• Manuals & Downloads
• Certification
  • Commission on Paraoptometric Certification Directory
  • About the Commission on Paraoptometric Certification
    • General Information
    • CPC Receives NCCA Accreditation
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Certification Levels
    • Certified Paraoptometric (CPO)
      • Study Outline
    • Certified Paraoptometric Assistant (CPOA)
      • Study Outline
    • Certified Paraoptometric Technician (CPOT)
      • Study Outline
  • Exams & Education
    • Exam Dates and Locations
    • Optometric Assistant/Technician Training Programs
    • Renewal
    • Application to Take an Exam
    • LaserGrade Online Tutorial and Sample Test
  • Tools & Services
    • Year in Review of 2008 Examination Candidates Available
    • Study Resources
    • Call for Testimonials
    • Is your practice 100% certified?
    • Promote Your Credentials
    • Veterans
      • Checklist for Certification Reimbursement for Active Duty or Veterans
      • Checklist for Certification Reimbursement for Eligible Children and Spouses
    • Military
      • Military Examination Administration Form
  • Certification E-Newsletter Archive
• AzPA Events
• Clinical Care
  • Allergan Launches Latisse™ as Treatment for Hypotrichosis
  • Presentation to the FDA Advisory Panel on Contact Lens Solutions
  • Intraoperative Floppy Iris Syndrome (IFIS) Associated with Systemic Alpha-1 Blockers
  • AOA Optometric Clinical Practice Guidelines
  • Quick Reference Guides
  • Clinical Care Publications
  • AOA Diabetes Eye Report form
  • Council on Research
    • Summer Invitational Research Institute
  • Patient Care
    • Geriatrics and Nursing Facility
      • Facts about Optometric Nursing Facility Care
      • Instruments and Equipment
      • A Recommended Continuing Education Curriculum: Geriatric Optometry for the Primary Care Practice
    • Hospital Practice
      • Hospital Privileges Manual
        • Hospital Privileges Manual: Part II: The Importance of Optometry to the Hospital
        • Hospital Privileges Manual: Part III: Hospital Bylaws and Legal Issues in Hospital Privileging
        • Hospital Privileges Manual: Part IV: How to Obtain Hospital Privileges
        • Hospital Privileges Manual: Part V: The Hospital-Based Optometric Examination
      • American Optometric Association Guidelines for Delineation of Clinical Privileges for Optometry
    • Pediatrics and Binocular Vision
      • Vision: A Collaboration of Eyes and Brain
      • The Need for Comprehensive Vision Examination of Preschool and School-age Children
      • Vision Therapy
        • Optometric Co-Management of Vision Therapy
      • Vision, Learning and Dyslexia
      • The Use of Tinted Lenses and Colored Overlays for the Treatment of Dyslexia and Other Related Reading and Learning Disorders
      • Optometric Care of the Patient with Acquired Brain Injury
    • Primary Care
      • Optometric Clinical Practice Recommendations
  • Environmental / Occupational Issues
    • Occupational Vision Manual Part I: Introduction
      • Occupational Vision Manual: Part II: Performance and Productivity in the Work Place
      • Occupational Vision Manual: Part III: Ocular Protection
      • Occupational Vision Manual: Part IV: Contact Lens Use In Industry
      • Occupational Vision Manual: Part V: Medico-Legal and Ethical Concerns Regarding Standards and Regulations
      • Occupational Vision Manual: References and Sources for Further Information
    • Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS)
      • Computer Vision Syndrome Symptoms
      • The Relationship of Computer Vision Syndrome to Musculoskeletal Disorders
      • Impact of Computer Use on Children's Vision
      • The Effects of Video Display Terminal Use on Eye Health and Vision
      • Criteria for Determining Whether the Need for Eyeglasses or Other Treatment is Related to Computer Use
    • Motorist Vision Policy
    • Recommendations for the Use of Laser Pointers
  • Ophthalmic Standards
  • Commission on Quality Assessment & Improvement
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Aviation Vision
    • Comparison of Bifocal and Progressive Addition Lenses on Aviator Target Detection Performance
    • Eyes, Right
    • LASIK Refractive Surgery: Clinical Considerations for the Pilot
    • Special Ophthalmic Needs of Aviators
    • Sunglasses in Aviation
    • Ultraviolet Radiation: Hazards in Aviation
    • Eye Exams and Aviation: Prescription for Success
    • The Eye and Night Vision
    • Adjusting to New Spectacles the Easy Way
    • Prescribing Spectacles for Aviators
  • Community Health Centers
    • Community Health Center Optometry
    • Publications and Research

