mfrats Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Any ophthalmic PAs out there who can share their experiences? Is it too hard for an ophthalmologist to employ a PA? I currently work as a scribe/tech in an ophthalmologist office, just wondering if there any further careers out there in the same field. Will be applying next cycle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steakPA Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 not an ophthalmic PA, but I am starting PA school in July and currently work as a scribe/tech/surgical coordinator in a small private office. I have talked in detail about this with my physician (he primarily does cataracts and blephs). It seems like a PA would be best implemented in a practice that does a lot of surgeries to do a review of systems and regular exam prior to surgery. There are very few ophthal PAs out there, but it seems like most of them work with the bigger practices and function similarly to an OD (except add the ability to surgical assist but most procedures don't need multiple hands). Personally, I love the field and would enjoy practicing in it. I don't really enjoy refracting but I could foresee myself getting stuck doing refraction after refraction and routine exams all. day. long. and less procedural/complex stuff. I did read of a PA who went into ophthalmology and did a month+ long training course to learn the basics (slit lamp, etc.). I hope ophthalmic PAs become more prevalent soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted December 29, 2016 Administrator Share Posted December 29, 2016 Whether a PA could function doing refractions would vary from state to state; in Washington, it's explicitly prohibited: http://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=18.71A&full=true#18.71A.060 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted December 29, 2016 Moderator Share Posted December 29, 2016 Any ophthalmic PAs out there who can share their experiences? Is it too hard for an ophthalmologist to employ a PA? I currently work as a scribe/tech in an ophthalmologist office, just wondering if there any further careers out there in the same field. Will be applying next cycle! have you thought about an OD program? pretty nice scope of practice and optometrists are gaining practice rights in many states. 3-4 yrs of school vs 28ish months for pa...(there are both 3 and 4 yr programs). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicinePower Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 In PA school one is trained in ophthalmology including how to do funduscopic exams, the proper use of an ophthalmoscope, and how to treat all the run-of-the-mill eye issues. However this is not nearly to the level of OD or an MD ophthalmologist. The answer of "refer to an OD or ophthalmologist" is regularly the correct answer on exams. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfrats Posted December 29, 2016 Author Share Posted December 29, 2016 have you thought about an OD program? pretty nice scope of practice and optometrists are gaining practice rights in many states. 3-4 yrs of school vs 28ish months for pa...(there are both 3 and 4 yr programs). I have been looking into that as well. I just like the flexibility of being a PA where you don't necessarily have to stay in one specialty your entire life. So I was just wondering if ophthalmology was a specialty that PAs can work in, but I see now that their job duties would essentially be what an optometrist does. Thanks for the insight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted December 30, 2016 Moderator Share Posted December 30, 2016 I have been looking into that as well. I just like the flexibility of being a PA where you don't necessarily have to stay in one specialty your entire life. So I was just wondering if ophthalmology was a specialty that PAs can work in, but I see now that their job duties would essentially be what an optometrist does. Thanks for the insight! an OD has a broader scope of practice with regards to the eye and in some states they are gaining "non-scalpel surgical rights" to do things like LASIK, etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliOne Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 I spent over 20 years in ophthalmology and did my masters paper on the use of PAs in ophthalmology. From my research there are not many, but they are out there. They are used as a medical ophthalmologist, treating acute injuries and infections, chronic conditions like monitoring retinopathy, glaucoma, cataracts, etc. Refractions can be done, but not for prescription purposes- almost how a lot of tech's can refract. Most that I found were located on the eastern side of the country. A quick google search is how I found most of them. All the PAs I spoke with learned everything on the job from an ophthalmologist that was willing to train. Some had worked in ophthalmology before, others had not. It can be done, as long as a willing supervising MD/ophthalmologist can be found. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcanomj Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 On 12/28/2016 at 11:28 PM, rev ronin said: Whether a PA could function doing refractions would vary from state to state; in Washington, it's explicitly prohibited: http://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=18.71A&full=true#18.71A.060 Do you happen to know which other states explicitly prohibit PAs from doing refractions? I did some searching and found that in New Jersey it is prohibited, but otherwise I didn't come across any other states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted July 24, 2019 Administrator Share Posted July 24, 2019 7 minutes ago, marcanomj said: Do you happen to know which other states explicitly prohibit PAs from doing refractions? I did some searching and found that in New Jersey it is prohibited, but otherwise I didn't come across any other states. No clue, sorry. You might be able to find someone at AAPA who keeps track of such things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcanomj Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 5 minutes ago, rev ronin said: No clue, sorry. You might be able to find someone at AAPA who keeps track of such things. No worries! Great suggestion, I will look into that. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treehugs Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 Coming back to this thread- does anyone know if PAs are completely prohibited from practicing in ophthalmology in Washington state, or are they only prohibited from anything to do with refraction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MediMike Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 On 9/3/2022 at 9:44 AM, treehugs said: Coming back to this thread- does anyone know if PAs are completely prohibited from practicing in ophthalmology in Washington state, or are they only prohibited from anything to do with refraction? Anything regularly performed by an optometrist seems to be outlawed http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=18.71A.060 But anything an ophthalmologist does is within your scope (unless you run across one regularly fitting people for glasses) http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=18.71A.030 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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