A new session of each course opens each month, allowing you to enroll whenever your busy schedule permits!
How does it work? Once a session starts, two lessons will be released each week, for the six-week duration of your course. You will have access to all previously released lessons until the course ends.
Keep in mind that the interactive discussion area for each lesson automatically closes 2 weeks after each lesson is released, so you’re encouraged to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
The Final Exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the Final Exam has been released, you will have 2 weeks plus 10 days to complete the Final and finish any remaining lessons in your course. No further extensions can be provided beyond these 10 days.
Week One
Lesson 01 - What Optical Assistants Do
Wednesday
Discover the wide range of opportunities available in optical assisting as you determine whether this fun and in-demand career is right for you.
Lesson 02 - The Amazing Eye
Friday
Take a tour of the parts of the eye, and find out how they work together to create the miracle of vision. This lesson will give you a big head start on the path to becoming an optical assistant.
Week Two
Lesson 03 - Common Eye Problems
Wednesday
Common eye problems cause millions of people to need glasses, contact lenses, vision therapy, or low vision aids. You'll also learn about common eye disorders and receive important tips on protecting the eyesight.
Lesson 04 - Other Eye Conditions and Terms
Friday
Explore eye conditions like color-blindness, having a "lazy eye", and what it means to be legally blind.
Week Three
Lesson 05 - Front Office Skills for Success
Wednesday
Take a look at front office optical assisting—a great career if you're a "people" person and a multi-tasker. Learn about becoming a goodwill ambassador, triage, and the ins and outs of scheduling patients efficiently.
Lesson 06 - Back Office Basics
Friday
Check out back office assisting if you're looking to perform hands-on patient care. Learn about taking a patient's medical history, the tests used to gather vision data, and two specialty areas in back office assisting: contact lens fitting and surgical assisting.
Week Four
Lesson 07 - The Prescription
Wednesday
Gain the power to understand the language of optical prescriptions! Learn how those numbers and symbols on an eye doctor's prescription translate into just the right lenses for a patient.
Lesson 08 - Glasses: Function and Fashion
Friday
Learn the insider secrets of eyeglass styling so you can pick frame styles that make most people look attractive and feel confident.
Week Five
Lesson 09 - All About Contact Lenses
Wednesday
Contact lenses help correct vision. Learn how optical assistants fit contact lenses and educate patients about using them correctly.
Lesson 10 - Essential Customer Service Skills
Friday
Look at the best ways to make people feel welcome, respected, and well treated at every step of their visit to a doctor's office or retail store. You'll also get great tips for smoothing the waters if problems arise.
Week Six
Lesson 11 - Specialties: Something for Everyone!
Wednesday
Take a look at three of the most interesting optical assisting specialties: low vision clinics, vision therapy, and refractive surgery.
Lesson 12 - Certification and Licensing
Friday
Learn how certification puts you in line for promotions and management positions as you take a look at the different types of certification you can achieve in the optical assisting field.