Study Outline

I.  Office Operations (13%)
A.  Practice Management
B.  Records Management

1. filing
2. confidentiality/safeguards
3. ownership/release
4. legal/ethical Issues

1. scheduling
2. emergencies/urgencies
3. triage
4. message taking
5. handling complaints

1. accounts receivable/payable
2. banking procedures
3. billing
4. insurance

1. scope of roles and functions
2. liability and malpractice
3. conduct, confidentiality, ethics
4. hygiene and infection control

II. Ophthalmic Optics and Dispensing (20%)
A.  Prescriptions

1. components
   1. sphere, cylinder, axis
   2. add power
   3. prism
   4. measurements
2. optical crosses
3. transposition
4. decentration calculations
5. vertex and effective power
6. verification
   1. instruments
   2. Prentice’s prism formula
   3. optics

1. lens forms
2. lens types
3. lens styles
4. powers/focal length
5. lens materials
6. index of refraction
7. impact resistance
8. FDA/ANSI standards
9. special prescription considerations
   1. high powers
   2. Fresnel prisms
   3. industrial/occupational
10. tints and coatings

1. types of frames
2. parts of frames

1. alignment
2. procedures
3. tools
4. techniques
5. pliers
6. pads
7. repair

III. Testing and Procedures (20%)
A.  Purpose and Preliminary Testing

1. visual skills
2. interpupillary distance
3. near point of convergence
4. near point of accommodation
5. cover testing
6. fusion/suppression
7. Worth four dot
8. Maddox Rod

1. procedures
2. monocular and binocular
3. pinhole acuity
4. measurement systems/charts
5. recording results

1. procedures and recording
2. types of tests

1. purpose of test
2. types of tests
3. procedures

1. retinoscope
2. ophthalmoscope
3. biomicroscope/slit lamp
4. phoropter
5. keratometer
6. photography
7. optical coherence tomography
8. other

IV. Special Procedures (17%)
A.  Contact Lenses

1. terminology
2. materials
3. soft and gp comparison
s
4. care and handling
patient instruction
5. verification/measurements
6. special lens designs and uses

1. instrumentation/types
2. procedures/causes

1. instrumentation/types
2. procedures/measurements
3. defects
4. physiologic blind spot
5. recording

1. instrumentation/terminology
2. procedures
3. recordings
4. readings

V.  Refractive Status of the Eye and Binocularity (13%)
A.  Refractive Errors

1. Types
   1. myopia
   2. hyperopia
   3. astigmatism
2. presbyopia
3. causes
4. corrective lenses
5. photophobia

1. types
   1. aphakia
   2. anisometropia
   3. aniseidonia
   4. amblyopia
2. causes

1. versions, ductions, rotations, pursuits and saccades
2. convergence and divergence
3. binocular vision
4. accommodative mechanism
5. stereopsis

VI. Basic Ocular Anatomy and Physiology (17%)
A.  General Anatomy and Physiology

1. fibrous, vascular, and neural tunic
2. anterior adnexa
3. orbit
4. bones
5. anterior segment
6. posterior segment
7. crystalline lens
8. aqueous/vitreous
9. retina
10. extra ocular muscles
11. visual pathway
12. cornea

1. lacrimal system
2. anterior chamber
3. anterior angle
4. posterior chamber

1. lids
2. conjunctivitis
3. glaucoma
4. cataracts
5. corneal problems
6. retinal disorders
7. legal blindness
8. macular degeneration

1. types
   1. mydriatics
   2. miotics
   3. cycloplegics
   4. anesthetics
2. instillation/instruction
   1. solutions
   2. ointment