"Welcome to O A T" 

Opticians Association of Texas

PRESS RELEASES concerning all Opticians follow!   

January 1, 2012

ROATx has a new name "OAT" and a more focused direction and purpose.  

    As of the the first of January 2012, the Registered Opticians Association of Texas will now be known as the "Opticians Association of Texas". This change in name is called for because of the new and more focused direction of Texas's only state wide Opticians professional society. Our society has gone back to our roots. From 1981 through 2001 ROATx was known as the Opticians Association of Texas. During the last 10 years ROATx  has been know for it's efforts to encourage the Opticians of Texas to become voluntarily Registered with the Texas Department of State Health Services. With the increased focus of the society to make mandatory licensure of Opticians for the health and safety of the citizens of Texas a reality, it is felt that the name change will help this noble effort.

      The new name was chosen to make our professional society more inclusive of and for all the Opticians practicing in Texas. It is felt the many Opticians may have thought that ROATx was formed for Registered Opticians only. With the new association name, it is hoped that all individuals that call themselves Opticians will feel that they have a professional society that is working for them.

    The new and more focused direction of "OAT" is based on the the earlier efforts of ROATx to "Raise the Bar" of Education, establishing higher Credentialing Standards, and increasing Legislative Activity which will lead to Mandatory Licensure of Opticians in Texas. All Opticians who desire to "Raise the Bar" for Opticians in Texas are invited to join in these noble efforts. It is also felt that the new name "Opticians Association of Texas", being more inclusive, will serve our profession better at the state legislature during future legislative sessions.

September 12, 2011

Your officers represented the interests of all Texas Opticians at the 2011 Annual ABO/NCLE Education Conference and the Society to Advance Opticianry Annual Meeting in Cincinnati on September 7th through the 11th. 

During these meetings, a new level of opticianry professional was announced. This new highest level of opticianry professional is called "Ophthalmic Optician".

     Academics has been added to the requirements to be called a fully educated and well rounded profesional Optician. The new title that can be used only by those who reach this new level of Optician is "Ophthalmic Optician" and those who are accepted into membership will be able to use the letters "O.O." following their name for the rest of their lives. No longer will it be necessary to use the alphabet soup of letters behind our names. When you are designated an "Ophthalmic Optician" by the SAO it means you have reached the highest level of education possible within our profession. This title is similar to what the best trained and educated Opticians in Europe are called at this time.

    The Society to Advance Opticianry has a stated goal of helping all interested Opticians reach the high standards of membership. They have a MENTORING PROGRAM available for anyone who joins as a candidate member.

    We encourage all Opticians to become members of the SAO, whether it be as an Ophthalmic Optician or as a Candidate Member. This is a move in the right direction for our profession.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SAO REQUIREMENTS

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SAO APPLICATION FORM

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SAO CERTIFICATE 

 It's Time to SIGN  UP to become a Certified Refracting Optician

The 2012 ROATx 100 Hour Plus Comprehensive Refraction and Advanced Ophthalmic Optics Course is forming NOW! The classroom portion of the course will be held in Austin at our association offices and training facility. There will be a total of three weekends of hands on and classroom study during February, March, and April.

The cost of this course is $1,500 for non Honored Members and includes all study materials, books, and a copy of the Virtual Phoroptor CD. ($600 value)

Current Honored Members cost for this course is $1200 (a 20% discount)

Three weekends during the months of February, March, and April.

The pre-requisites to participate in this course are:

1. ABO or NCLE entry level certified or currently a Licensed Optician

2. A minimum of at least three years experience as an Optician

3. Have completed at least 5 CEC hours of refraction training (intermediate level)

Become a Certified Refracting Optician next year!!!

Send your $150 fully refundable deposit to: 

OATx, 203 Harbor Circle, Georgetown, Texas 78633

Call Sam Johnson @ (512) for more information.

"CLICK HERE to FIND a Registered Optician or RENEW  your Voluntary Licensure (connects to the Texas Registry web site)."

CLICK HERE  

"Early Childhood Vision Screening" is our state wide community service project. The children of Texas need our professionalism and our volunteerism. We are targeting preventable blindness in children between the ages of six months and five years.

CLICK HERE - Low Income Family Eyecare project held in Austin

CLICK HERE - Help Make Optician Licensure Mandatory in Texas

PRESS RELEASE - Austin Community College partners with NAIT

Fax: (512) 328-4735           Phone: (512) 657-2020

Latest News: The 5th NAIT/USA Class has completed their FINAL EXAMINATION - CONGRATULATIONS!!
It is our professional association's goal to help every person who calls themselves an Optician in Texas to earn a two year college education in Optical Science by the year 2015. We believe that acceptance of "on the job training" limits our profession's future. 

ROATx is "Raising the Bar of Education" for Opticians in Texas as we continue to work toward Mandatory Licensure.