Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric
Overview
Demand
Core Tasks
Technology Skills
Tools Used
Top 10 Knowledge Required
Top 10 Skills
Top 10 Abilities
Top 10 Work Activities
Detailed Work Activities
Work Context
Education
Majors
Interests
Top 10 Work Styles
Work Values
Overview
Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Experience
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Education
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Job Training
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Examples
These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include pharmacists, lawyers, astronomers, biologists, clergy, neurologists, and veterinarians.
Diagnose and perform surgery to treat and help prevent disorders and diseases of the eye. May also provide vision services for treatment including glasses and contacts.
Demand
Core Tasks
Perform comprehensive examinations of the visual system to determine the nature or extent of ocular disorders.
Perform ophthalmic surgeries such as cataract, glaucoma, refractive, corneal, vitro-retinal, eye muscle, or oculoplastic surgeries.
Diagnose or treat injuries, disorders, or diseases of the eye and eye structures including the cornea, sclera, conjunctiva, or eyelids.
Document or evaluate patients' medical histories.
Provide or direct the provision of postoperative care.
Develop treatment plans based on patients' histories and goals, the nature and severity of disorders, and treatment risks and benefits.
Perform, order, or interpret the results of diagnostic or clinical tests.
Prescribe or administer topical or systemic medications to treat ophthalmic conditions and to manage pain.
Perform laser surgeries to alter, remove, reshape, or replace ocular tissue.
Provide ophthalmic consultation to other medical professionals.
Educate patients about maintenance and promotion of healthy vision.
Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams of health professionals to provide optimal patient care.
Refer patients for more specialized treatments when conditions exceed the experience, expertise, or scope of practice of practitioner.
Develop or implement plans and procedures for ophthalmologic services.
Instruct interns, residents, or others in ophthalmologic procedures and techniques.
Prescribe ophthalmologic treatments or therapies such as chemotherapy, cryotherapy, or low vision therapy.
Prescribe corrective lenses such as glasses or contact lenses.
Conduct clinical or laboratory-based research in ophthalmology.
Technology Skills
Technology
Example
Hot Technology
Tools Used
Tool
Example
Top 10 Knowledge Required
Medicine and Dentistry
100%
Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
English Language
88%
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Biology
86%
Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Education and Training
77%
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Customer and Personal Service
76%
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Therapy and Counseling
72%
Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Mathematics
71%
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Psychology
69%
Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Administration and Management
65%
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Physics
61%
Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
Top 10 Skills
Critical Thinking
88%
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Active Listening
85%
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Reading Comprehension
83%
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Speaking
83%
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Coordination
78%
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Judgment and Decision Making
78%
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Social Perceptiveness
78%
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Complex Problem Solving
75%
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Monitoring
75%
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Science
75%
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Top 10 Abilities
Inductive Reasoning
85%
The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Near Vision
85%
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Comprehension
85%
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Deductive Reasoning
83%
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Oral Expression
83%
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity
83%
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Written Comprehension
83%
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Speech Recognition
78%
The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Written Expression
78%
The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Finger Dexterity
75%
The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Top 10 Work Activities
Making Decisions and Solving Problems
97%
Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Assisting and Caring for Others
96%
Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Analyzing Data or Information
92%
Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
Getting Information
92%
Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
90%
Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
89%
Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Processing Information
89%
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
Controlling Machines and Processes
84%
Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
Documenting/Recording Information
84%
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
84%
Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Detailed Work Activities
Operate on patients to treat conditions.
Test patient vision.
Diagnose medical conditions.
Treat chronic diseases or disorders.
Record patient medical histories.
Monitor patients following surgeries or other treatments.
Analyze test data or images to inform diagnosis or treatment.
Order medical diagnostic or clinical tests.
Develop medical treatment plans.
Administer non-intravenous medications.
Prescribe medications.
Advise medical personnel regarding healthcare issues.
Provide health and wellness advice to patients, program participants, or caregivers.
Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
Refer patients to other healthcare practitioners or health resources.
Train medical providers.
Prescribe treatments or therapies.
Prescribe assistive medical devices or related treatments.
Conduct research to increase knowledge about medical issues.
Work Context
Contact With Others
How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
Face-to-Face Discussions
How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
Deal With External Customers
How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results
What results do your decisions usually have on other people or the image or reputation or financial resources of your employer?
Frequency of Decision Making
How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?
Work With Work Group or Team
How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
Letters and Memos
How often does the job require written letters and memos?
Telephone
How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Education
Interests
Investigative
100%
Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Social
77%
Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Realistic
72%
Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Conventional
43%
Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Enterprising
34%
Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Artistic
29%
Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
Top 10 Work Styles
Integrity
99%
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Attention to Detail
98%
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability
96%
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Concern for Others
95%
Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Achievement/Effort
92%
Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Stress Tolerance
91%
Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Analytical Thinking
90%
Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Persistence
88%
Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Self Control
88%
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Cooperation
85%
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Work Values
Achievement
86%
Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Independence
86%
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Recognition
81%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.
Relationships
77%
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Working Conditions
77%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Support
72%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
