ICO Leader Letter:
Enhancing Ophthalmology Residency Training

October 2005, Volume 2, Number 10

In This Issue:

1. Leadership Is the Key To Enhancing Education (Fritz Naumann, MD)

2. Improving Residency Training in Nigeria (Adenike Abiose, MD)

3. OSN Defines Vision for the Future and Establishes Foundation (BGK Ajayi, MD)

4. Carl Zeiss/IAPB Training Center Program for VISION 2020 (Para Pararajasegaram, MD)

5. New College Focuses on Training in Eastern Africa (Dunera Ilako, MD)

6. November 7 Deadline for Updating Listings for International Directory (Bruce Spivey, MD)

7. More Than 6000 Registered for the World Ophthalmology Congress

8. Next ICO and IFOS Meetings

9. Coming in the November ICO Leader Letter

10. More News

11. Request for other News and Resources

12. Forward the ICO Leader Letter to your Colleagues

13. Comments, Change of Address, Privacy Policy, Subscribe and Unsubscribe

1. Leadership Is the Key To Enhancing Education

Dear Colleagues:

Fritz Naumann, MD

Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the areas of greatest need, with only one ophthalmologist for every million people. Early in 2004, the ICO decided to launch a pilot project to assess how we might help.

That spring, at the invitation of the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria (OSN), a group of ICO leaders toured residency programs in Nigeria and met with the Nigerian Minister of Health. Since then, as you will read in the reports below, there has been exciting progress toward enhancing residency training in Nigeria. Also recently, the Eastern Africa College of Ophthalmology (EACO) has been formed to improve training in that region.

The reality is that the ICO has very limited resources and cannot provide financial support for enhancing residency training in other countries. Nigeria was selected for the pilot project after careful consideration based largely on the size of the population.

We hope that leaders in other developing regions will be inspired by the great progress in Nigeria and new College in Eastern Africa to undertake similar initiatives in your countries. There are links in this ICO Leader Letter to resources that should be helpful to you.

- Fritz Naumann, MD, ICO President

2. Improving Residency Training in Nigeria

Adnike Abiose, MD

Since then, a great deal of progress has been made, including:

• The Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology has shipped 19 sets of the Academy's Basic and Clinical Science Course to Nigeria for use in residency programs.
  
  
• With financial support from the ICO and ICOFoundation and logistical support from the World Health Organization (WHO), we have established Residency Resource Centers with broadband Internet connections in each of the six geopolitical zones.
  
  
• The U.S. National Eye Institute and WHO have helped develop a research component to assess the impact of the improved Internet access on residents and their care for patients.

See the reports below from Drs. Ajayi and Pararajasegaram for more exciting news from Nigeria. You can find an overview of the ICO pilot project, which may be useful as a model to other societies, at: www.icoph.org/ed/nigeria.html.

From my perspective, one of the most important outcomes of this project has been the realization by ophthalmologists in Nigeria that they are part of a caring global whole, which has inspired residents, colleagues and the management of training institutions.

When the programs are successfully implemented, Nigerian Ophthalmology is dedicated to sharing her experience and expertise with other countries in West Africa and the rest of the Africa region. Our deep gratitude goes to all those who have contributed to this vision and shown commitment to carrying it through.

- Adenike Abiose, MD, ICO Council Member

3. OSN Defines Vision for the Future and Establishes Foundation

BGK Ajayi, MD

We presented our Vision at our 30th Annual Scientific Conference in Abeokuta in September, and also launched the "OSN Foundation," which aims to raise and manage funds to support these activities.

You can download the Vision for the Future - Nigeria from www.icoph.org/pdf/visionforthefuturenigeria.pdf and more information on the OSN Foundation from www.icoph.org/pdf/OSNFoundation.pdf.

Also at the Conference, the OSN recognized both the ICO and its Secretary General Bruce Spivey, MD, for their contributions to rekindling the flame for a deeper commitment to the training of ophthalmologists in Nigeria.

We presented our Distinguished Service Award to the ICO "in appreciation of the enormous contributions to the training of Ophthalmologists in Nigeria and notable service to Ophthalmology the world over."

