Eye Health Manpower Working in Nepal

 Vision Club 2021

Nepal's eye care system is believed to be very good in that it has achieved many milestones regarding eye health and vision. Now Nepal is self-reliant in human resources for eye health. In this article we will discuss about the ophthalmic human resources currently working in Nepal whose significant contribution has led Nepal to today's status. 

1. Eye Health Worker

Also called as eye worker, this manpower is produced by eye hospitals intermittently according to its need by giving 3-6 months of informal training. They take grade 10 passed students and train in the eye hospital's OPD, minor OT and optical outlets and provide the certificate of completion. Trained eye workers are recruited in eye hospital as an assistant and/or sent to work in community eye centers. People working in eye hospitals after passing Community Medicine Assistant (CMA) or Auxiliary Nurse Midwifery (ANM) are also called as Eye Health Worker after getting certain exposure in eye hospitals. Some eye hospitals (namely Biratnagar Eye Hospital and Sagarmatha Choudhary Eye Hospital: both are under EREC-P) has categoized eye health workers according to the level of exposure in three groups:

a) Junior Eye Health Worker Trainee (JEHWT) : who are undergoing 3-6 months of training

b) Eye Health Worker Trainee: JEHWT after completing the 3-6 (generally 6months) of training work in an eye hospital OPD under the guidance of seniors and working staff with a nominal salary. They are called Eye Health Worker Trainee. 

c) Eye Health Worker: Eye Health Worker Trainees after working in hospital for 3 years are awarded with an 'eye health worker' certificate. 

It is sometimes debatable as to the ranking of eye health worker with respect to ophthalmic assistant as we can see eye health workers train for 3.5 years in total after grade 10 while ophthalmic assistant are trained for 3 years after grade 10. However, the debate seems illogical because ophthalmic assistant course is standardized CTEVT approved academic course while eye health worker training course is hospital-individualized and a need-basis course with no standard curriculum. 

How much does an eye health worker earn in Nepal?

The salary of eye worker ranges from Rs. 20-25 thousands a month on an average.   

 

2. Optician

These are the personnel who have the basic knowledge of eye glasses. Also called as ophthalmic dispenser or optical dispenser, they help customer in frame and lens selection and cutting and fitting of eye glasses. They also offer counseling regarding eye glasses and mend the broken glasses. In Nepal, many people are working as opticians without formal training. Nevertheless, many eye hospitals and registered training institutes provide a 3-month-long training course approved from CTEVT, under the Skill Development Project,  to literate people. This is not a regular course and are offered intermittently, which includes a semi-structured curriculum of major practical sessions and a few theory classes. They are provided with a certificate after they pass practical examinations. Many eye hospitals also do provide these sort of training. For example, Bharatpur Eye Hospital (Chitwan) and Himalaya Eye Institute (Pokhara) have ophthalmic dispenser training. Altogether there are about a dozen institutes that provide ophthalmic dispenser training and as of date around 350-400 dispensers have been trained in Nepal. Biratnagar Eye Hospital, Morang, has customized the optical dispenser course to make it a one year theory plus practical curriculum. It has already been three years since they started it and they take 2-10 students per year but is not a CTEVT certified course.     

How much does an optician earn in Nepal?

Opticians or ophthalmic dispensers get jobs in the optical outlets of eye hospitals and community eye centers. Their monthly salary ranges from Rs. 25-30 thousands a month on an average. Opticians can also work on salary in a private optical shop in which the monthly earning depends upon the workload but never less than 15 thousands. Opticians can also own an optical shop as there is no provision of Optical Act. If they own their own shop they can earn 50 thousands or more in a month.

