Certified or Non-Certified Ophthalmic Assistant

Clinical Support/Nursing Dubuque, Iowa
Posting Closes: 11/06/2025


Description

The Ophthalmology Department at Medical Associates Clinic seeking a motivated, dependable, and compassionate individual eager to grow in a meaningful healthcare career.

No prior ophthalmology experience is required! You’ll receive comprehensive on-the-job and online training to become a Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) within two years, with continued opportunity to advance to Certified Ophthalmic Technician (COT). This position is open to Non-Certified Ophthalmic Assistants, COAs, COTs, LPNs, and RNs.

Overview: 

Ideal Candidate
  • Demonstrates empathy, professionalism, and attention to detail. 
  • Thrives in a fast-paced, team-based environment. 
  • Adapts quickly to changing workflows and new technology. 
  • Values growth, balance, and meaningful patient connections. 

Ideal candidates enjoy working at a fast pace, strive for outstanding patient care, adaptable to changing work conditions, love to learn, and are effective and professional communicators. 

Professional Development
We invest in your growth:
  • Certification Support: Medical Associates covers the full cost of sitting for your IJCAHPO COA or COT certification exams.  
  • Ongoing Education: Enjoy free access to IJCAHPO’s Clinic CE Subscription—featuring 220+ online courses from world-renowned faculty with direct CE credit tracking to your IJCAHPO transcript.  
  • Career Progression: Build clinical confidence and earn credentials that open doors across ophthalmology and beyond.  

Schedule: Monday–Friday, typically scheduled 4.5 days per week to promote work-life balance (hours primarily 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM; flexibility required) 

Location: Ophthalmology Department, Medical Associates West Campus

Benefits Package includes:

  • Single or Family Health Insurance with discounted premium rates for wellness program participation.
  • 401k with immediate matching (50% on the dollar up to 7% of pay + additional annual Profit Sharing)
  • Flexible Paid Time Off Program (24 days off/year)
  • Medical and Dependent Care Flex Spending Accounts
  • Life insurance, Long Term Disability Coverage, Short Term Disability Coverage, Dental Insurance, etc.

What you'll be doing: 

  • Daily responsibilities include but not limited to: documenting and performing the general patient workups, updating pertinent medical information, performing diagnostic testing, assist doctors in carrying out treatment plans. 
  • Collaborate with team members to provide quality care to patients. 
  • Communicate clearly and effectively with patients, co-workers, and others. Provide patient education as needed.  
  • Broaden skill set and demonstrate flexibility in performing additional duties of patient care.  
  • Maintain an office environment that is safe, neat, organized, and supplied with necessary equipment, instruments, supplies, and educational materials. Ensure equipment is functioning safely and properly. Perform cleaning and maintenance of equipment according to guidelines. 
  • Complete all other assigned projects and duties. 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Experience: No experience required. 

Education: High School Diploma required, some college in healthcare field and patient contact experience preferred.

Interpersonal Skills: A significant level of trust and diplomacy is required, in addition to normal courtesy and tact. Work involves extensive personal contact with others and/or is usually of a personal or sensitive nature. Work may involve motivating or influencing others. Outside contacts become important and fostering sound relationships with other entities (companies and/or individuals) becomes necessary.

Other Skills: Keyboarding skills and use of electronic equipment. Use and operate a wide variety of diagnostic and medical equipment. Use personal protection safety equipment including gloves, lab coats, gowns, goggles, and face masks/shields.


Physical Aspects:

Stooping - Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. This factor is important if it occurs to a considerable degree and requires full use of the lower extremities and back muscles.

Kneeling - Bending legs at knee to come to a rest on knee or knees.

Crouching - Bending the body downward and forward by bending leg and spine.

Reaching - Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction.

Standing - Particularly for sustained periods of time.

Walking - Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances.

Pushing - Using upper extremities to press against something with steady force in order to thrust forward, downward or outward.

Pulling - Using upper extremities to exert force in order to draw, drag, haul or tug objects in a sustained motion.

Lifting - Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position. This factor is important if it occurs to a considerable degree and requires the substantial use of the upper extremities and back muscles.

Fingering - Picking, pinching, typing or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand or arm as in handling.

Grasping - Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm.

Feeling - Perceiving attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips.

Talking - Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word. Those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly or quickly.

Hearing - Perceiving the nature of sound with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication and to make fine discriminations in sound, such as when making fine adjustments on machined parts.

Vision - 20 / 40 or better in the best eye with or without correction.

Medium Work - Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 20 pounds of force frequently, and/or 10 pounds force constantly to move objects.

Environmental Conditions:
Subject to Physical Hazards - Includes a variety of physical conditions, such as proximity to moving mechanical parts, electrical current, working on scaffolding and high places, exposure to high heat or exposure to chemicals.


Medical Associates Clinic & Health Plans is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, age, national origin, marital status, parental status, disability, veteran status, or other distinguishing characteristics of diversity and inclusion, or any other protected status. Please view Equal Employment Opportunity Posters provided by OFCCP https://www.eeoc.gov/poster