I would also like to congratulate ICO President Fritz Naumann, MD, for his exemplary leadership and monumental achievements during his tenure.

- BGK Ajayi, MD, Past President, Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria

4. Carl Zeiss/IAPB Training Center Program for VISION 2020

Para Pararaja- segaram, MD

Nigeria would be the beneficiary, in 2006, of part of the Carl Zeiss grant of $200,000, to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) to support establishment of a regional training center and cataract demonstration project in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Carl Zeiss has provided a $200,000 grant to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) to support establishment of a regional training center and cataract demonstration project in Nigeria.

The grant is part of a five-year commitment Zeiss has made to the "VISION 2020: the Right to Sight" initiative to help develop one training center per region per year. Indonesia is the site for the first center, which is the focus this year, with Nigeria selected for the 2006 grant and Eastern Africa in 2007.

India's Aravind Eye Care System will provide critical support for developing the training center in Nigeria, and a team from Aravind visited Ibadan this month to assess needs.

Selected members of the Ibadan faculty center will participate in fellowship training at the Aravind hospital in Tamil Nadu, India to provide high quality/high volume cataract surgery and train other ophthalmologists to do likewise.

Other faculty from Nigeria will receive subspecialty training at Aravind or other centers throughout the world, and nurses and managers will train together as a team at the Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology in India. At the same time, IAPB will help the training center in Ibadan develop the needed facilities and infrastructure.

When established, the Ibadan center will train ophthalmologists and their surgical teams from Nigeria and, eventually, other West African nations.

- Para Pararajasegaram, MD, Co-Chair, VISION 2020 Human Resources Working Group

5. New College Focuses on Training in Eastern Africa

Other eastern, central, and southern African nations have expressed interest in joining EACO. In the future we hope to cover the whole of the Eastern Africa region.

We have asked the ICO to assist us in establishing an institutional center of excellence as well as encouraging the formation of ophthalmological societies in other African countries where none exist.

- Dunera Ilako, MD, President, Eastern Africa College of Ophthalmology

6. November 7 Deadline for Updating Listings for International Directory

Bruce Spivey, MD

In response to requests from a number of ophthalmologic societies, we have extended the deadline for updating the listing of societies and residency programs in the ICO database to November 7.

Thanks to all those who have brought their information up-to-date, we will publish the most accurate and current Directory of International Ophthalmology ever.

If you have not already done so, please check your listing at www.icoph.org/soc/ifos.cfm. If it is not correct, see www.icoph.org/soc/directory.html for directions on how to update it.

For security reasons, we ask national societies to maintain the listing of residency programs in their country.

We will publish the Directory with the information in the database on November 7. Thanks again for your cooperation.

- Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO Secretary General

2006 World Ophthalmology Congress

7. More Than 6000 Registered for the World Ophthalmology Congress

To date, there are more than 2000 speakers and 6000 ophthalmologists from 99 countries registered for the World Ophthalmology Congress, scheduled February 19 - 24, 2006 in São Paulo, Brazil, the week before Carnival.

For more information, visit the Congress Web site at www.ophthalmology2006.com.br.

8. Next ICO and IFOS Meetings

• International Council of Ophthalmology: February 19, 2006, São Paulo, Brazil
  
  
• General Assembly of the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies: February 21, 2006, São Paulo, Brazil

Other Future ICO/IFOS Meetings: www.icoph.org/lead/icomeet.html.

9. Coming in the November ICO Leader Letter:

New Conferences Scheduled for Residency Program Directors

10. More News

For more news of the ICO and international ophthalmology and resources for ophthalmologic leaders, see the ICO's Eye Site at www.icoph.org.

11. Request for Other News and Resources

Do you have other news of international ophthalmology or know resources (particularly on the Web) that would be valuable to society leaders? Please let us know at leader@icoph.org.

12. Forward the ICO Leader Letter to your Colleagues:

If there are other ophthalmologic leaders you think might be interested in seeing this ICO Leader Letter, please forward this issue to them by clicking on this link.

13. Comments, Change of Address, Privacy Policy, Subscribe and Unsubscribe

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