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Essentia Health
Virginia, Minnesota

PHYSICIAN - Optometry - Virginia, MN

OptometristNo callNo weekendsFull-Time

Listed compensation

$184k

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the work setting and time off.

Posted 1mo ago

Job Description

Building Location

Essentia Virginia Hospital

Department: 2321450 OPHTHALMOLOGY - VIR CLIN

Job Description

Education Qualifications:

Licensure/Certification Qualifications

  • Optometrist
  • Virginia, MN

Practice Specifics

  • We are looking for an energetic, patient-centered team player to join our existing group.
  • Our ideal candidate will work closely with our existing, in-house Ophthalmologists.
  • 1.0 FTE (36 patient contact hours)
  • Established practice in Virginia with possible outreach.
  • Primary care eye services, patients of all ages.
  • State-of-the-art clinic overlooking a golf course!

Full-service clinic including, laboratory, radiology, retail pharmacy and optical shop, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, Cancer Center, Regional Heart Center with CHF clinic, and warfarin clinic

Multi-specialty group including, family practice, ENT, anesthesia, dermatology, general surgery, wound care, ophthalmology, occupational medicine, OB/GYN, orthopedic surgery, podiatry, urology, primary care/sports medicine and allied health providers including a certified athletic trainer

EPIC as EMR that is integrated with entire Essentia system

Requirements

TPA Licensed in Minnesota or Eligible

LOCATION: Approx. 60 miles from Duluth, MN; 150 miles north of Minneapolis/St. Paul

  • Service area: 30,000
  • Virginia population: 9,000

Located near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Superior National Forest, Voyagers National Park and Mesabi Bike Trail. Close access to miles of cross country ski trails and snowmobile trails.

Compensation

$184,000 Hired candidates may be eligible to receive additional compensation in the form of bonuses, quality incentives or production based compensation.

Essentia Health is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, sexual identity, national origin, disability, or protected Veteran Status.

Search or Apply Online at Essentiahealth.org or Contact

  • Laurie Swor, Senior Physician Recruiter
  • Phone (work): 218-786-1774
  • Email: Laurie.Swor@EssentiaHealth.org

FTE

1

Possible Remote/Hybrid Option

Shift Rotation

Day/Eve/Night Rotation (United States of America)

Shift Start Time

Shift End Time:

Weekends

Holidays

No

Call Obligation

No

Union

Union Posting Deadline:

Compensation Range

  • Employee Benefits at Essentia Health: At Essentia Health, we’re committed to supporting your well-being, growth, and work-life balance. Our comprehensive benefits include medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance, along with supplemental options to fit your needs. We offer a 401(k) plan with employer contributions to help you plan for the future, and we invest in your professional development through training, tuition reimbursement, and educational programs. To help you thrive both at work and at home, we provide flexible scheduling, generous time off, and wellness resources focused on your physical, mental, and emotional health. Please note that benefit eligibility may vary. For full details, refer to your benefit summary or contact our HR Service Center at (218) 576-0000.

Key Responsibilities

The optometrist will provide primary eye care services to patients of all ages within an established multi-specialty clinic. The role involves working closely with in-house ophthalmologists to deliver high-quality patient-centered care.

Qualifications

Education
Professional certificate or licensure
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

OptometryPatient careClinical practiceTeamworkEPIC EMR

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates PHYSICIAN - Optometry - Virginia, MN at Essentia Health a 6.6 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the top 25% in Optometry — ranked against 1,886 active Optometry listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no on-call duties, no weekend requirements.

Optometry Career Context

Essentia Health holds silver-tier status on WeekdayDoc's Top Employers work-life index, composite score 73/100, 156 active listings.

In Minnesota, the Optometry weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$163k (44 salary observations; 152 listings), vs ~$152k nationally (720 salary observations; 4,165 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2026-02-01 through 2026-10-01; these are not the modal's selected comparable-job medians.

Of the 40 active Optometry listings this role was benchmarked against, 78% have no call, 45% require no weekends.

Optometry pay on WeekdayDoc is up 1.0% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).

The cost-of-living index for Minnesota is 98.6 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$184k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $187k in an average-cost state. 63.4% of Minnesota clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top Optometrist Jobs

11 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution11 jobs · 9 employers

3
<$190k
4
$190k-210k
2
$210k-230k
2
$230k-250k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks11 jobs · 9 employers

401k / retirement match
64% this job
Sign-on bonus
55%
CME allowance
45%
Relocation assistance
18%
Loan repayment
9%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Optometrist

Vision to Learn · Newark, New Jersey

$110-$120/hr
#2

Optometrist - Ophthalmology

Providence · Torrance, California

$74.17-$117.1/hr
#3

Managing Optometrist-West Nyack, NY- LensCrafters

$159k-$222k
#4

Market Managing Optometrist- Westchester and Long Island, NY- LensCrafters brand

$159k–$222k
+ 9 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 2.8this job 6.6
Better work-life than 80% of Optometry listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 1,886 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No call
  • No weekends

Living in Virginia

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$146k≈ 0.8× annual pay
Typical market rent
$1,054/mo≈ 7% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
18 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
88.8
State income tax
Up to 9.8%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Duluth, MN-WI metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

Ratios use this listing’s gross annual pay. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.

Essentia Health logo

About Essentia Health

Hospitals and Health Care
Duluth, MN
5,001-10,000 employees

Benefits & Perks

Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance
401(k) with employer contributions
Training and tuition reimbursement
Flexible scheduling
Generous time off
Wellness resources