Fall 2007

Hoya Supports Eye on Education

Hoya’s "Full Spectrum" laboratories focus on providing prescription lenses from all leading lens manufacturers and lab services to the dispensing optometrist.

In addition to its support for ASCO’s newsletter, Hoya supported the 2007 meetings of the Ophthalmic Optics Educators SIG and Clinic Directors/Administrators SIG. ASCO salutes Hoya!

ASCO Board Focuses on Students at Its Fall Meeting

A centralized application service allowing applicants to submit a single application to multiple optometry schools was adopted unanimously by the ASCO Board at its Fall meeting, held in Tampa, Florida on October 23, 2007. The decision was made after extensive review of an analysis conducted by an ASCO task force and a recommendation by the Student Affairs Committee.

The service will provide immediate data on applicants and has the potential to increase the number of applicants. Dr. John Amos, ASCO president, will be appointing an implementation task force, which will set the criteria and timetable for implementation of the service.

National Career Marketing Plan Adopted in Concept

In another student-focused topic, the Board adopted in concept a revitalization plan to attract more qualified applicants to optometry programs. Final adoption of “The National Marketing Plan for Optometry” will await Board approval of a proposed fiscal year 2008–2009 budget. Two of ASCO’s long-standing goals are to increase the qualified applicant pool ratio to 3:1 qualified applicants for each available seat and increase the qualified applicant pool to reflect the diversity of the national population. The refined plan will launch in July 2008, pending budget approval.

First Janoff Award Presented

The first Dr. Lester Janoff Award for Writing Excellence was presented by ASCO President John Amos at the ASCO Board meeting on October 23. The award was presented to Barbara McGinley, MA, and Nancy B. Carlson, OD, of The New England College of Optometry, and Elizabeth Hoppe, OD, MPH, DrPh, of Western University, the authors of “Instilling Ethics and Professionalism in Today’s Optometry Students.” The article appeared in the Winter 2007 issue of Optometric Education. The award, given this year for the first time, was recommended by ASCO’s Academic Affairs Committee.

The award, consisting of a certificate and $2,000, divided among the authors, is named in honor of Dr. Lester E. Janoff, editor of the Journal from 2002 to 2005 and longtime member of the editorial review board, who is known for his mentoring of young writers.

The Partnership Foundation for Optometric Education welcomed its newest Contributing Partner, The Heart of America Contact Lens Society, this month at its Board of Directors meeting in Tampa, Florida. HOACLS joins fifteen national, regional and state contributing partners, the seventeen schools and colleges of optometry, and corporate partners in the Partnership Foundation, whose goal is to provide financial support for the advancement of optometric education and related special needs of the profession. Contributing partners donate one dollar per hour to the Foundation for each optometrist registered to receive paid continuing education.

The Partnership Foundation for Optometric Education was established in 1996 by ASCO and the American Optometric Association to ensure the continued viability and promise of the profession of optometry. The next generation of practitioners will be the primary beneficiaries of the Foundation’s success, through financial support of the professional optometry degree (O.D.) programs and related special projects. Its assets are approaching $4 million.

HOACLS was founded over 45 years ago with 40 original members. The annual HOACLS Congress, held each February, provides outstanding continuing education in primary care optometry and contact lens care.

Below: David Loshin (center) President of the Partnership Foundation receives the 2007 HOACLS contribution from Ellis Potter (left) and Larry Davis (right) members of the HOACLS Education Committee.

Kevin L. Alexander, OD, PhD, Dean of the Michigan College of Optometry and ASCO Board member, has been appointed President of the American Optometric Association. At its Fall Board meeting, the ASCO Board adopted a formal resolution thanking Dr. Alexander for his many contributions to the field. Dr. George Foster, chair of the ASCO Resolutions Committee, introduced the statement, which reads in part, “…the profession of optometry with all of its diverse constituencies owes Dr. Kevin L. Alexander a debt of gratitude for his generosity, commitment, dedication and untiring efforts to advance the profession.”

ASCO SIG Fall Meetings Keep Leaders Busy

The 15th annual workshop of the Clinic Directors & Administrators (CD/A) Special Interest Group met September 27-30, 2007, in Columbus, Ohio. A total of 42 school participants, representing all 19 schools and colleges of optometry, attended. The meeting was preceded by a one-day workshop, sponsored by the CD/A SIG, of the Externship Directors SIG.

