Healthcare assistant to optometrist
A healthcare assistant already meets 43% of what the optometrist role asks for. The move turns on 26 required skills not yet in the profile.
70/ 100
1 How much of what an optometrist is expected to do is already part of a healthcare assistant’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the optometrist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An optometrist role treats 20 of its required skills as things a healthcare assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- apply organisational techniques
- comply with legislation related to health care
- comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
What stands in the way is 26 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 26 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An optometrist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a healthcare assistant background worth leading with.
- already held educate on the prevention of illness communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held use foreign languages for health-related research communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies working with computers
All 26 carried skills, including the 20 the optometrist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 34 missing skills fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn advise customers on optical instruments maintenance required
- still to learn advise on contact lense maintenance required
- still to learn advise patients on vision improvement conditions required
- still to learn apply context specific clinical competences required
- still to learn promote ocular health required
- still to learn communicate in healthcare required
- still to learn implement marketing strategies required
- optional, not held implement sales strategies optional
- still to learn perform comprehensive eye examinations required
- still to learn perform ocular tonometry required
- still to learn determine eye disease progression required
- still to learn diagnose problems of the visual system required
- still to learn apply numeracy skills required
- still to learn record healthcare users' billing information required
- optional, not held record healthcare users' progress related to treatment optional
- still to learn fit contact lenses required
- still to learn prescribe corrective lenses required
- still to learn provide therapy of the visual system required
- still to learn refer healthcare users required
- still to learn test visual acuity required
- optional, not held administer medication for vision problems optional
- optional, not held provide domiciliary eyecare optional
- optional, not held perform vision rehabilitation optional
- still to learn refraction of the eye required
- still to learn optical instruments required
- optional, not held preventive medicine optional
- still to learn manage staff required
- still to learn process payments required
- optional, not held provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health optional
- still to learn quality standards of ophthalmic equipment required
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an optometrist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 perform comprehensive eye examinations practise this
- 02 perform ocular tonometry practise this
- 03 refraction of the eye study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 26 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- already held deal with emergency care situations skill
- already held educate on the prevention of illness skill
- already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held have computer literacy skill
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held manage healthcare users' data skill
- already held promote inclusion skill
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
- already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held provide health education skill
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
- already held use foreign languages for health-related research skill
- already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn optical glass characteristics required
- still to learn eye protection regulations required
- still to learn use ophthalmic instruments required
- optional, not held participate in medical inventory control optional
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held administer medication for vision problems optional
- optional, not held provide domiciliary eyecare optional
- optional, not held implement sales strategies optional
- optional, not held perform vision rehabilitation optional
- optional, not held provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health optional
- optional, not held record healthcare users' progress related to treatment optional
- optional, not held participate in medical inventory control optional
- optional, not held preventive medicine optional
20 held skills the optometrist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role assist in the administration of medication to elderly skill
- not needed by the target role communicate in foreign languages with health service providers skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with nursing staff skill
- not needed by the target role convey medical routine information skill
- not needed by the target role disability care knowledge
- not needed by the target role disability types knowledge
- not needed by the target role distribute meals to patients skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate older adults' ability to take care of themselves skill
- not needed by the target role geriatrics knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify abnormalities skill
- not needed by the target role monitor basic patients signs skill
- not needed by the target role older adults' needs knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform cleaning duties skill
- not needed by the target role provide basic support to patients skill
- not needed by the target role sterilization techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role support individuals to adjust to physical disability skill
- not needed by the target role support nurses skill
- not needed by the target role use technical equipment for sterilisation skill
- not needed by the target role work under supervision in care skill
- not needed by the target role work with nursing staff skill
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn refraction of the eye required
- still to learn quality standards of ophthalmic equipment required
- still to learn eye protection regulations required
- still to learn optical glass characteristics required
- still to learn optical instruments required
- optional, not held preventive medicine optional
Other moves recorded from healthcare assistant
- physiotherapy assistant 56% covered · substantial
- dental hygienist 54% covered · substantial
- dental technician 51% covered · substantial
- maternity support worker 50% covered · substantial
- pharmacy assistant 50% covered · substantial
- dental chairside assistant 50% covered · substantial
- pharmacy technician 49% covered · substantial
- nurse assistant 48% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a healthcare assistant become an optometrist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A healthcare assistant already covers 43% of what an optometrist is expected to do: 26 skills carry over, 20 of which the optometrist role treats as required.
What skills does a healthcare assistant need to become an optometrist?
26 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is perform comprehensive eye examinations.
How hard is the move from healthcare assistant to optometrist?
Its learning distance is 70 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.