 

3. Ophthalmic Assistant

Ophthalmic assistants are those eye care personnel who are incessantly contributing to Nepal's eye care since 1980s. They start their job portfolio from fifth level and can have a promotion up to the post of ophthalmic officer. Their job responsibilities differ according to institutions and project types; however, they are involved in the primary evaluation of eye patients and in assisting surgeries. OAs are also the in-charges of eye hospital OPD, operation theaters outreach clinics, community department, etc. The institutional total remuneration of OA ranges from Rs. 30 to 50 thousands. They can also earn an extra bucks from private optical outlets. The diploma level course of Ophthalmic Science is a Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) approved structured 3-year-long course currently being offered by the following eight institutes:

Table 1: List of Colleges offering Ophthalmic Science diploma course (OA course)

SN	School Name	Training Hospital	Intake per year
1	Lahan Technical School	Sagarmatha Choudhary EH	40
2	NNJS College of Ophthalmic Health Science	Fateh Bal Eye Hospital, Nepalgunj	40
3	Balaju School of Engineering & Technology	Nepal Eye Hospital, Tripureshor	40
4	Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology	Tilganga Eye Hospital, Gaushala	40
5	Bokhara School of Tourism and Hospitality Management	Himalaya Eye Institute, Gharipatan	40
6	Rapti Technical School	Rapti Eye Hospital, Dang	40
7	Lumbini Eye Institute	Rana Ambika Eye Hospital, Bhairahawa	40
8	School of Health Science	Bharatpur Eye Hospital	40
Total			320

 

How much does an Ophthalmic Assistant earn in Nepal?

The official average salary of an ophthalmic assistant in an eye hospital in Nepal starts from Rs. 30 thousands and can be up to Rs. 50 thousands according to the experience and extra responsibility the undertake. They can also earn extra bucks working in private optical outlets beyond usual office hours.

4. Optometrist

Also called as vision specialist, optometrists are independent eye care professionals licensed from Nepal Health Professional Council (NHPC) after passing four year Bachelor of optometry (or vision science) course. Aspiring students can get enrolled in B. Optometry course after studying 10+2 Science with Biology major and securing at least 50% aggregate marks. There are the following 3 colleges to study bachelor level optometry course, while Purbanchal University is in the last stage on launching its own B. Optom course.

Table 2: List of colleges offering Bachelor of Optometry (and vision science)

SN	College	Affiliation	Seats
1	Maharajgunj Medical Campus, Institute of Medicine	Tribhuvan University (TU)	10
2	Himalaya Eye Institute	Pokhara University (PU)	17
3	Lumbini Eye Institute	National Academy for Medical Sciences (NAMS)	8 students in each college Total = 40
	Bharatpur Eye Hospital
	Nepal Eye Hospital
	Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology
	Biratnagar Eye Hospital
Total			67

    As per latest updates of Medical Education Council (CEE), seats are allocated as following:

Merit Seats (Open) : 17

Foreign Seats (on payment) : 10

Scholarship Seats : 22

Reserved Seats : 18

Total : 67

And since 2019 AD , Pokhara University started Master of Optometry program in collaboration with constituent colleges : Tilganga Institute of ophthalmology (TIO) where 7 optometrists per year join for Masters' degree and Himalaya Eye Institute (HEI) where 6 optometrists join in a year.

So, total M. Optom in one year = 7+6 = 13

NB: Tilganga has discontinued Master of Optometry program 2022 onwards because it is already running NAMS affiliated MD ophthalmology and B.Optom course and MEC/NHPC mandates that one eye hospital can only take affiliation of one university at most. Since, M Optometry program is from Pokhara University, Tilganga Institute of ophthalmology had to discontinue the program with only two batches graduated so far (2019 entry and 2020 entry: a total of 14 students).

Job Opportunity for Optometrists in Nepal

Of late, optometrists have been well recognized in the eye care sector in Nepal. Hence, all the eye hospitals hire full-time optometrists. For example Nepal Eye Hospital (NEH), located in Tripureshor and Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology(TIO) each has five full-time optometrists. The eye hospital which hoards the most optometrists is Biratnagar Eye Hospital - where currently 19 optometrists are working. Many aforementioned colleges take Masters level optometrists to fulfill the academic positions. Bachelor degree holder optometrists find 7th level officer position while master degree holder optometrists find 8th level officer position in eye care organizations.