Dr. Melvin Shipp, Dean of Ohio State University College of Optometry, opened the meeting on Friday morning. Dr. Carla Mack, Director of Optometry Services gave an overview of the OSUCO Clinic, followed by a report by Enid-Mai Jones, ASCO’s Director of Student and Professional Affairs, on the ASCO Diversity Task Force. The task force is developing a set of curriculum guidelines on the topic of cultural competence.

Dr. Jay Anaud, Associate Professor of Management and Human Resources at the Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business, provided the keynote address focusing on Change Management. Shawn Curtner, Dr. Carla Mack and Dr. Robert Buckingham presented the session “Clinic Personnel – Taking Care of People.”

The workshop was sponsored by 19 ophthalmic-related companies, with 18 company representatives attending the meeting. The University of Missouri St. Louis will host the 2009 workshop, with Dr. Ed Jarka as Program Chair.

The ASCO Vision Science Librarians SIG (VSL SIG) met in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Association of Vision Science Librarians in Tampa, Florida, October 25–27, 2007, at the Tampa Convention Center. Thirteen librarians gathered, representing the optometric colleges’ libraries (the VSL SIG), ophthalmology libraries in hospitals and university departments, the National Institutes of Health and other related libraries. The group heard presentations from Ann Ervin of the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group in the US, Cameron Esslemont of the Global Library Services Network, James Jorkasky from the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research NAEVR and a report by Bette Anton UCB and Pam Sieving of the NIH on the I-Connect workshops they presented in India in March 2007 that were sponsored by the Seva Foundation. The group discussed their ongoing projects: mapping the vision literature, opening day collection, standards and guidelines for vision libraries. In addition, group members reported on the latest trends in scholarly publishing, journal literature, genetic resources, teaching tools and other technologies.

BVPE SIG Solicits Grant Funding for “Curriculum Summit”

The Binocular Vision and Perception Educators (BVPE) SIG met on October 24, in Tampa, Florida. Chaired by Dr. Rochelle Mozlin of State University of New York, this past year, the SIG completed a clinical education survey at all schools and colleges of optometry. The survey was formulated, reviewed and tabulated by Drs. Geoffrey Goodfellow and Sandra Block (ICO). Results highlighted the diversity of clinical education at all the schools and can serve as a resource to all the schools interested in expanding their clinical programs.

In conjunction with the Council on Vision Development’s Academic Services Committee, a Web-based resource—which will house documents, blogs, videos and other content of value to educators—for all SIG members is in the early stages of development.

The BVPE SIG is interested in obtaining a grant to hold a curriculum summit. A task force was established to investigate corporate sponsorship.

Continuing Education Directors SIG Establishes Electronic Message Board

The Continuing Education (CE) Directors SIG met October 26, in Tampa, Florida. Chaired by Dr. Kristin Anderson of the Southern College of Optometry, the SIG opened with a discussion on the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry (ARBO) initiative in continued competence. A proposal that the SIG should work with ARBO as a collaborative partner in this effort was denied, because the members decided that this initiative fell outside the scope of the SIG; however, there was overwhelming support that the topic be explored further through the ASCO structure, most appropriately the Academic Affairs committee.

Dr. Anderson, committee chair, requested that faculty members from each institution enlist as course reviewers for the Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE). With an overwhelming positive response, members agreed to provide content experts to review materials for COPE.

In keeping with the digital age, an electronic message board for CE directors was established at http://cesig.sco.edu as a communication tool and format for discussion and resource sharing. All CE Directors are encouraged to join the message board.

Dr. Jack Terry, Executive Director of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry, demonstrated the importance of “OE Tracker,” a centralized credit reporting program, to all customers (ODs, CE administrators, state boards) and provided examples of how each may utilize the service.

The CE Directors SIG will continue to meet at the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) annual meeting. A presentation on the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Guidelines will be a topic presented at the 2008 CE Directors SIG Meeting.

Development Directors SIG Discusses Past and Future Lessons Learned

The Development Directors SIG met on October 25, in Tampa, Florida. Peggy Striplin of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Optometry chaired the meeting, which began with a panel discussion on “What I Have Learned and What I Want to Know about Development.”

