Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Students are assigned to one or more clinic sites for the entire term.  Each weekly rotation consists of 20-24 hours, the clinic site(s) are selected by the course instructor.  The assignment hours for each clinic are based on clinic schedules.

Students are required to wear attire conforming to the requirements set forth by the Ophthalmic Medical Technology Program.  Apparel shall consist of  a department approved navy blue scrubs, with PCC ID badge.  These items are purchased by the student in accordance with the guidelines provided by the course instructor.

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

1. Exhibit fundamental skills of patient screening in the ophthalmic clinical setting.
2. Manage patient medical records properly in a clinical setting.
3. Use universal precautions relevant to patient care in the clinical setting.
4. Perform diagnostic and examination procedures in an accurate and timely manner.
5. Utilize communication skills necessary for working in a health care setting.

The goals are to enable the student to:

1. Gain experience in ophthalmic offices.

2. Make the transition from theory to practice as an ophthalmic technician.

3. Gain direct work experience with experienced clinical office personnel and observe working relationships within an ophthalmic office.

• Students are assigned to clinical rotations for up to twelve weeks, the rotations are selected by the course instructor. Insofar as possible, student requests for assignments will be taken into consideration. Clinical assignments will be scheduled for two to three eight hour shifts per week in accordance with the program schedule. Hours of assignment are based on clinic requirements and availability.  

• Students are required to wear navy blue scrubs with their PCC ID badge conforming to the requirements set forth by the PCC Ophthalmic Medical Technology program.

Student performance is evaluated by the supervisor assigned to the student at the medical office.
The grading system utilized for the course is “Pass” or “No Pass”. In order to receive a “Pass” grade, the students must:

1. Satisfactorily complete the objectives listed for the ophthalmic technician.
2. Receive satisfactory evaluations from each of the work area supervisors.
3. Complete all of the time assigned. (216 hours)

The student will demonstrate understanding of the following themes, issues, concepts, and development of the following skills:

Front Office/Medical Records Management

• Demonstrate proper methods of greeting and interviewing patients.

• Demonstrate ability to handle patient telephone calls appropriately, including triage and appointment scheduling.

• Perform routine front office duties such as insurance billing, reception, maintenance, and cashier.

• Prepare and demonstrate ability to properly handle medical records, i.e. initiation, filing, charting, content and purging.

Medical Ophthalmic History

• Take an appropriate and complete medical and ophthalmic history.

• Demonstrate ability to perform adequate historical documentation.

• Transcribe obtained information into the chart succinctly and efficiently.

Visual Acuity

• Identify methods of measuring visual acuity in adults and children.

• Demonstrate accurate recording of acuity measurements in the medical record.

• Demonstrate ability to accurately measure near vision.

• Define common abbreviations used in recording visual acuity.

• Operate the lensometer accurately and efficiently.