June 22, 2011

 It is a new day for the Opticians of Saskatchewan.

On behalf  of the legislative committee and the council of the former Saskatchewan Ophthalmic Dispensers Association, I am very pleased to publicly announce  the Opticians Act  has been proclaimed as law on June 15, 2011.

This proclamation enacts a new Act, and a new set of regulatory bylaws, and incorporates the standards of practice that we set out a few years ago. It also paves the way for future expansion of the scope of practice for opticians in Saskatchewan. 

The SODA has always been an important part of the Saskatchewan Health Care circle of organizations. Being a College gives our members the professional respect you deserve. These changes will give us a much stronger and respected voice when dealing with government, and other organizations. As a college, our main focus will continue to be on protecting the public interest. We will do this by ensuring that our membership abides by the Act, bylaws and standards of practice and by continuing to ensure that our membership is properly educated.  

 Our Act is available on line at 

http://www.qp.gov.sk.ca/documents/English/Statutes/Statutes/O5-1.pdf

Our Bylaws are available at

http://www.qp.gov.sk.ca/documents/gazette/part1/2011/G1201120.pdf 

 Sincerely;

Paul Johnson

President

       Approved Educational Institutions

In order to sit the NACOR Licensing Exams in the Province of Saskatchewan, Applicants MUST have graduated from 1 of the following NACOR Accredited Schools; NAIT, DOUGLAS COLLEGE, SENECA COLLEGE or GEORGIAN COLLEGE

Licensed Opticians in Saskatchewan

The Licensed Optician is part of Canada’s health care industry and its members have expertise, training, and formal education in determining a patient’s ophthalmic needs; making recommendations, offering advice, problem solving where needed and in general, consulting with the patient regarding their visual requirements.

The Optician bases his or her initial evaluation in accordance with the written prescription, which legally must be provided to the patient by a qualified prescriber and proceeds from there; continuing the process to improve the eyewear health of the patient, taking into consideration such individual factors as comfort, lifestyle and aesthetics specific to the patient's needs and wants before dispensing a fitting quality product, be it in spectacle or contact lens form.

Post dispensing care such as frame adjustments in comfort fitting are a routine part of the many services provided to the patient making it a successful, pleasant experience.

The optician who has been further educated and is also a registered licensed contact lens practitioner advises and trains the patient on the proper care and maintenance of the lenses i.e. proper lens insertion and lens cleaning  and eye health before dispensing to ensure the patient is aware, knowledgeable and comfortable with their new vision aid.

In Canada there are three different levels of Optician training and scope of practice: Eye Glass Dispensing Optician; Contact Len Practitioners, and Refracting Optician. In Saskatchewan only Dispensing and Contact Lens Opticians are recognized by the provincial Healthcare. Refracting or measuring how well a patient sees still remains outside the domain of Saskatchewan Opticians as yet.

Simply, an Optician is to the optical industry as a Pharmacist is to the medical field

The Saskatchewan College of Opticians (SCO) is the regulatory body for Opticians in the Province of Saskatchewan.

The SCO regulates and improves the practice of Opticians in the public interest by ensuring that Saskatchewan Opticians provide quality professional care to help people achieve better vision.