Various speakers discussed what they had learned, as three optometry school presidents, Dr. Arol Augsburger (ICO), Dr. Richard Phillips (SCO), and Dr. Les Walls (SCCO), provided ideas for reaching out to alumni for fundraising.

Frances Rozner was elected chair of the 2009 meeting, with “Giving to Optometry,” “Transition from Annual Fund to Major Gifts and Back Again” and “Cold Calls” suggested as potential topics.

Ethics Educators SIG Distributes 3rd ASCO Student Award in Clinical Ethics

The Ethics Educators SIG met on October 25, 2007, in Tampa, Florida, and was chaired by Dr. John Classé from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Morris Berman (SCCO) discussed the past year’s ASCO Student Award in Clinical Ethics, the third time it has been offered. The competition drew essays from nine schools, and the panel of judges (Drs. Dick Hopping and Jim Paramore, Mr. Tom Eichhorst) selected the paper by Alison Harapiak of Illinois College as the winner. Her selection was announced in April 2007 by ASCO and the paper was subsequently published in the ASCO journal, Optometric Education. Each school agreed to designate a person responsible for encouraging participation, and the list of individuals will be maintained at ASCO and updated annually. Dr. Classé announced that Ciba had agreed to support the award for 2008, with $1,000 provided for the essay winner and $250 for a plaque. It was decided that the announcement of the 2008 competition would be published on January 15, and the deadline for submission of papers would be March 15. The announcement of the winner will again be made on April 15. Ms. LaShawn Sidbury will be the award coordinator at ASCO.

Attendees also discussed how to implement ethics programs at the schools. It was agreed that “Ethics Day” or “Ethics Week” programs should be pursued to give greater visibility and emphasis to clinical ethical issues and provide promotion of the ethics essay competition.

Dr. Michael Harris (UCB) led a lively discussion entitled “Patient Records, Ethics, and Confidentiality,” which described five contractual situations in which the records of patients were transferred to successor doctors, while attendees considered the ethical ramifications of the transfers. It was agreed that confidentiality should receive more emphasis in ethics instruction at schools, particularly issues related to patient recordkeeping.

Dr. Paul Farkas of ODWire was introduced and informed attendees of his efforts to engage optometrists in discussions of issues of import to optometry through his website, ODWire, which has 7,000 members. He launched an ethics page on the website in April 2007, and it has become one of the most popular topics of discussion over the past half year, receiving numerous comments from practitioners but disappointingly few contributions from educators or students. He showed attendees how to sign on to the website and encouraged them to investigate the site and participate in the solutions of ethics problems, of which he provided several actual examples. He also asked attendees to make students aware of the site (which costs nothing to join) so that students could receive exposure to ethical issues and join in the dialogue if they wished. Dr. Classé thanked Dr. Farkas for his presentation and also urged attendees to visit the site.

Dr. Classé queried attendees about the teaching of fees and related ethical or legal issues at their schools. The consensus of opinion was that these issues were not evenly or adequately described and that the ethics educators should meet with the practice management educators SIG to discuss this issue. Dr. Classé was asked to contact the practice management educators to determine if a joint meeting was feasible and could be arranged.

Low Vision SIG Plans Summer 2008 Workshop

The Low Vision SIG met on October 23, 2007, in Tampa, Florida and was chaired by Dr. Roanne Flom from the Ohio State University. Meeting sponsors and SIG members presented at the meeting on such topics as 1) innovations in teaching low vision, 2) using electronic medical records with low vision exams, 3) “The State of Low Vision Education: What Do We Know” and 4) “Competencies in Low Vision Rehabilitation: What Should Our Graduates Know?”

A steering committee was formed to develop a workshop to take place in the summer of 2008.

Dr. Pamela R. Oliver became the acting chair and Dr. Richard Jamara became the chair-elect. Dr. Becky Kammer retained the position of program director.

Optometric Informatics SIG Focuses on Innovations in Technology

The Optometric Informatics SIG met on October 27, 2007, in Tampa, Florida, and was chaired by Dr. Martha Verchot of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Presenters provided information on the open access movement in scholarly publishing, which expands access of journal articles to the general public, among other things; turning technologies and audience response systems that allow users an interactive experience in the classroom or at a meeting; and “Breeze: What it is and How it is Used.”

