Studying for your COA, part 1, introduction.

Greetings to the Ophthalmic Technician world!

Let me start out by introducing myself.  My name is Joshua, a "Certified Ophthalmic Assistant" (COA) and "American Board of Opticianry Certified" (ABOC) technician at a surgical eye clinic in central Illinois.  I hold a bachelors degree in interdisciplinary studies from Governors State University.  I was also sergeant in the US Army.

I've been in eye care for a little over 10 years, starting out as a lab technician making glasses "in about an hour" and worked my way from there.  I've been sales associate, supervisor, optician, and now an ophthalmic assistant.  Being an ophthalmic assistant has so far been my favorite aspect of eye care, as I truly enjoy working with patients and figuring out what they need.

My primary job is working up patients in preparation for seeing the doctor.  Work-up includes taking a complete history, checking vision and refracting, tonometry, and special testing when needed.  I would like to impart what knowledge I may to future (and current) technicians who are seeking to become certified.

Overview of JCAHPO certifications:

There are three levels of certification universally recognized by ophthalmologist for technicians.  JCAHPO is the organization that test and oversee the certifications.  Step one is COA, step two is Certified Ophthalmic Technician (COT), and Certified Ophthalmic Medical Technologist (COMT).  There are other side certifications offered that will not be addressed in this blog. 

To become a COA you must take a multiple choice test.  Before you can take this test you must meet one of three criteria, two of which involves going to an accredited training program, which I couldn't even begin to tell you where to find.  I'm going to focus on the most likely criteria which is working a minimum 1000 hours in a 1 year period prior to taking the test, which if you work full time is around 6 months.  You must also complete a home study course.  The JCAT, one of the recognized home study courses, can be purchased through JCAHPO's online store.

After this is completed you start preparing for the COA test itself.

The COA Exam:

The COA exam has two hundred scored questions with a three hour time limit.  It is taken at a designated proctor exam location on computer.  If you don't live near a large city you should contact JCAHPO to find out where your testing center is (mine was about an hour from where I live).

The content areas (and percentage of questions on test) include:

History Taking...............................................................8%

Pupillary Assessment.....................................................3%

Contact Lenses...............................................................2%

Equipment Maintenance and Repair..............................4% 

Lensometry.....................................................................3%

Keratometry....................................................................3% 

Medical Ethics, Legal, and Regulatory Issues...............5%

Microbiology..................................................................2%

Pharmacology.................................................................8%

Ocular Motility...............................................................3%

Assisting in Surgical Procedures....................................7%

Ophthalmic Patient Services and Education..................16%

Ophthalmic Imaging.......................................................3%

Refractometry.................................................................6%

Spectacle Skills...............................................................3%

Supplemental Skills.........................................................8%

Tonometry.......................................................................4%

Visual Assessment..........................................................8%

Visual Fields....................................................................4%

Each content area has a percentage of the test, some larger than others.  Ophthalmic Patient Services and Education is the largest at 16% of the test, contacts and microbiology are the lowest percentage at 2% each.  

To better understand this, you can expect somewhere around 30 questions about patient services/education and around 4 questions about contacts and microbiology.  This can be determined by multiplying the number of questions (200) by the percentage of each catagory, ie 200*.16=32 (200 questions times 16 percent service/education).

What does it take to pass?

Your answer is as good as mine.  There is no cut and dry answer.  I'd assume it's somewhere around 70ish%...but I'll just give you the "book" answer because it's to confusing to me:

"The passing score for the examination is set by a committee of experienced ophthalmic medical technicians and ophthalmologists working with a psychometrician (a specialist in the mathematics of examinations), using methods that are nationally accepted for professional examinations. 

These methods allow the committee to determine the minimum standard of knowledge and skill necessary to perform the assistant’s job. A modified Angoff procedure is used to establish each passing score. In this commonly accepted psychometric procedure, content experts 

estimate the probability of each question being answered correctly by a person who meets the minimum eligibility requirements. For this reason, passing scores are not released. 

Your test performance is measured against the minimum standard set by this committee of experts, rather than measured against other people who have taken the examination. Establishing the passing score in this way helps to ensure that only those candidates who have the knowledge are granted certificates. Passing scores are not based on straight percentage or a curve, nor does the performance of any other test–taker affect how your performance will be judged." ~JCAHPO Criteria for Certification and Recertification

Part 1 Conclusion

Sorry we didn't get any ACTUAL studying in yet, but it is important to know what you're getting into and lay a good foundation.

I hope you'll continue to check me out as I start pushing through the content areas.

Part 2...History Taking!