 Nathalie Villeneuve of Pause and Paint came to Goodwin College for a fun night painting “Glass Daisy”. Thanks goes out to all who came and to those who supported with a financial donation. All proceeds go towards Goodwin College’s ophthalmic science students in the form of attending optical conferences and taking their national and state boards.
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Goodwin College’s Ophthalmic Science program received accreditation by the Commission on Opticianry Accreditation. This is exciting news for the college and for the future of opticianry in Connecticut. Goodwin College offers a two year A.S. degree in ophthalmic science. Students learn all facets of eyewear fabrication and dispensing as well as contact lens fitting and dispensing. Please contact me via the Contact page with any questions! Skilled opticians evaluate a patient’s current pair of eyeglasses during the selection and fitting of new eyewear. The optician will observe how their current frame fits on their face (tilt, face form, dimensions), the eye size, bridge design and fit and temple length are noted. The current lens style and material is evaluated and also noted. Lined bifocals are typically measured and placed at the lower lid. If a patient wears a lined bifocal, the optician will ask if the patient is satisfied with where the line falls. Patients will remark that the line is either too high (it gets in the way) or too low (they have to pick up their chin too much to read). The optician will measure the new pair in accordance to the feedback received from the patient.
Progressive lenses are fitted center pupil. A skilled optician will duly note the patients current frame characteristics as mentioned earlier as well as lens material and design. The optician will also have a conversation as to how the progressives are working for their needs. We call this lifestyle dispensing. My question for you is this: Do you dot a patient’s current progressive lenses to see where they were fit to? Or do you trust they are fit at center pupil? Please answer this informal poll. Thank you, your response is greatly appreciated.  I remember this day, a year ago, I fabricated, made, created my first pair of eyeglasses!!! A visual aid that can and will help someone see the world more clearly. How amazing is that??? The most amazing part of it all is the moment a person puts on their new eyewear and looks around the room, out the window, at their parents, the smile they give, that sense of knowing they can see, melts my heart. You know you did your job when you can say you helped a person see!!!
My name is Michele and I am finishing my degree to become a Licensed Optician. I am asked all the time, “What is an Optician?”, “What do they do?”, “Where do they work?” It goes way beyond helping you pick out a beautiful frame that enhances your style and compliments your facial features. I'll give you my interpretation: In the most basic terms, an optician is an eye care professional that interprets prescriptions that are written by optometrists and ophthalmologists to provide clients with eye educating the patient about the products available that can enhance their vision. Another important role an Optician play in the optical world is frame adjustments. It may sound like a minimal duty, but it actually is more like an art form. Keeping your frame in alignment can help you more than you may think. Here are 4 tips on why you should keep your glasses in alignment: 1. Keeping your balance For some people, with certain prescriptions, an uneven frame can lead to not seeing clearly through the lenses. Which can make some people vision off balance. 2. Keeping your frame well-adjusted can help your eyeglasses last longer. Better and more frequent simple adjustments can keep the frame sturdy. 3. Will keep you looking your best. Who wants to walk around in public with a beautiful pair of glasses crooked across their face? 4. Keeps you from wanting to do it yourself. By stopping in and letter the professional adjust your glasses the correct way, it will stop you from making a rash decision attempting to do it yourself and chance breaking them. Eyeglasses can be delicate if you do not use the correct tools and techniques. You have probably encountered an Optician and you did not even know it. But rest assure, we have cleaned your lenses, adjusted your glasses, suggested treatments that can enhance your visual needs, helped you pick out the perfect frame and maybe even fixed a pair of glasses that you though were beyond repair and no longer can wear! Remember an Optician is here to help you with all your visual needs including adjustments. Come in and see us! Part of what makes this country great is the American entrepreneurial spirit. Small businesses in the U.S. account for 30-50% of all commercial space. Small businesses are the job generators, economy boosters and an avenue to prosperity and success! Being a business owner takes tenacity and ingenuity. Not every career allows one to become an independent business owner. Opticianry affords the professional the opportunity to work for themselves. For those opticians that want to be their own boss, you can:
Let’s revive the independent option! Also, let’s not forget that there are some optical shop owners who have successful businesses in your state, who just may want to retire…and, you may be just the person to take the entrepreneurial leap to buy an existing business and make it all your own! Comment on this blog post by sharing with our readers some other benefits of being an independent business owner. You can study opticianry as a healthcare profession at Goodwin College in East Hartford, CT Having a job that you truly enjoy and don't mind going to, is a blessing. Being an optician is one of those careers...Opticianry offers the balance of customer service, healthcare, fashion, science and hands-on; all wrapped up into one exciting career. Opticians have the unique opportunity to help people look and see their best with either eyeglasses or contact lenses. I work in both academia (with a team of amazing opticians and staff, building a strong program putting forth equipped, competent and confident future opticians) and in the field practicing opticianry. We put together a video showcasing the program, sharing some of what we do at Goodwin College. Hope you like it! I do not have a movie crew like Jay Leno had for his "Jay Walking" segment, when he went out on the streets asking random people common everyday questions on politics, geography and the such. My method of surveying people on what they think an optician is was more simple. I sent out a text message to various friends and associates: Quick help needed: I am doing a survey, no right or wrong and no names attached. Answer this question (without looking up answer): "What is an optician?” Thanks! Maryann If I listed them all, you may have become rather bored, skimmed the post and moved on...instead, I decided to create a video for your viewing pleasure. After viewing (hope you like it), stay tuned for another blog posting and I will show you a list of some of my responses. I am grateful for all who participated. This is my blogging debut. I must admit, I have been holding out for few weeks because I wanted to get it right. Then I asked myself, “Who is going to visit “What’s An Optician.com” and read the blog if there isn’t a blog to read? So here I am. I will take you on a brief journey of how I started in this profession.
I was blessed and fortunate to have had a 12 grade Cooperative Work Experience teacher, Avis Thielman. I considered becoming a travel agent (that’s another story) until Avis pulled a soon to graduate high school student aside and handed over an index card. I have saved so many notes and cards over the years that have meaning to me but for some reason, I never saved the index card (otherwise I would post a picture of it for you to see). It was May 1985 and it read: For the high school student that is not going away to college (me) and would like to become an apprentice optician. In 4 years you can make $25,000. Please call Mark at Your Eyes, Broad Street, Meriden, CT. Now let me tell you, that was a LOT of money to an 18 year old. I remember telling my parents about this great opportunity and thinking to myself, “How many people in a day are going to need to get eye glasses?” That was a concern as I did not want to have a job that I would be sitting around waiting for patients to come in for eyeglasses. I wanted a dynamic job that kept me busy and interested. A plus for me was that I could still attend community college part-time in the evenings. (I have been a commuter PT college student my entire life…and its been OK) I applied and got the job (thank you Mark Sanderson) at Your Eyes. It was the beginning of a career that I love so much and want to share it with the world (literally). You can apprentice under a licensed optician or receive formal education supported by employment and a strong internship experience. Opticianry offers such a variety: healthcare fashion science laboratory work sales hands-on customer service making eyeglasses fitting and dispensing contact lenses management business owner sales representatives the list can go on… The Opticians Association of America (OAA) defines an optician as: An Optician is a vision expert; a health professional specially trained to supply, prepare, and dispense optical appliances through interpretation of written prescriptions. An Optician is an integral part of the vision care experience that adheres to exacting standards in order to enhance your vision. Well, this is it for now. Please contact me with any feedback, questions on the “contact” page, or comment below. And please let me know if you want to be a guest blogger. I think that would be a fun addition to our website. |
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