Salary of Optometrists in Nepal

An average optometrist working in an eye hospital earns Rs. 40-45 thousands a month. Their income might go up to Rs. 90 thousands with added training, responsibilities and Maters' degree. They can also work in private optical outlets part-time beyond the usual office hours. If they own their own business their income may exceed Rs. 80 thousands per month. For the details on salary of optometrists in Nepal click here. 

Number of Optometrists in Nepal

There are altogether around 1200 optometrists registered at Nepal Health Professional Council (NHPC) as of March 2023. The number is expected to increase by 80-100 per year considering 60-70 graduates from Nepal and additional 20-30 graduates from abroad. This number is more than the double needed for Nepalese population of 30 millions. Here is the list of Nepalese optometrists.

5. Ophthalmologist

Ophthalmologists are academically the highest ranked eye care profession in the eye care of Nepal in which they acquire a three-year MD ophthalmology residency training after passing MBBS. Many eye hospitals of Nepal provide such residency trainings. Often, students acquire a bond with NGOs or eye hospitals to get funding for their education such that they have to go to work in that NGO or eye hospital right after completion of the course. While getting a residency training they also get monthly stipend ranging from 30 to 40 thousands.

Regarding the MD ophthalmology course in Nepal, there are altogether 15 medical institutes that are running the program with the following number of seats or quotas:

Table 3: List of MD Ophthalmology Colleges/TH and allocated seats

SN	Name of the Medical College (MC) or Teaching Hospital (TH)	Number of seats/quota
1	Birat MC, Biratnagar	2
2	Nobel MCTH, Biratnagar	1
3	BPKIHS, Dharan	3
4	National MC, Birgunj	1
5	Chitwan MC, Chitwan	1
6	Kathmandu MC, Ktm	1
7	Nepal Medical College	3
8	Maharajgunj Medical Campus	7
9	Nepal Army Institute of Health Sciences	2
10	National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS)	20
11	Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences	2
12	Kist MC	2
13	Manipal College of Medical Sciences	2
14	Gandaki Medical College	2
15	BP Eye Foundation CHEERS Hospital	1*
Total		50

For other relevant information about MD Ophthalmology course in Nepal, click here.

Job opportunities of Ophthalmologist in Nepal

All eye hospitals (secondary, tertiary and center of excellence) recruit ophthalmologists because OPD and OT are run by them. The average per year production of ophthalmologist in Nepal is 20-25. So, we can assume that Nepali market is quite bountiful with ophthalmologists. However, they can recreate their demands with further specialization, training and fellowship. In an academic institution, they can get involved in teaching and learning activities starting from lecturer or assistant professor and with publication and experience can be promoted up to the professor.   

Salary of Ophthalmologist in Nepal

Monthly salary of ophthalmologist in Nepal starts at Rs. 80 thousand a month and can go up as high as Rs. 200 thousands. In some hospitals in Southern plains (Terai belt), the salary can be as high as Rs. 400 thousands. The salary of an ophthalmologist in private sectors is determined according to the skills and capacity of ophthalmologist, daily workload and income of the institution. Ophthalmologists can open private clinics and hospitals to increase their income.  

How many ophthalmologists are there in Nepal?

Till 2022 December, Nepal Medical Council has stated that there are 463 ophthalmologists in Nepal registered at NMC as Specialist doctor. The number is expected to increase by 40-50 per year considering the annual intake of 50 for the MD training course.

[NB: Regarding job opportunities, scope and salary of various human resources related to eye heath workforce working in Nepal, there are many websites that claim facts and figures other than what the reality is. So, you can rely on the information quite safely from this page because this article is written and regularly updated by Rabindra Adhikary, M. Optom, keeping abreast with the latest updates and discussions with the eye health professionals. I have been working as an optometrist in Nepal for one and a half decade now and scrutinized, assessed the eye care system quite closely. You may email me if you have any queries :[email protected].]

If you want to know allied eye health professionals of Nepal simply go through the link: Allied eye health professionals in eye care services in Nepal.

To watch this content in Nepali, please click the following video:

Key words:

Eye Health Manpower

Eye Health Occupation

Eye Health Professionals

Human Resources for Eye Health in Nepal

Eye care profession

Manpower of eye health

Nepal