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ICO Leader Letter

August 2010, Volume 7, Number 8

1. New Conferences for Ophthalmic Educators Scheduled for 2011

I am happy to invite all those who are involved in ophthalmic education to participate in one of two “Conferences for Ophthalmic Educators” the ICO is organizing in collaboration with supranational and national societies for 2011.

The first Conference will be March 18 – 19, 2011 in Sydney, Australia just prior to the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) Congress, which is scheduled March 20 – 24 (www.apaosydney2011.com). It will be co-sponsored by APAO and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO).

The second Conference will be July 5, 2011 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in conjunction with the 19th Pan-American Congress of Ophthalmology, July 7–9 (www.paao2011buenosaires.org.ar). The Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology and Argentine Ophthalmology Council are co-sponsors.

Inspired by the ICO’s popular Courses for Residency Program Directors, the Conferences will be designed not just for program directors but for all who are involved in teaching residents, subspecialists, medical student and allied eye care personnel as well as in CME or any aspect of ophthalmic education.

The Conferences will feature:

• Keynotes and plenary sessions on adult learning, trends in medical education and new techniques and tools
• Interactive practical workshops on subjects like teaching surgery and non-clinical competencies, e-learning, evaluation of trainees and virtual patients  
• Special interest group meetings of educators involved in teaching residents, subspecialists, medical students, allied personnel and in CME.

There will be no registration fees but participants will need to cover their own travel and personal costs.

If you are interested in participating, please write to education@icoph.org and let us know if you are more inclined to attend the conference in Sydney in March or Buenos Aires in July. We will send you further information as it develops and include you in a pre-conference needs assessment.

– Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO President

2. How Can We Help You with Ophthalmic Education?


If you are involved in teaching ophthalmology residents, subspecialists, medical students, allied eye care personnel or in continuing education for any of these groups, I strongly encourage you to write to us to let us know your interests at: education@icoph.org.

As part of the ICO’s initiative on “Refocusing Ophthalmic Education,” we plan to form “special interest groups” of educators focused on each aspect of education.

We will be conducting a needs assessment of ophthalmic educators in September and October, partly in preparation for the Conferences for Educators (see #1 above). Please send an e-mail by September 10 so we can find out how we can support and help you.

We want to develop continuity between the Conferences for Educators at supranational congresses and the World Ophthalmic Education Colloquium (WOEC) at the World Ophthalmology Congress, with an educator resource center on the ICO Web site where you can find tools and resources and connect with each other between congresses.

We will soon be incorporating the World Ophthalmology Residency Development (WORD) resource center (www.icoword.org) into the new ICO Web site under the leadership of the ICO’s new Director for E-Learning, Eduardo Mayorga.

– Mark Tso, MD, DSc, ICO Director for Education

3. New Magrabi – ICO Cameroon Eye Center

For some time, the ICO has recognized a particular need to enhance ophthalmic training in Francophone Africa.  In December 2009, a group of ICO officers and Board Members travelled to Yaoundé, Cameroon at the invitation of Cameroonian Daniel Etya’ale, MD, to meet with local leaders and officials to discuss how to improve training in the region.  

We are now pleased to announce plans to establish the Magrabi–ICO Cameroon Eye Center, a regional training center that will be built and developed by the ICO, the Al Noor Magrabi Foundation, and the That Every Life May Count Foundation, with links to the department of Ophthalmology of the University of Yaoundé and the Cameroon Ministry of Health.

Akef El-Maghraby, MD, ICO’s Vice President and a principal donor, presented an overview of the new eye center at the ICO Board of Trustees meeting in Berlin: http://www.icoph.org/downloads/MagrabiICOCameroonEyeCenter.pdf (PDF – 2.1 MB).

The purpose of the Magrabi–ICO Cameroon Eye Center is to train ophthalmologists and staff in Cameroon and French-Speaking Central West Africa to become the next generation of leaders and to provide high quality services with subspecialties and outreach programs, minimizing the need to send patients abroad.

– Jean-Jacques DeLaey, MD, ICO Secretary General

4. ICO Advocacy Activities

On June 5 in Berlin, “Advocates” named by ophthalmologic societies to work with the ICO on advocacy gathered to learn more about international initiatives to increase support for eye care and to suggest how they and their societies can contribute most. The following presentations offering tips and success stories can be downloaded:

• What Advocacy Is and Is Not, the Role for Advocates and VISION 2020: How Advocates Can Contribute, Serge Resnikoff, MD, PhD (PPT – 977 KB)
• VISION 2020 Australia: A Case Study in Increasing Support for Prevention of Visual Loss, Making the Case for Government Support, Hugh Taylor, AC, MD (PPT – 2.8 MB)
• Why Advocacy Worked in Australia and What We Learned, Iain Dunlop, FRANZCO, FRACS (PPT – 849 KB)

Researching the Number of Ophthalmologists and Trainees: To support implementation of the WHO Action Plan for the Prevention of Blindness and Visual Impairment Action Plan, the ICO Advocacy Committee is working to obtain the best possible data on the number of ophthalmologists in practice and being trained in each country.

