Optometry

The Eyes are one of the most important parts of our body which are very delicate and they need our attention to keep them Healthy. They are useful in completing Daily tasks, Reading books, Viewing Natural Beauty, Watching TV/ Movies, etc,. Because of the present Culture and Lifestyle, most people tend to suffer from short- term or long- term Vision problems. If any problem happens to our Eyes, we go to the Hospital immediately, right? There, we will see a person who examines our eyes thoroughly, before referring us to an Ophthalmologist. They are known as Optometrists. They must complete a course to offer those services to the people and the name of the course is Optometry.

Optometry is a specialized course that pursues to examine and study the eyes and their related parts for Detecting any Defects or Abnormalities present in the Eyes. Optometrists provide services for Primary Eye Care. One can join these courses with Intermediate education. Optometry is a good course to build a good career. Corporate Eye clinics are expanding specifically to provide services in this segment. The competition in the market creates demand for quality Optometrists. Therefore, those who complete the course can find Employment as soon as possible. Those who have completed the course can practice on their own also because there are plenty of Job opportunities for them. They have Employment opportunities in Medical Colleges, Eye Hospitals, Eyewear Stores, and Lens Manufacturing Centres as well.

What are the Opportunities?

It is estimated that 10 crore people in the country suffer from some form of Visual impairment. There is a need for at least 1 Lakh Optometrists to provide the services that meet the requirements. However, the number of Optometrists is very less. Government Eye Hospitals may provide employment to Optometrists with attractive pay, but a bulk of the opportunities are provided by Corporate Eye Hospitals such as LV Prasad Eye Institute, Maxi Vision, Vasan Eye Care, Agarwal Eye Hospital, etc,. Corporate Eyewear stores such as Titan Eye Plus, Lenskart, Lawrence & Mayo, Vision Express, GKB, etc,. are also paying attractive salaries to Optometrists. After gaining some Experience, you can run your own Eyewear shop as well. Optometrists are everywhere where Ophthalmologists are serving.

Skills Required:

Those who want to provide services as an Optometrist should not be blind. Those who have Patience, the Ability to deal with co-ordination, and the Right Decision-making skills can excel in this field. The course covers Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Microbiology, and Optics. They learn the basics of Clinical Ophthalmology. Optometry applications are studied from these subjects.

Types of Courses:

Regular courses:

UG: 

✪ Bachelor of Optometry (B.Opto)  

✪ Bachelor of Science in Optometry

PG:

✪ Master of Optometry

✪ Master of Science in Optometry

Certificate courses:

✪ Certificate course in Optometry

✪ Diploma course in Optometry

Eligibility:

UG:

✧ Candidate should have pass class 10+ 2 with Chemistry, Physics, Biology.

✧ Candidates need to appear National level entrance test or University level entrance exam.

✧ The duration of course is 4 years.

PG:

✧ Candidate must have Bachelor degree in Optometry.

✧ Admission based on Entrance test score. Universities conducts their own Entrance test for Admissions. Colleges also accept National level entrance exam score.

Diploma course:

✧ Candidate must have pass class 12th.

✧ Admission based on Merit. The duration of course is 2 years.

Certificate Course:

✧ Admission based on Merit.

✧ One can also pursue Optometry course by qualifying any one of these Entrance tests like NEET, CMC, CUCET, AIIMS, etc,.

These are Educational Institutions:

✧ The Central University of Hyderabad is offering a Master of Optometry (M.Opto) course for a period of 6 Years. Those who have studied Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics subjects in Intermediate can apply. 60% marks in Intermediate is mandatory to enroll for the course. The exam is for 100 marks. There will be objective questions in General Science and Mathematics.

✧ All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is offering a Bachelor of Optometry course at New Delhi Campus. Admission will be given as per the marks scored in the entrance exam. Students enrolled in this Institution can receive a stipend of Rs. 500 per month. In the Fourth year, an Internship of Rs. 10,250 will be given. Both BiPC, MPC students can apply. The questions will be asked from Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics subjects. It is sufficient for students to write answers to any subject questions for either Biology or Mathematics according to the group they are studying.

✧ Elite School of Optometry, run by Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, offers Bachelor, Master, and Doctorate courses. Bachelor's course will study for the first two years at the University of Shastra, Thanjavur. The next two years will be an Internship at Elite School, Sankara Eye Hospital. Admission will be given based on the NEET score, Intermediate marks, or Marks scored in the Examination conducted by the SASTRA University. Students from both BiPC and MPC groups can apply to join the course here.

✧ Students who have completed three years of Bachelor of Optometry course can complete the fourth year with internship at LV Prasad Eye Hospital campuses, located Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Bhubaneswar. Admissions will be given based on the marks scored in the entrance exam. The Institute offers PG Diploma in Optometry and Vision Sciences courses in various modules for a period of 18 months. Those who have completed Bachelor‌ courses in Optometry are eligible.

✧ Manipal Academy of Higher Education offers UG and PG courses in Optometry. Admission will be given by conducting Examination and Interview. Students from both groups of BiPC and MPC can apply.

✧ There is an Optometry course at Amrita University, Kochi Campus. Opportunity is given based on the Entrance test.

✧ Bharti Vidyapeeth School of Optometry, Pune has UG and PG courses.

✧ B.A optometry course in Andhra Pradesh is offered at Kurnool Medical College, Andhra Medical College, Siddhartha Medical College, Konaseema Institute of Medical Sciences, Amalapuram, Bollineni Medical Skills, Srikakulam(Ragolu), Rajahmundry School, Visakhapatnam, Paramedical in Visakhapatnam. Admissions will be based on merit of Intermediate BiPC marks. GITAM University has recently started an Optometry course on its Visakhapatnam campus.

✧ In Telangana ... Yashoda, Mallareddy Health University, etc,.

✧ Renowned Eye clinics offer UG, PG, PG Diploma, Ph.D courses. Some Companies offer one- year Internships also.

Fee: 

Top Institutes:

✧ AIIMS, Delhi

✧ Chandigarh university, Punjab

✧ SRM University, Chennai

✧ Amity University, Gurgaon

✧ Jain University, Karnataka

✧ Dr.DY Patil Vidyapeeth

✧ Mallareddy University Hyderabad

✧ Manipal Academy

✧ CMJ University, Meghalaya

✧ Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune

Career options:

✧ Optometrist

✧ Ophthalmologist

✧ Optician

✧ Teacher

✧ Vision Specialist

Salaries:

The average salaries are between INR. 2.5- 6 lakhs.

Top Recruiters:

✧ Eye Hospitals

✧ Educational Institutions

✧ Lenskart

✧ NGO's

✧ Government Hospitals