Board of Opticianry

Information about the Board of Opticianry
Exam Update as of January 2012
Florida Board Adopts New Licensing Exam to Start in 2012	NCSORB is very excited about the new board exams which feature a simulated testing experience as well as multiple choice examination questions. The following documents are now available for your review: National Practical Optician Candidate Manual Optician Skill Examination simulation Spectacles and Contact Lenses checklist For additional information please visit the NCSORB website, www.ncsorb.org, which now live!
New Exam Adopted in November 2011
	During their quarterly meeting earlier this year, the Florida Board of Opticianry voted to adopt a new two part state board exam for initial licensure that will replace the current board exam as in January of 2012. The new exam was developed by the National Committee of State Optical Regulatory Boards (NCSORB) based on their years of research and surveys on the required competencies of opticians from member state licensing boards. One part of the exam will test for competencies and knowledge of optics and dispensing skills and the other part on contact lenses and their fitting. Each part is designed to be two hours in length. The estimated cost of the exams will be $300 total for both parts of the exam, a significant reduction from the current $870 exam fee. The computer based exam will test for multiple skill competencies including the computer simulation of a variety of spectacle and contact lens tasks. Understandably, there will be many opticians and others that will be skeptical about the ability to test for opticianry skills virtually, and here is what one well respected and long time optical educator, Ed De Gennaro, MEd, ABOM had to say about the NCSORB exam in his May column on TotallyOptical.com entitled ‘Moving Opticianry Forward’, “The developers of this simulated practical exam are to be congratulated for creating a series of tasks that are so real that you almost forget it’s a simulation. Sure, there’s a learning curve required to understand how to manipulate the various controls of the manual lensometer, the slit lamp, etc., but once you’ve done that, the realism is amazing. Even the mires of the keratometer rotate exactly as they should when you turn the barrel to align the axis for oblique toricity.” In addition to a steep reduction in the exam fee, the other good news is it will be administered in certified testing facilities in various cities around the state of Florida on a date and in a location scheduled by the exam candidate. This will be another welcome improvement, over the current exam procedure of offering the exam only in one city twice a year. In addition to cost savings and an increased accessibility to exam candidates, the main reason that the Opticianry Board voted to use NCSORB’s exam is a Florida law that requires all state regulatory boards to adopt the profession’s national exam, if one is available. As of the beginning of 2011, the opticianry board was one of only three health care professions in Florida that were still administering their own exam. Since then, the board of dentistry also adopted the use of national exams for both dentists and dental hygienists. The board of optometry is the only health care profession in Florida that will be administering their own state board exam after 2011. PLEASE NOTE: If you are planning to take the Florida exam after October of this year, you will no doubt have plenty of questions about this new exam, and we have included ALL of the information we know about exam in this article and even if you call the office or email us, there will be nothing else that we will be tell you about the exam. Sorry And because the exam will be administered by the NCSORB and not the Board of Opticianry, the Board Office may also not be able to provide you with information on the exam until after the State Board of Opticianry meets on November 4, 2011, at Vision Preview in Ft. Lauderdale. In the meantime, you are welcome to join in on the discussion and ask the questions you want there. We will do our best to address them the best we can and you can see any updates that we learn about the new Exam on POF’s Facebook page Please know that POF will be working on a new State Board Exam Review for this new test as soon as we know more, which may not be until 2012. Updates as of November 4, 2012 The FL Board of Opticianry on Nov. 4th voted to allow those candidates who failed either portion of Florida's practical examination in 2011, will only need to pass the spectacle portion of the new national exam for licensure. They will not have to take contact lens portion. Read more on this topic. The eligibility requirements to be become a Florida Licensed optician have not changed because Florida has adopted the National Exam. To review Florida's current requirements visit our Become Florida Licensed page
About the Board Members
	Florida Board of Opticianry The Board of Opticianry operates within the Florida Department of Health. The seven member board, appointed by the governor, monitors the professional conduct, education and licensure of Florida opticians. The board also works to enforce the laws and rules that govern the profession. More information on licensing of opticians in Florida is available at the Board of Opticianry website. Board of Opticianry Office 4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin #C08 Tallahassee, FL 32399-3258 (850)245-4474 MQA_Opticianry@doh.state.fl.us

Optician Board Members
	Amy Arcand Licensed Optician Tampa, FL Term: 8/4/09 - 10/31/11
	Antonio Feroce Licensed Optician Orlando, FL Term 3/16/10 - 10/31/13
	Barney Goodman, Board Vice Chair Licensed Optician Clewiston, FL Term: 8/15/08 - 10/31/1
	Margaret Slattery Licensed Optician O'Brien, FL Term: 8/15/08 - 10/31/10
Consumer Board Members
	David Calvo, Board Chair Consumer Member Miami, FL Term: 12/1/04 - 10/31/08
	Irene Stavros, RDH Consumer Member Miami, FL 8/4/09 - 10/31/10
Board Administrative Staff:
	Susan Foster Executive Director 4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin #C08 Tallahassee, FL 32399-3258
	Robin McKenzie Program Administrator 4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin #C08 Tallahassee, FL 32399-3258
	Sharon Carraway Regulation Specialist II 850-245-4474
	Rachel Clark Board Counsel
Important Notice All correspondence and inquiries should be directed to the Board of Opticianry Staff at 4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin #C08, Tallahassee, FL 32399-3258 and not the individual board members. Since this Board serves as a "quasi judicial" entity on licensure issues, contact with the members may cause the members to recuse themselves from administrative proceedings. Staff will direct inquiries, when appropriate to the full Board for review.