Program description

The eight-month Ophthalmic Assistant Training Program at Mayo Clinic is located on the campuses of Rochester, Minnesota, and Jacksonville, Florida. It is a comprehensive certificate program where you will graduate feeling prepared and confident for your next steps as an ophthalmic assistant. 

An ophthalmic assistant supports ophthalmologists and optometrists in a direct patient care setting by performing testing and assisting with procedures. Testing that you will perform includes, but is not limited to, visual acuity measurements, ocular motility measurements, retinoscopy, refractometry, lensometry, tonometry, assessment and function, anterior chamber depth analysis, color vision, and, visual field, keratometry and contact lens fitting, ocular examination with slit-lamp biomicroscopy, medical history, patient education, ocular imaging, medication administration, and ancillary testing.

Program highlights

The Ophthalmic Assistant Training Program prepares you for a career with continually expanding advancement opportunities in different subspecialties in ophthalmology. Highlights of the program include:

• A curriculum that includes two months of classroom and lab education, and six months of clinical rotations. This approach puts you on a fast track toward your career as an ophthalmic assistant.
• Hands-on training with experienced technicians and renowned doctors.
• A program that prepares you for a career with continually expanding advancement opportunities in different subspecialities in ophthalmology.
• Our training is focused on developing Mayo Clinic's future workforce — meaning that after graduation, if students are the right candidates and positions are available, they may be eligible to begin a life-changing career at Mayo Clinic. However, you’ll be fully prepared for your first day on the job, wherever you choose to employ your skills.