Ophthalmic nurses treat patients who need medical care for their eyes. Whether their patients seek help for injuries or diseases, ophthalmic nurses assist a patient’s eye care team to prevent, diagnose, and treat problems as they arise. When ophthalmic nurses help to provide quality eye care, they can increase a patient’s independence and quality of life.
Where Do Ophthalmic Nurses Work?
Ophthalmic nurses most often work in private offices, eye surgery centers, and clinics. Sometimes ophthalmic nurses work in hospitals, but the inpatient setting doesn’t often call for an ophthalmic specialty in nursing.
An ophthalmic nurse’s workplace will largely define their job responsibilities. Private offices and clinics will see more routine eye exams and care, while surgery centers will require duties more similar to an outpatient surgery center. Ophthalmic surgeries may include:
Blepharoplasty
Cataract surgery
Corneal transplant
Eye muscle surgery
Glaucoma surgeries
LASIK (laser in-situ keratomileusis)
Retina surgeries
What Does an Ophthalmic Nurse Do?
Ophthalmic nurses carry a wide variety of responsibilities. They may help patients fill out their health histories and perform basic eye exams in preparation for the ophthalmologist. Other responsibilities of an ophthalmic nurse in an office or clinic setting may include:
Administering eye drops and other medications
Assessing the fit of glasses or corrective lenses
Assisting with procedures and patient care
Charting history and exam results
Conducting vision tests
Educating patients and families
Emotionally supporting patients who experience new eye conditions
Providing public resources for the visually impaired
In a surgical setting, ophthalmic nurses will need to complete all the above in addition to their other duties. Ophthalmic nurses perform pre-surgical assessments and educate patients about their surgery. On the day of surgery, they prep patients for surgery, assist the surgeon during the procedure, and monitor patients during their recovery.
Sometimes urgent surgery is required, such as with a retinal detachment. If an ophthalmic nurse’s facility offers emergency care, they may need to take “on-call” hours to come in to assist with a procedure.
Once graduated, an aspiring ophthalmic nurse may start applying for jobs as a graduate nurse (GN). A lot of facilities hire GNs and promote them to licensed practical nurses (LPN) or registered nurses (RN) once they pass their state licensing exam, the NCLEX-RN.
After an ophthalmic nurse completes their orientation period, they will be able to practice independently. From here, nurses may choose to pursue nursing management, an advanced practice degree, or certification if they so desire.
Ophthalmic nurses can become ophthalmic nurse practitioners (NPs) by obtaining a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). NP candidates can graduate with their MSN in two years, but many work full-time and take longer to complete their degrees.
Minimum of two years of full-time or the equivalent (4,000 hours) experience in ophthalmic registered nursing practice
How Much Does an Ophthalmic Nurse Make Per Year?
An ophthalmic nurse can earn about the same amount as a registered nurse (RN). RNs make an average of $81,220 per year as of 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This amount can vary by location and experience. The low-end average was $61,250, and the high-end was $129,400. Depending on where you work, your employer may be able to offer higher or lower compensation:
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals: $90,600
Offices of Physicians: $79,810
Outpatient Care Centers: $97,200
Salaries also vary depending on which state an ophthalmic nurse practices. The west coast generally pays nurses the best, but they also have a higher cost of living.
The west coast, New England states, and Alaska pay their nurses the highest wage, but the cost of living in these areas can also be high. The lowest paying states are in the Midwest and some southeastern states.
Ophthalmic nurse practitioners can earn a higher salary, much like any other nurse practitioner role. The average annual salary of a nurse practitioner was $121,610, according to BLS data from 2022. The low-end average was $87,340, and the high-end was $165,240. Salary can also change based on employment type:
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals: $129,330
Offices of Physicians: $121,880
Offices of Other Health Practitioners:$112,660
Outpatient Care Centers: $134,030
The location of employment can affect ophthalmic nurse practitioners as well, with the differences closely aligning with RNs.
Citation: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Registered Nurses, at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291141.htm#st (visited February 25, 2022).
The top paying areas for ophthalmic nurses and nurse practitioners include:
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Napa, CA
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
Yuba City, CA
Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA
Certified ophthalmic nurses can be paid more than a nurse who is not certified, depending on the facility. In general, the more experience and proof of expertise, the more an ophthalmic nurse will be able to earn.
Are Ophthalmic Nurses in High Demand?
The American population is aging, and fast. The Administration for Community Living tells us people 65 and older made up 16% of the U.S. population in 2019, but are expected to be 21.6% of the population by 2040. The 85 and older group is expected to reach 14.4 million in 2040 (a 118% increase from 2019).
It’s no secret that as people age, their vision decreases and they become at higher risk for eye disease. The ophthalmic nursing specialty hasn’t been popular, and the field needs more nurses. As the U.S. population starts to need more and more eye care, these jobs should continue to grow.
NursingEducation strives to provide information that is up-to-date and unbiased. By engaging professionals from multiple healthcare perspectives, we ensure our content contains accurate information that helps our readers.
We have combined decades of experience teaching, publishing research, and working with patients in all fields of medicine to create accurate and straightforward online education. Once written, each article undergoes a rigorous peer-review process to bring you the highest quality, most comprehensive content possible.
Our writers receive feedback from reviewers to clarify content, prevent misleading statements, and identify areas that would benefit from more information. Our subject matter experts and reviewers generally work full-time in their professions and work for NursingEducation part-time.
