Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

healthcare assistanttooptometrist

A healthcare assistant already meets 43% of what the optometrist role asks for. The move turns on 26 required skills not yet in the profile.

From healthcare assistant
43%
Overlap1
To optometrist
26 Skills carried over
26 Required, not held
70 Difficulty2
Career overlap Partial match

43%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

70/ 100

1 Share of the optometrist role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the healthcare assistant profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A optometrist role treats 20 of its required skills as things a healthcare assistant already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • accept own accountability
  • adhere to organisational guidelines
  • advise on healthcare users' informed consent
  • apply organisational techniques
  • comply with legislation related to health care
  • comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice

What stands in the way is 26 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 26 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A optometrist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a healthcare assistant background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held educate on the prevention of illness communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held use foreign languages for health-related research communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held use e-health and mobile health technologies working with computers

All 26 carried skills, including the 20 the optometrist role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 34 missing skills fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 7 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held advise customers on optical instruments maintenance required
  • required, not held advise on contact lense maintenance required
  • required, not held advise patients on vision improvement conditions required
  • required, not held apply context specific clinical competences required
  • required, not held promote ocular health required
  • required, not held communicate in healthcare required
  • required, not held implement marketing strategies required
  • optional, not held implement sales strategies optional
02 information skills 6 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held perform comprehensive eye examinations required
  • required, not held perform ocular tonometry required
  • required, not held determine eye disease progression required
  • required, not held diagnose problems of the visual system required
  • required, not held apply numeracy skills required
  • required, not held record healthcare users' billing information required
  • optional, not held record healthcare users' progress related to treatment optional
03 assisting and caring 5 required, 3 supplementary
  • required, not held fit contact lenses required
  • required, not held prescribe corrective lenses required
  • required, not held provide therapy of the visual system required
  • required, not held refer healthcare users required
  • required, not held test visual acuity required
  • optional, not held administer medication for vision problems optional
  • optional, not held provide domiciliary eyecare optional
  • optional, not held perform vision rehabilitation optional
04 health and welfare 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held refraction of the eye required
  • required, not held optical instruments required
  • optional, not held preventive medicine optional
05 management skills 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held manage staff required
  • required, not held process payments required
  • optional, not held provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health optional
06 business, administration and law 1 required
  • required, not held quality standards of ophthalmic equipment required

4 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a optometrist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 26 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held accept own accountability skill
  • already held adhere to organisational guidelines skill
  • already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
  • already held apply organisational techniques skill
  • already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
  • already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
  • already held deal with emergency care situations skill
  • already held educate on the prevention of illness skill
  • already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
  • already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
  • already held follow clinical guidelines skill
  • already held have computer literacy skill
  • already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
  • already held interact with healthcare users skill
  • already held listen actively skill
  • already held manage healthcare users' data skill
  • already held promote inclusion skill
  • already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
  • already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
  • already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
  • already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
  • already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
  • already held provide health education skill
  • already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
  • already held use foreign languages for health-related research skill
  • already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
The 4 learning areas not shown above
Skill to acquire Tier
07 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 required
  • required, not held optical glass characteristics required
08 services 1 required
  • required, not held eye protection regulations required
09 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 required
  • required, not held use ophthalmic instruments required
10 handling and moving 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held participate in medical inventory control optional
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held administer medication for vision problems optional
  • optional, not held provide domiciliary eyecare optional
  • optional, not held implement sales strategies optional
  • optional, not held perform vision rehabilitation optional
  • optional, not held provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health optional
  • optional, not held record healthcare users' progress related to treatment optional
  • optional, not held participate in medical inventory control optional
  • optional, not held preventive medicine optional
20 held skills the optometrist role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role assist in the administration of medication to elderly skill
  • not needed by the target role communicate in foreign languages with health service providers skill
  • not needed by the target role communicate with nursing staff skill
  • not needed by the target role convey medical routine information skill
  • not needed by the target role disability care knowledge
  • not needed by the target role disability types knowledge
  • not needed by the target role distribute meals to patients skill
  • not needed by the target role evaluate older adults' ability to take care of themselves skill
  • not needed by the target role geriatrics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role identify abnormalities skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor basic patients signs skill
  • not needed by the target role older adults' needs knowledge
  • not needed by the target role perform cleaning duties skill
  • not needed by the target role provide basic support to patients skill
  • not needed by the target role sterilization techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role support individuals to adjust to physical disability skill
  • not needed by the target role support nurses skill
  • not needed by the target role use technical equipment for sterilisation skill
  • not needed by the target role work under supervision in care skill
  • not needed by the target role work with nursing staff skill
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier
  • required, not held refraction of the eye required
  • required, not held quality standards of ophthalmic equipment required
  • required, not held eye protection regulations required
  • required, not held optical glass characteristics required
  • required, not held optical instruments required
  • optional, not held preventive medicine optional
Index
Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.