Qualifications

To qualify for this position, you must meet the basic requirements as well as any additional requirements (if applicable) listed in the job announcement. Applicants pending the completion of training or license requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Currently employed physician(s) in VA who met the requirements for appointment under the previous qualification standard at the time of their initial appointment are deemed to have met the basic requirements of the occupation.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• Education - Degree of Doctor of Optometry resulting from a course of education in optometry
• The degree must have been obtained from one of the schools or colleges approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the year in which the course of study was completed
• Approved schools are United States and Canadian schools or colleges of optometry listed as accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE), in the list published for the year in which the course of study was completed
• Licensure/Registration - Optometrists must possess a current, full and unrestricted license to practice optometry, and maintain a current registration in a state, territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia that requires successful passage of all parts of National Board of Examiners in Optometry intended for basic licensure
• The Optometrist must maintain current registration in the state of licensure if this is a requirement for continuing active, current licensure
• Residency Training or Comparable Experience - Optometrists must have successfully completed residency training, approved by the Secretary of VA in an accredited post-graduate training program, or have comparable experience, as described below: Approved residencies are those with accredited or within pre-accredited status by the ACOE, in the list published for the year the residency was completed
• OR Two years of licensed clinical optometric practice in the United States consisting of active involvement in the management of medically complex patients
• Physical Requirements - See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements
• English Language Proficiency - Optometrists appointed to direct patient-care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) and 7407(d)