Ophthalmic Medical Technician Certificate

Medical Director: Kourtney Hourser, MD
Program Director: Lee Ann McKinney, COT, OSC

Website: dukeeyecenter.duke.edu/education-and-training/ophthalmic-technician-program

The Ophthalmic Technician Program is sponsored through the Duke University School of Medicine and by the Eye Center. This is an accelerated one-year certificate program designed to prepare the student to be employed as a certified ophthalmic technician. The program consists of didactic lectures, labs, and clinical experiences designed to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for students to understand and perform the technical tasks delegated to them by an ophthalmologist. Each year, two program start dates are offered. Orientation and classes begin in early July or early January and consist of fifty-one instructional weeks including twelve days of personal leave. The first three months focus on core curriculum lectures supplemented with clinical introductory labs and workshops. In the fourth month, clinical rotations begin. Students rotate through various subspecialty departments observing, learning, and demonstrating the skills particular to that service. Students are monitored under the close supervision of clinical support staff and faculty and are evaluated on a routine basis as their skills develop.

Upon satisfactory completion of the curriculum, students receive a certificate from Duke University School of Medicine and are required to take the internationally recognized Certification Examination for Ophthalmic Technicians administered by the International Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology.