How an Optician Differs from an Optometrist

Compare and contrast—we all have been taught these things ever since from primary school and up until we graduated from the university. For example, in our English class, we learned that there are words that may sound the same, but are actually different in meaning. We were also told that certain things are the direct opposite of each other such as hot and cold, fire and water, and so on. However, in the real world, it’s not plain black and white. Some things can even confuse us. You might be one of those guys who used to think that weather and climate are just two similar things, only to find out later on that they’re not.

Well, medical professionals are already used to the fact that people get their specializations wrong most of the time. This isn’t a big surprise, actually, like for some people who think that they can just go to any eye doctor when they have issues with their eyes. So, before you go about searching for the optometrist pembroke pines, we will clear things up about the difference between an optician and an optometrist. First of all, they are both eye doctors, which means that they can take care of your eyes when you need them. But, the phrase “eye doctor” is only the general term for their profession. However, their educational background, training, and scope of practice actually vary.

An optician can also rightly be referred to as an eye doctor. But if compared to the scope of an optometrist, they can do less. As for their educational attainment, it could be that after college, they took a couple of years for a course about optics, or eye care, or possibly an associate degree at that. Their scope of practice is somewhat limited to a few minor adjustments of eye care appliances such as eyeglasses or contact lenses, or helping you select one. In addition, opticians do not diagnose and cure eye problems. But this does not mean that opticians are less important. In fact, they play an important role in vision care, and they see to it that the prescription by the optometrist is correctly carried out, especially when providing the corrective eyewear that a patient needs.

Optometrists, on the other hand, can dig deeper than just the surface. In terms of education level, they were able to complete a postgraduate degree about optometry which probably lasts for 4 years and another few years for additional training. In terms of services they can provide, they can do as much as perform proper eye examinations and also hand you a diagnosis afterward. They can also give you a prescription. Depending on the severity of each case, they can also do as much as performing surgery for a patient. When you have a corrective issue such as myopia (nearsightedness) or hyperopia (farsightedness) and is looking for someone who can provide you with the help that you need, whether it be looking for glasses or some minor surgeries, an optometrist can be at your service.

To make a long story short, there are both similarities and differences between an optician and an optometrist. And depending on the kind of service you are currently looking for, it is up to you to determine which of the two suits you best.

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