Optometrist

About the role

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) — a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program approval — award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) — is determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants are ineligible to apply.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements for Optometrist

• Citizenship: Must be a citizen of the United States in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7402(c). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens per 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• Education: Degree of Doctor of Optometry from a school or college approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for the year the course of study was completed. Approved schools are U.S. and Canadian schools or colleges of optometry accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE) for that year.
• Licensure/Registration: Current, full, and unrestricted license to practice optometry in a state, territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia, requiring successful passage of all parts of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry intended for basic licensure. Must maintain current registration in the state of licensure if required for continuing active licensure.
• Residency Training or Comparable Experience: Must have successfully completed residency training approved by the Secretary of VA in an accredited post‑graduate training program, or have two years of licensed clinical optometric practice in the United States consisting of active involvement in the management of medically complex patients. Approved residencies are those with accredited or pre‑accredited status by the ACOE for the year the residency was completed.
• English Language Proficiency: Must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. §§ 7402(d) and 7407(d).
• Physical Requirements: Must be physically and mentally able to perform the duties of the position efficiently. Physical activity includes sitting, standing (up to 2 hours), walking (up to 2 hours), bending, and reaching.

Currently employed VA physicians who met the requirements for appointment under the previous qualification standard at the time of their initial appointment are deemed to have met the basic requirements. Applicants pending completion of training or license requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Responsibilities

• Provide primary ocular health examinations including dilated eye exams for diabetic eye care, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and other conditions prevalent in a hospital‑based eye clinic.
• Manage these conditions with appropriate therapeutic intervention and/or referral protocols.
• Prescribe and order eyeglasses.
• Order diagnostic imaging and laboratory studies.
• Prepare referrals for diagnosis, treatment, and management of systemic and ocular conditions revealed through optometric examination.
• Provide patient and family health education.
• Deliver emergency care (evaluating, managing, triaging emergent non‑surgical eye conditions).
• Provide problem‑oriented care (managing patients referred with complaints of typical routine disorders).
• Perform preventive health services (mandated examinations such as diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma screenings).

Clinical procedures employed include:

• Medical and ocular history
• Visual acuity measurement
• Pupillary function testing
• Color vision testing
• Extraocular muscle function and binocularity testing
• Refractive and accommodative testing
• External examination of the eye and adnexal structures
• Biomicroscopic evaluation of the ocular adnexa, anterior and/or posterior segments (including gonioscopic and fundus lens evaluation)
• Ophthalmoscopic, tonometric, and perimetric evaluations

Other duties as assigned.

Skills

• Manifest Refractions
• Retinoscopy
• Goldmann Applanation tonometry
• External examination
• Anterior Segment Slit Lamp examination
• Fundus Slit Lamp examination
• Indirect ophthalmoscopy
• Fundus photography interpretation
• OCT interpretation
• Visual Field interpretation
• Evaluation and Management of routine eye diseases (refractive error, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, dry eye, glaucoma)
• Evaluation and Diagnosis of complex eye diseases (corneal ulcers, cataracts, retinal tears, retinal detachments, ocular tumors)
• Proficiency with electronic medical record systems
• Maintenance of an unrestricted Optometry license

Benefits

• Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign‑on Bonus): May be approved
• Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): EDRP authorized (former EDRP participants ineligible)
• Paid Time Off: 50–55 days per year (26 days annual leave, 13 days sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays, possible 5‑day paid absence for CME)
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5‑year vesting) and federal 401(k) with up to 5% VA contributions
• Insurance: Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long‑term care (many programs can be carried into retirement)
• Licensure: One full and unrestricted license from any U.S. state or territory
• CME: Possible $1,000 per year reimbursement (must be full‑time with board certification)
• Malpractice: Free liability protection with tail coverage provided
• Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting

Pay

Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases.

Schedule

Full‑time, Monday–Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Management reserves the right to change the schedule to accommodate patient needs, including extended hours and weekends.