They prescribe drugs to treat some eye diseases. They also diagnose conditions due to systemic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure and refer patients to other health practitioners as needed. Optometrists should not be confused with ophthalmologists, physicians who examine eyes, prescribe corrective lenses, perform eye surgery and diagnose and treat eye diseases and injuries. There are 17 accredited school and colleges in the United States. Kentucky students can attend optometry school on state contracts with the University of Alabama in Birmingham, the School of Optometry at Indiana University or the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis.
All states require that optometrists be licensed.
Applicants for a license must have a Doctor of Optometry degree from an accredited optometry school and pass both a written and a clinical state board examination. Optometrists are regulated by the Kentucky Board of Optometric Examiners. Although many optometrists practice alone, a growing number are in a partnership or group practice. Some optometrists work as salaried employees of other optometrists or ophthalmologists, hospitals, health maintenance organizations, retail optical stores, teaching institutions, research and the military. A few optometrists are consultants for industrial safety programs, insurance companies, manufacturers of ophthalmic products and health maintenance organizations.