Optician

Learn how to fit and dispense eyeglasses and contact lenses with the Optician training program from Penn Foster Career School. As an Optician, you'll help select and fit eyeglasses and contact lenses for people with eye problems following prescriptions written by optometrists and ophthalmologists. The Penn Foster Optician Program will help you develop the skills needed in this profession, all from the comfort of your home. Whether you work in an optical dispensary or laboratory, an optometrist's or ophthalmologist's office, a hospital or clinical setting, or a retail optical store, you'll have a career you can be proud of!

Students are required to enroll in a six-month (120-hour) practicum during this course. You'll be required to find a clinical site within your local community to complete the practicum. Potential clinical sites include an optician's office or laboratory, an optometric practice that contains an optical dispensary, an ophthalmic practice that contains an optical dispensary, a hospital that contains an eye clinic, and a retail optical business. All clinical sites must be approved by the program instructor.

Graduates of the Penn Foster Optician Program are prepared to sit for the National Opticianry Competency Examination (NOCE), which is administered by the American Board of Opticianry (ABO). Those who pass the the examination will become ABO certified. Graduates are also prepared to sit for the Contact Lens Registry Examination (CLRE), which is administered by the National Contact Lens Examiners (NCLE). Those who pass the CLRE are considered NCLE certified. Some states require a state practical examination before practicing. Contact your state's appropriate licensing bureau for the current requirements of your state legislature for pending legislation.