The first step toward hiring a qualified Optical Associate is creating an adequate and informative job description to attract the right applicants. To help you with the process, we created a FREE Optical Associate Job Description Template with all the necessary information, from duties and responsibilities to requirements.
We definitely recommend using VIVAHR software to post the template on various hiring websites and get the best recruitment results.
Optical Associates help optometrists with a variety of clinical and administrative duties. Optical associates’ responsibilities include greeting patients and answering phones, handling and responding to mail, maintaining patient records, scheduling appointments, assisting in vision testing, and teaching patients how to use and care for contact lenses.
Other duties include assisting with basic eye examinations, providing chairside assistance during testing, ordering optometric supplies, monitoring inventory, and assisting patients with adjusting, and wearing spectacles.
Customers’ initial point of interaction is with optical assistants. They greet clients as they enter the store, do pre-screening tests, and assist customers in choosing the appropriate frames and lenses for their prescriptions.
Skill | Why it’s important |
Problem Solving Skill | Almost every single patient who enters your office has some sort of issue. As a result, your technicians' ability to problem-solve on the go will be critical. Your personnel should be able to confidently handle problems on the go, whether it's a malfunctioning instrument, a patient complaint, or inquiries about procedures and therapy. |
Knowledge of Products | Being able to explain and answer basic inquiries regarding various lenses and contacts will keep the workflow moving along efficiently. |
Customer Service | Not every patient or customer in the practice will be easy to deal with. Most people have issues or complaints, and having a technician with customer service experience can guarantee that your staff responds correctly to tough patients. |
Communication Skills | Optical associates need communication skills in order to manage their client’s demands in the best possible way, being open and friendly is key to the best possible service. |
Clinical Training Qualities | To deal with the small instruments used in changing eyeglass frames, optical assistants require manual dexterity. The clinical component of the educational program offers the optical assistant supervised on-the-job training, allowing mechanical skills to use. Students assist professional opticians with tasks such as measuring frames for customers, operating optical equipment and studying optical math and physics. |
We’re seeking a detail-oriented Optical Associate to support the optometrist with customer service, secretarial, and technical tasks. Customer service tasks for the Optical Associate include greeting clients, answering inquiries, and aiding customers with frame selection. Scheduling appointments, documenting medical histories, submitting insurance claims, and keeping inventories are all clerical tasks. Taking visual acuity measures and measuring the distance between the patient’s pupils are among the technical tasks.
You’ll need excellent organizational and communication abilities to be an effective Optical Associate. You should have excellent attention to detail and a thorough understanding of optical equipment and its applications.
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You can utilize these sample interview questions for Optical Associate once you’ve gathered all of the applications. These might assist you in narrowing down your options and selecting the best applicant for the position.
Personal
Human Resources
Management
Technical Skills and Knowledge
High school graduation or associate degree, as well as experience in an optical technician training program, are usually required. To advance in the area, additional optional certification may be provided through continuing education departments.
Optical associates may earn between $18 and $29 hourly. The median annual salary is $43,941, meaning $21 per hour. These wages can depend on various factors, such as employment location, educational level, etc.
Percentile | 10% | 25% | 50% (Median) | 75% | 90% |
Hourly Wage | $18 | $20 | $21 | $25 | $29 |
Annual Wage | $37,557 | $40,599 | $43,941 | $52,986 | $61,221 |
Optical Associates work with a variety of people, including patients of all ages, optometrists, other assistants, front-desk employees, and other clinics.
The clinical atmosphere, work climate, and combination of dealing with people and paperwork are very appealing. They are also assisting new patients with their initial examination. A lot of the time, people don’t know what to anticipate when they come in. Optical associates are usually the ones educating and assisting people so that they have a positive first visit to the eye doctor.
The amount of optical experience required varies by role, but companies usually also consider past work experience, job stability, and internship experience.
On any given day, an optical associate helps the doctor with 10 to 20 patients of all ages. File preparation, chart review, and getting findings from various vision and eye health tests for the doctor to interpret are all part of the working day.
Keeping patients’ medical records up to date, asking them about their eyesight, and assisting the doctor during examinations. Optical associates also do some minor paperwork, take phone calls, and book appointments for patients.