring hospital admission.
In performing these essential functions, Optometrist will:
Demonstrate hospital’s mission and values with co-workers, patients, families and visitors, and with hospital and departmental policies, procedures, governmental regulations;
Work collaboratively and build effective relationships, demonstrating flexibility and adjusting to changing work demands;
Effectively communicate plans, expectations, and clinical progress with SMH staff, consultants, referring providers, patients and families as appropriate;
Maintain utmost confidentiality in all aspects of duties; and
Document all patient services and care in a timely, clear, accurate, and comprehensive, manner, and properly code and provide necessary information to facilitate billing for all professional services provided.
Qualifications:
Required: Graduation from school of optometry accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE)
Preferred: Board certification by the American Board of Optometry
Required:
Preferred: Prior experience
- Licensure/Certifications/Registrations
Required: Licensed by NH Board of Optometry as Doctor of Optometry OD). Requirements as set forth in the Medical Staff Policy Manual for each specialty.
Therapeutic Pharmaceutical Agents/glaucoma (TPA/g) certification
CPR certified
Preferred:
Required: Ability to work independently. Willingness to work in a team-oriented environment. Effective communication skills. Must possess strong organizational and interpersonal skills. Ability to use computer for healthcare work.
Preferred: Demonstrated ability to work harmoniously and professionally with other practitioners and staff.
