Contact Lens Mentor Program

The Contact Lens Mentor Program enhances the training and education of students and intern opticians.  Contact Lens Mentors may supervise students and intern opticians in the following areas:

• Soft contact lens fittings
• Rigid contact lens fittings

Benefits of being a Contact Lens Mentor:

• Give back to the profession by helping a student or intern optician gain practical experience by sharing your experience, knowledge and wisdom.
• Opportunity to claim 1 self-directed continuing education hour for every 500 supervising hours to a maximum of 2 hours per year.
• Practice and develop management skills and enhance your own professional development.
• There is no cost to become registered as a Contact Lens Mentor.

Contact Lens Mentor Core Responsibilities:

• Professional, respectful, friendly, helpful and concerned.
• Remain actively dispensing as an optician in good standing.
• Supervise soft and/or hard contact lens fits and verify the fits in the student or intern logbook.
• Not charge a fee to sign logbooks or supervise student/intern opticians.
• Refer the student/ intern to another professional when you are unable, or it is beyond the scope of your role as a mentor, to assist (eg. if you are a Soft Contact Lens Mentor, you may not supervise rigid contact lens fittings).
• Renew your mentor status every 3 years.

Becoming a Contact Lens Mentor:

• Please refer to Contact Lens Mentor Policy [PDF] for more information.
• Submit a Contact Lens Mentor Application Form  [PDF] to the College to become registered.

Information for students and intern opticians:

If your supervisor is an optician, please note: only soft and/or rigid contact lens mentors may sign the logbook for soft and/or hard contact lens fits.  It is the responsibility of the student or intern to ensure that their supervisor is registered as a Contact Lens Mentor. To verify your supervisor is registered as a mentor, please refer to the Public Register. 

Students and intern opticians may dispense eyeglasses, contact lenses or sub-normal vision devices only under direct supervision of a registered:

• Optician
• Optometrist
• Ophthalmologist/physician

The supervisor must be physically present when the dispensing occurs.