Residency Educators SIG Revisits Advanced Competency

The Residency Educators SIG held a breakfast meeting on October 25, 2007, in Tampa, Florida. The meeting was chaired by Drs. David Loshin of Nova Southeastern University and Doug Hoffman of the New England College of Optometry and sponsored by a grant from CIBA. Dr. Catherine Johnson (NECO) briefed the SIG on her impressions of being a former resident. There was a discussion between the SIG and some members of the AAO Scientific Posters Committee regarding posters and paper presentations by residents at future AAO meetings.

Dr. John Nishimoto of ACOE updated the SIG on the comprehensive review process for the current optometric residency standards which have been in effect since 2001. All SIG members were asked to respond to the third draft of revised standards no later than December 6, 2007.

Dr. John Townsend representing the Department of Veteran Affairs discussed the new VA issues as well as the continuum of care for visually impaired veterans.

Dr. Chuck Haine of ORMS gave a report to the SIG on ORMS residency matching. The report included information pertaining to candidate information, applicant distribution, residency programs, as well as candidates by institution.

The SIG received an update on the NBEO and AOA Advanced Competency Project from Drs. Jack Terry (NBEO) and Larry Davis (Residency Affairs Committee Chair). Dr. Terry’s presentation focused on the longitudinal examination data of basic science, clinical science, patient care, overall pass rate at graduation, and advanced competence in medical optometry (ACMO).

The SIG revisited advanced competency through an open forum. Dr. Doug Hoffman served as the moderator while the SIG listened to three lively presentations. Dr. Jerry Selvin of the VA Boston Healthcare System answered the question of why advanced competency measurement is needed. Dr. Vinita Henry discussed why completing a residency demonstrates advanced competency. Finally, Dr. Mike Bacigalupi addressed the question of whether an OD can gain advanced competency without participating in a residency.

The SIG meeting ended with evaluations. The next meeting will take place in October 2008 in Anaheim, CA.

Chief Academic Officers Business Meeting

The Chief Academic Officers (CAOs) met on October 26 in Tampa, Florida. Chaired by Drs. Gunilla Haegerstrom-Portnoy (UCB) and Morris Berman (SCCO), the meeting opened with an update from Dr. Janice Scharre (ICO) on the success of the Summer Institute for Faculty Development that took place in June 2007. The next Summer Institute for Faculty Development is scheduled to take place in 2009, with Drs. Chuck Haine (SCO) and Linda Casser (NBEO) as Chairs.

The CAOs received an update from Dr. Ed Marshall (IU) regarding the Cultural Competence Initiative. The task force plans to provide the CAOs with update at its next meeting.

In adhering to ASCO’s 1998 Functional Standards for Didactic and Clinical Optometric Education, the CAOs addressed the functional standards for students with disabilities. In addition, the CAOs discussed the clinical grading and evaluation of faculty and students within the schools and colleges of optometry. The CAOs will broaden their knowledge of various testing strategies by having presentations from other professions in this area. Moreover, the concerns of student absence policies as well as faculty off-campus speaking engagements were discussed. The group shared the policies in place at their schools.

The next CAO meeting is scheduled to take place on June 23, 2008, in Seattle, Washington. Topics that are likely to be discussed are:

• ASCO 1998 Functional Standards for Didactic and Clinical Optometric Education

• Clinical Grading and Evaluation of Faculty and Students

• Issues regarding the National Board

• Roundtable Discussion on Data/Findings for Why Faculty Left Schools/Trends

Optometric Education Goes Free Access

With the Fall 2007 issue of ASCO’s Journal of Optometric Education, anyone interested in the field of optometry can read the publication online without a subscription, in partial support of the open access movement. The push for open access to scholarly material began seven to eight years ago, led by the NIH’s former director, Dr. Harold Varmus and two researchers from Stanford University. The term “open access” encompasses several items, with a critical aspect being the ability of readers to access scholarly material unfettered by subscription barriers.

To that end, the ASCO Board voted this year to remove subscription control from the Journal. In addition, recognizing the importance of the Internet, the Board voted to move Optometric Education from print and online environments to an all-electronic medium. The Fall 2007 issue was the last printed issue.

Members, students and the general public can access the Journal at http://www.opted.org/teampublish/main/69_433_1398.CFM.

