Principles and Practice in Ophthalmic Assisting: A Comprehensive Textbook

Time is an incredibly valuable resource for ophthalmic and para-optometric personnel, whether they are still studying on their way to certification or they are already in the trenches in daily practice. To keep up, they need a single, cohesive text containing everything they need to learn. Principles and Practice in Ophthalmic Assisting: A Comprehensive Textbookmeets that need, covering all subject areas in detail while also maintaining a readable, user-friendly style.

Editors Janice Ledford and Al Lens have gathered a prestigious team of over 40 contributors, all of them ophthalmic and optometric medical personnel, who actively perform the tasks they write about. Their time-tested expertise is like having a group of specialists right by your side to show how it’s done and answer questions.

From A-scan to zygoma, Principles and Practice in Ophthalmic Assisting: A Comprehensive Textbookincludes everything ophthalmic and para-optometric personnel need to know to effectively perform their duties, assist their patients, and advance their careers.

Each chapter is written in a friendly manner and follows an established framework, making it easy to digest any new information or as a quick reference to the material needed. Chapters also include valuable “tricks of the trade” that could only come from authors with intimate knowledge of their topics.

Topics covered:

• General ophthalmic knowledge
• Ophthalmic skills
• Optical skills
• Ophthalmic medical sciences
• Surgical services and skills
• Administrative skills

Whether perfecting current skills, learning new ones, or studying for exams, Principles and Practice in Ophthalmic Assisting: A Comprehensive Textbook makes both a perfect learning tool for students and a complete reference tool for staff whether they are new to the eyecare industry or have years of experience.

Author, editor, and speaker Jan Ledford, COMT, began her ocular adventure as a job-trained assistant. Three certifications, 20+ books, and thousands of eye exams later, she is still very happy in an exam room with a patient, doing refractometry and other fun things.
She is currently owned by only one cat (Nadia Narci), but hopes to one day retire (although no time soon) and become a crazy cat lady. Jan lives in the mountains of western North Carolina where she enjoys singing, reading, spending time with her grandkids and other family, and watching Judge Judy and NCIS. Oh, and bleeding red ink on other people’s manuscripts.



Al Lens, COMT, began his career in ophthalmology in 1986 and has enjoyed teaching new ophthalmic medical personnel how to evaluate and care for patients in the best way possible. He is a firm believer that you should never stop learning. When students face a new scenario, Al encourages them to gain knowledge from the experience, possibly undertaking further study to fill in the blanks. Continuous study makes the job more enjoyable and better serves the patients.