Optometry

Optometrists take better care of our eyes. They are also given special training for this. Optometrist's profession is related to testing, diagnosis and treatment of eyes. India is a country where every third blind person of the world resides and lacks of others suffer from other problems of eyes.

In such a scenario, an optometrist's profession here could be profitable as well as noble, because it is associated with human welfare. This profession has everything- name, fame, respect and money. If you wish to make a career in the eye-care industry, then you can become an optometrist by doing a course related to it.

Work

Optometrists or Optometric physicians are experts of eye care and eye testing equipments etc. Like ophthalmologists, optometrists also prescribe glasses or lenses etc after testing eyes, but they cannot do surgery or other tasks requiring major responsibilities. All their treatment is through optical instruments only. They also treat errors of eyes, color blindness, far and near sightedness, and hereditary eye problems etc. They not only provide glasses or lenses after examining eyes, but make them too.

Eligibility

Bachelor degree, B.Sc., or diploma in Optometry is required to become Optometrist. Securing at least 50 percent marks in 12th class with physics, chemistry, mathematics or biology and English is necessary for admission to bachelor degree or B.Sc. courses. Candidates should be tenth or twelfth pass for diploma courses. Students with diploma course in Clinical Optometry can directly be given admission to the third year of Bachelor of Optometry degree courses. Diploma courses are of two years duration, whereas bachelors' degree courses are of four years duration. Bachelors' degree involves three years of study and one year of internship. During this internship, students have to work under eye specialists in some clinic or hospital. Admission is granted only after clearing ICET exam. This exam is conducted throughout the country in a centralized and combined manner.

Earning

Initially, 15000 to 20000 rupees per month can be earned after finishing course from a good institute. After doing course from other institutes, 10000 rupees can be earned as salary. However, salary is mostly dependent on ability and experience.

Scope

There is no dearth of choices for optometrists after finishing their optometry courses. They can open eye clinics, and optical lens manufacturing units, etc. In addition, they can also work in contact lens and ophthalmic lens industry, or in eye departments of various hospitals. They can also work as professional service executives in the companies that manufacture products related to eyes. Keep in mind that eye specialists are always in need of trained assistants who can skillfully manufacture glasses, lenses and other instruments. In addition, proper maintenance and care of everything related to eyes is very important. According to government regulations, only trained opticians can work in optical shops, so optometrists are in demand there also. They are also in great demand in the health centers run by the government.

Institutes

 1. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi
 2. Jamia Hamdard, Faculty of Medicine, Delhi
 3. School of Optometry: Gandhi Eye Hospital, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh
 4. School of Optometry: public welfare Eye Hospital, Lucknow
 5. Sitapur Eye Hospital, Sitapur
 6. VBS Purvanchal University, Jaunpur
 7. Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna
 8. Patna Medical College and Hospital, Patna
 9. Government Medical College, Patiala
 10. Medical College, Amritsar
 11. All India Institute of Optometric Science, Kolkata