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ICO Notes
Please Share Your Views with the ICO

October 2010

Dear ICO Members and Friends,

1. Please Share Your Views with the ICO

As I mentioned in last month’s ICO Notes, the ICO is initiating a strategic planning process this year. We want to learn how we can better serve ICO members and better support you in your role as a leader in your society.

If you haven’t already completed the survey, please follow one of the following links and give us your views about the future of the ICO:

• National Society Leader Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ICOnationalsociety
• Subspecialty Society Leader Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ICOsubspecialty.

Note that your answers are confidential and the information collected through the survey is only reviewed in total numbers. The survey can be completed in about 12 minutes.

Please complete the survey if you have not already done so. We would like to have all responses by Friday, October 22, so we can have the results for an ICO strategic planning session next month. Thank you in advance for your time and input.

2. Help “Refocus International Ophthalmology” October 16 in Chicago

If you plan to be at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO)/Middle East Africa Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) Joint Meeting this week, I hope you will plan to attend this year’s ICO World Ophthalmology Roundtable on Leadership Development (WORLD), Saturday, October 16 from 12:00 to 13:45 in the Pullman Room at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago.

ICO Director for Advocacy Serge Resnikoff, MD, PhD, will report on brand new and encouraging estimates from WHO on the extent of blindness, visual impairment and low vision worldwide and outline the still daunting public need for eye care at the mid-point of the VISION 2020 initiative.

We would like to hear your views on what ophthalmology can and should do to help improve public access to eye care, and what our priorities should be for the next 10 years.

This WORLD Roundtable on “Refocusing International Ophthalmology” will offer presentations and invite discussion on key topics for our future:

• What Responsibility Should Ophthalmology Take for Public Access to Eye Care?
  Bruce E. Spivey, MD, President, International Council of Ophthalmology
• What Should International Ophthalmology’s Top Priorities Be for the Next 10 Years?
  Serge Resnikoff, MD, PhD, ICO Director for Advocacy and former Coordinator, Prevention of Blindness and Deafness, World Health Organization
• A New Tool for Teaching and Assessing Surgical Skill
  Karl Golnik, MD, Chair, ICO Task Force on Education of Program Directors of Ophthalmic Residencies

The full agenda of the Roundtable is available at: www.icoph.org/WORLDChicago2010.pdf (PDF - 78 KB). Light refreshments will be available.

If you will be at the Joint Meeting, please also stop by the ICO booth #1273 in the Exhibition Hall to say hello.

3. ICO Eye Care Relief Fund for Pakistan

In last month’s ICO Leader Letter, we reported on the efforts of ICO Board of Trustees Member, Dr. Babar Qureshi, and his Comprehensive Health and the Education Forum (CHEF) International to help the flood victims in Pakistan.

The ICO now announces the establishment of the ICO Eye Care Relief Fund for Pakistan, a new fund to be administered by the ICOFoundation. This new fund was started by a generous initial contribution from ICO Vice President Dr. Akef El-Maghraby. I hope that each of you and your societies will consider contributing to this fund, 100 percent of which will be directed to those in desperate need in Pakistan.

CHEF International is operating eye camps in provinces where floods have continued to cause destruction by providing eye care treatments and referring patients to the nearest eye departments for surgical intervention when needed. They are also involved with the provision of medical and eye care, food distribution and the provision of safe water.  They next plan to support the development of health and education services (with emphasis on comprehensive eye care) in the Frontier Province most affected by the flooding.

To make a contribution to the ICO Eye Care Relief Fund for Pakistan, please visit the ICOFoundation Web site: http://www.icofoundation.org/contribute/index.php#how. Be sure to designate the donation is for Pakistan.  Funds are accepted via credit card, wire transfer or check.  Donations of any amount are welcome and I hope you will consider making a contribution.

4. Create Your Personal and Society Profiles on www.icoph.org

The ICO has come a long way since 1857. We hope you will join us in the “modern age,” and take advantage of new features on our Web site, www.icoph.org.

Join the ICO Online Community
Please visit www.icoph.org/create_account.html to create a profile. You can enter minimal information (name, e-mail address, and country) or share more details. You can also choose to register your information with just the ICO, or to be part of our online community of ophthalmologists, with various privacy options.

My ICO
After you create an account, you’ll want to go to “My ICO” to select the international ophthalmology topics that interest you. You’ll then see the latest news, resources and events (meetings/congresses) according to your selected interests. You will also be able to save the listings from these directories onto your personal page for easy reference.

Add or Edit Your Society Profile
Once you have created your ICO profile, you will be able to update your society’s profile at http://www.icoph.org/advancing_leadership/ophthalmologic_societies.html. You simply need to select, “Request permission to edit this society's profile on icoph.org.” You will then be given access to the “Manage [your society name]” option, which will appear in the right sidebar. Clicking on that link will take you to the society profile page, where you can make changes.

Please help us keep these society listings up to date. This Web version of the society directory will replace the former ICO database and Directory of Ophthalmological Societies.

I hope you will take advantage of these new Web features and please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions.

With warm regards,

Bruce

Bruce Spivey, MD, MS, MEd
President, International Council of Ophthalmology

945 Green Street
San Francisco, CA, 94133, USA
Fax: (1-415) 409-8403
spivey@icoph.org
www.icoph.org