Number of Applicants to Optometry Schools Increases Slightly

Schools and colleges of optometry in the US and Puerto Rico reported 2,693 unduplicated applicants to the class entering in Fall 2007, an increase of 1.5% from the 2,653 unduplicated applicants reported last year. There were almost twice as many female applicants as male applicants, although the gender of 6.5% of applicants was not reported. The percentage of applicants who identified themselves as Black, African American, Hispanic or Latino decreased from 10.5% last year to 8.6% this year; however, ethnicity was not identified for 29% of applicants, whereas last year it was not identified for 12.2% of applicants. Several schools indicated that either the admissions office did not collect gender or ethnicity information this year or that they were unable to release it.

Optometry’s centralized application service, once implemented, will provide demographic information on applicants and will help to fill in the gaps that exist now where schools are not able to provide data.

Profile of 2007 Optometry Entering Class Released

Each Fall ASCO releases a profile of the entering optometry class, which includes aggregate information on students entering the schools and colleges of optometry in the US and Puerto Rico. The 2007 profile was released on October 22, and shows that average total science Optometry Admission Test (OAT) scores of incoming students increased at 14 schools compared with the 2006 entering class, while average academic OAT scores increased at 12 schools. Eight schools saw their number of applications increase from the previous year, and 15 had an increase in tuition. For Fall 2007, 11 of the 17 schools preferred or required that matriculants have a bachelor’s degree, and 15 schools have more women in the entering class than men. Between 2006 and 2007, the average undergraduate GPA of the entering class increased at 9 of the 17 schools.

Ciba Vision Renews Guest Lecturer Grant Program

A grant from CIBA Vision, an ASCO Corporate Contributor, to encourage the sharing of faculty expertise in contact lenses among the schools and colleges of optometry, was awarded for the second year to ASCO. The program is aimed at developing opportunities for newer faculty to visit other schools. This program implements one of the priorities of current ASCO President Dr. John Amos – the sharing of educational resources among schools and colleges.

Funding covers travel expenses and a $1,000 honorarium for the invited guest lecturer. Schools may select the guest lecturer; however, priority should be given to faculty with two to six years teaching experience. There is limited funding throughout the fiscal year; therefore, awards are approved on a first-come, first-serve basis. Schools may only receive one award per fiscal year.

Applications from interested active ASCO member institutions will be accepted throughout the fiscal year. For additional information or to obtain an application, contact LaShawn Sidbury at lsidbury@opted.org.

Meet the Staff

Stephanie Dean joined ASCO, on an outsource basis, as the Managing Editor for both the journal, Optometric Education, and the newsletter, Eye on Education, in August 2007. In addition, she is responsible for assembling press releases and other ad hoc communications work. Ms. Dean has 15 years of association publishing experience, specifically with medical and scientific scholarly journals. On receiving her MBA in 2004 from Johns Hopkins University, Ms. Dean launched her own publications consulting business—STM Publishing Solutions—supporting organizations such as ASCO in their various publishing ventures.

LaShawn Sidbury joined ASCO as the Senior Program Associate in August 2007. She comes to us with seven years of nonprofit experience from the National Academies – National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council. Ms. Sidbury manages most SIGs, the Chief Academic Officers, as well as grant programs such as the ASCO Student Award in Clinical Ethics and the CIBA Guest Lecturer Program. She is also responsible for planning and executing meeting arrangements for the Board of Directors, SIGs, as well as several other groups.

Corporate Contributors Program, 2006–2007

The following companies support ASCO’s national programs and activities benefiting all 17 schools and colleges of optometry in the US and Puerto Rico:

Visionaries ($100,000+)

Patrons -- $50,000 - $99,999

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

CIBA Vision Corporation/Novartis Ophthalmics

Benefactors -- $25,000 - $49,999

Vistakon, Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.

Alcon Laboratories

Essilor Lenses/Varilux

Supporters -- $15,000 - $24,999

Hoya Vision Care, North America

Advanced Medical Optics (AMO)

Carl Zeiss Vision

Transitions Optical

Vision Service Plan

Friends -- $10,000-$14,999

Allergan, Inc.

Bausch & Lomb, Inc.

Compulink Business Systems

Coopervision

Luxottica/EyeMed Vision Care

Optos, Inc.

Rapid Pathogen Screening

Volk Optical, Inc.

Contributors -- $5,000 - $9,999

Marchon Eyewear

Nidek, Inc.

Ophthonix, Inc.

Optovue, Inc.

Safilo Group

The Vision Care Institute

Corporate Contributor News