We have received a good response, but are still missing information for Belarus, Comoros, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Moldova, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Serbia.  If you have this information or know of anyone in these countries who could provide it, please contact us at advocacy@icoph.org by September 10.

– Serge Resnikoff, MD, PhD, ICO Director for Advocacy

5. New ICO Emergency Ophthalmology Handbook

We are pleased to announce the new ICO Emergency Ophthalmology Handbook for Junior Residents and Medical Students developed by Professors Susan Lightman and Peter McCluskey of the International Task Force on Ophthalmic Education of Medical Students.

This new Handbook is illustrated with color pictures of common ophthalmic conditions presented in the Emergency Room.

"The illustrations make it easy to identify the cause of the eye problem being seen by the student/resident and there are key tips on diagnosis and management," reports Task Force Chair Professor Sue Lightman.

You can download the Emergency Handbook from the ICO Web site resources section: http://icoph.org/emergencyhandbook. We hope to translate this handbook into other languages as we did with the basic medical student handbook.

Professors Lightman and McCluskey request you share the handbook with any junior residents or medical students who may be interested. Please also send any feedback or suggestions to education@icoph.org.  Many thanks to Susan Lightman and Peter McCluskey for developing this new handbook.

– Mark Tso, MD, DSc, ICO Director for Education

6. Remembering Moses Chirambo, Malawi Ophthalmologist & Minister of Health

It is with deep regret that I send word that our friend and colleague, Professor Moses Chirambo, has passed away. He died suddenly on Saturday, August 14 from complications due to surgery. His death is a tremendous loss to his family and to African and international ophthalmology.

Moses diligently worked for the prevention of blindness and played an enormous role in alleviating the suffering of so many in Malawi and East Africa.   He was the first Malawian ophthalmologist and a well-known public health physician in international ophthalmology, having served as a board member of the ICO and the Pan Arab African Council of Ophthalmology, now the Middle East Africa Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO).  

He established the Southern Africa Development Corporation (SADC) School of Ophthalmology in Lilongwe, Malawi, was a regional advisor for Sight Savers International, and won numerous awards for his work, including the International Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the IAPB. Dr. Chirambo, Professor Johnson Gordon and other colleagues conducted the first population based childhood blindness survey on Vitamin A and Xerophthalmia in Africa. He retired from ophthalmology in 2008 when he was appointed Minister of Health and a Member of Parliament for Malawi.

We have received many messages about Moses from his colleagues and share some of them with you here:

• The legacy of the good works he left behind will keep his memory in the heart of generations to come.  May his soul rest in perfect peace.
  – Kunle Hassan, FRCS, FRCOph, President Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria and Africa Ophthalmology Forum
• The untimely death of Dr. Moses Chirambo is a great loss for African and International Ophthalmology. He was an outstanding personality radiating optimism and humor in the face of daunting obstacles to achieve his goals. He will be missed as man of sober advice and judgment. We share in the grief of his family and countrymen.
  – Fritz Naumann, MD, ICO Immediate Past President
• Moses was a unique figure in African ophthalmology.  He was an example of what leadership, professionalism, enthusiasm, and devotion can achieve even under very difficult conditions.  Moses excelled throughout his career, from his residency up to his serving as Minister of Health of Malawi.
  – Jacob Pe'er, M.D., Professor and Chairman, Department of Ophthalmology, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Israel  
• Moses’ contribution to African ophthalmology and prevention of blindness activities is incalculable. I have never met anyone who had a bigger smile than Moses and his joie de vivre was evident.  He was a great man, a great leader and a great friend. He will be sorely missed.  
  – Hugh Taylor, AC, MD, ICO Treasurer

Let us remember Moses Chirambo through his legacy of major contributions to public health, ophthalmology, and epidemiology in Malawi, Africa, and the world.

– Akef El-Maghraby, MD, ICO Vice President

7. Next ICO Meetings and World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC)

• ICO Board of Trustees: March 17 - 18, 2011, Sydney, Australia
• ICO General Assembly: February 16, 2012, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• World Ophthalmology Congress®: February 16 – 20, 2012, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

More News

For more news of the ICO and international ophthalmology and resources for ophthalmologic leaders, see the ICO’s Web site at www.icoph.org.

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 ophthalmologic leaders? Please let us know at leader@icoph.org.

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