(For previous Leader Letters, go to: www.icoph.org/news/letters.html.)
To enhance the training of ophthalmologists around the world, it is critical to have the best possible teachers. They must not only have excellent clinical skills themselves but also understand how to organize training programs and teach effectively. With this in mind, Enrique Graue, MD, a member of the Advisory Committee to the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO), and his colleagues from the Mexican Council of Ophthalmology, organized and offered an Ophthalmology Program Directors Course in Mexico City on June 2004. The course attracted 80 participants, including an international faculty and residency program directors from 20 residency programs throughout Mexico. It was a great success, and we recognized it as an excellent model that could be implemented by ophthalmologic societies in other countries and regions. Now, as you will read below, similar courses are being organized in other areas. We congratulate not only Dr. Graue and his colleagues in Mexico for their pioneering initiative but also those leaders in other areas who have accepted the challenge to enhance the training of the trainers. - Fritz Naumann, MD, ICO President 2. Courses Scheduled for Residency Program Directors
Sponsored by the ICO and supported by the ICOFoundation, Allergan and others, the courses are being organized by national and supranational ophthalmologic societies with the endorsement of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology and other regional associations of university professors. We will provide more details and contact information as plans for each course evolve. If you would like to organize a similar course in your country or region, contact ICO Secretary General Bruce Spivey, MD, at spivey@icoph.org. - Bradley R. Straatsma, MD, JD, ICOFoundation President 3. Minimal Standards for Residency Training in Latin America
"Requisitos Mínimos para una Residencia en Oftalmología" can be downloaded from the PAAO Web site:
The ICO's "Guidelines and Standards for Education of an Ophthalmologist: A Curricular Outline" are available on the ICO Eye Site at www.icoph.org/ed/resgui.html and can be download as a PDF from www.icoph.org/pdf/icocurricres.pdf (365 KB). The purpose of the ICO Residency Curriculum Guidelines is to describe a broad-based curriculum for basic, standard and advanced levels of ophthalmic training. They are intended to be adapted as appropriate for use in different countries and cultures. - Enrique Graue, MD, Member of the Advisory Committee to the ICO and President, PAAO 4. VISION 2020 Reports on the "State of the World's Sight"
On World Sight Day, which was October 13 this year, the VISION 2020: The Right To Sight initiative issued a progress report on its first five years that should be of great interest to ophthalmologic leaders around the world. VISION 2020's "State of the World's Sight" report reveals that, while much improvement has been made in the provision of eye health care worldwide, still 75 percent of the 161 million people living with visual impairment do so needlessly, since their conditions are preventable or treatable. The report shows that, for the first time ever, the number of people who are blind in the world has actually decreased. In 1995 there were some 45 million people blind, and the figures were projected to increase to 55 million in 2005. In fact, World Health Organization (WHO) data show the number of blind has dropped to 37.8 million. This is a particularly significant figure as it shows that our strategies are working. But there are still 161 million people with visual impairment, and there is a global need to increase our activities under VISION 2020 (see the next item). You can download the Executive Summary of the "State of the World's Sight" report from www.v2020.org/world_sight_day/documents/ExecutiveSummary.pdf (1 MB) and the full report from www.v2020.org/world_sight_day/documents/MainReport_Inside.pdf (1.3 MB). For more on the report and World Sight Day this year, see: www.v2020.org/world_sight_day/index.asp. - Hugh Taylor, MD, Acting ICO Advocacy Director 5. Role for Ophthalmologists and Societies in VISION 2020 Ophthalmologists obviously have a leading role to play in eliminating preventable blindness and VISION 2020. The ICO asks ophthalmologic societies to inform their members of the achievements being made around the world (see above) and how ophthalmologists can contribute through simple advocacy with their patients and contacts with policy makers and community leaders.We also encourage societies to include a VISION 2020 update session in all national and regional meetings. We will offer more suggestions for action by ophthalmologists and societies in future issues of the Leader Letter, including generating support for a motion that is been prepared for the World Health Assembly next year. - Hugh Taylor, MD, Acting ICO Advocacy Director 6. December 1 Deadline To Apply for Membership in IFOS Eighteen international ophthalmologic subspecialty societies and related organizations have applied to become new members of the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS). December 1 is the deadline for societies to file an application in order to be considered for IFOS membership when the Council meets in February 2006 in São Paulo, Brazil, prior to the World Ophthalmology Congress/XXX International Congress of Ophthalmology. If approved by the Council, which is the executive body for IFOS, new members will be able to participate in the next IFOS General Assembly, which is from 11:00 to 14:00 on Tuesday, February 21 at the Transamérica Expo Center & Hotel in São Paulo. The Congress is generously providing free registration to the official IFOS Representatives from both current and new IFOS members. All international subspecialty societies are eligible to join IFOS, but the Council invited the primary international societies in each subspecialty or related area to apply. Most of those invited have applied for membership. For more information on membership in IFOS, see www.icoph.org/apply. - Fritz Naumann, MD, ICO President
7. More Than 7400 Registered for the World Ophthalmology Congress More than 7400 ophthalmologists and other eye care personnel from 100 countries have registered for the World Ophthalmology Congress/XXX International Congress of Ophthalmology, which will be February 19 - 24, 2006 in São Paulo, Brazil, the week before Carnival. Advance registration is closed, but it will still be possible to register on site. If you haven't already made a hotel reservation, you should do so soon at www.ophthalmology2006.com.br/hotel2.php. For more on the Congress, see: www.ophthalmology2006.com.br. 8. Next ICO and IFOS Meetings
Other Future ICO/IFOS Meetings: www.icoph.org/lead/icomeet.html. 9. Coming in the December ICO Leader Letter: Resources for Ophthalmic Education Online 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 [forward-clicking on this link]. 13. Comments, Change of Address, Privacy Policy, Subscribe and Unsubscribe Send comments and suggestions for the Leader Letter to leader@icoph.org. You are subscribed as [contact-Email]. Change your address by sending e-mail to: leader@icoph.org. We do not share e-mail addresses with anyone else. Check our privacy policy at: www.icoph.org/ic/privacy.html. To subscribe to the Leader Letter, visit www.icoph.org/news/subscribe.html. To unsubscribe, reply to this e-mail and type "unsubscribe" (without the quotes) as the subject, click on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this page, or send an e-mail to leader@icoph.org. You can read this ICO Leader Letter online at www.icoph.org/news/leader0511.html. For previous issues, go to www.icoph.org/news/letters.html. Copyright © 2005 International Council of Ophthalmology. All rights reserved.  International Council of OphthalmologyHome | News | About ICO/IFOS | ICOFoundation | Contact | Find |
