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Course Scheduling and Program Overview

The course of study for this program includes (1) prerequisite and supporting liberal arts and sciences courses, (2) a sequence of OMA courses offered on campus and (3) clinical requirements at a variety of Twin Cities locations. Each student completes approximately 1000 hours of supervised clinical experience.

This program is offered for full-time students studying weekdays. Courses are offered at the College of St. Catherine campus in the heart of Minneapolis, near the Fairview-University Medical Center on Riverside Avenue. Courses are offered during fall semester (September-December) and winter semester (February-May), with some summer courses.

The OMA course sequence is a two-year course of study beginning in the winter semester of each year.

However, most students will begin their studies some time prior to the beginning of this sequence as “pre-professional” students. Pre-professional students spend up to one-and-one-half years taking prerequisite and supporting liberal arts and sciences courses before beginning the two-year OMA course sequence. For details, consult your College of St. Catherine associate admissions counselor.

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Liberal arts and science requirements (30 credits)

May be completed while taking OMA courses. Or, if a student begins taking courses prior to beginning major courses as a “pre-professional” student, many courses may be completed prior to taking OMA courses.

• Health, Social Justice, and Civic Engagement (2 credits)
• Ethical Problems in Healthcare (2 credits)
• General Psychology (4 credits)
• Power and Social Change (2 credits)
• Social Science elective (2 credits)
• Medical Terminology (1 credit)
• Psychology elective (1 credit)
• Liberal arts and sciences elective (2 credits)
• Art elective (2 credits)
• Literature elective (2 credits)
• Theology elective (2 credits)
• Anatomy and Physiology I (4 credits)
• Human Disease (2 credits)
• Composition I (2 credits)

Major prerequisite requirements*

• General chemistry (2 or 4 credits)
• General physics (2 credits or more – the content of this course must cover the physics of light and optics. PHYS 102 at the College of St. Catherine satisfies this requirement).
  
  * To be completed prior to beginning Ophthalmic Technician Program courses as a “pre-professional” student. Courses must have been completed with a grade of C- or better within the last seven years at the post-secondary level (college or technical school).

Major course requirements (40 credits)

Winter semester 1

• Introduction to Ophthalmic Tech, Medical Law, and Ethics (2 credits)
• Ocular Anatomy and Physiology (2 credits)
• Physical and Geometric Optics (2 credits)
• Clinical Rotation I (Practicum – 3 credits)

Fall semester 1

• Physiological Optics, Spectacles and Contact Lenses (2 credits)
• Clinical Skills Lab I (2 credits)
• Ophthalmic Pharmacology (2 credits)
• Ocular Motility (2 credits)
• Clinical Rotation II (Practicum – 3 credits)

Winter semester 2

• Eye Diseases, Ocular Emergencies, and CPR* (2 credits)
• Ophthalmic Imaging, Photography and Angiography (2 credits
• Clinical Skills Lab II (2 credits)
• Clinical Rotation III (4 credits)
• CPR: Proof of current CPR certification is must be submitted prior to beginning OPH 201. Certification must be for the American Heart Association Health Care Provider Curriculum and must remain current during the 2nd year of the Ophthalmic Program.

Fall semester 2

• Clinical Skills Lab III and Skills Review (2 credits)
• Instrument Maintenance 1 (2 credits)
• Ophthalmic Surgical Assisting (2 credits)
• Clinical Rotation IV (Practicum – 4 credits)