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ICO Leader Letter

August 2011, Volume 8, Number 9

1. ICO Board Announces 2012 Award Recipients

I am delighted to announce that for 2012, the ICO Board has selected Rosario Brancato as the Bietti medalist and Dr. Alan Bird as the Tadeusz Kwrawicz medalist.

Medal awardees will be recognized at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 World Ophthalmology Congress®, on February 16 in Abu Dhabi.

The Bietti medal recognizes ophthalmologists who facilitate international communications in the ophthalmic community, and the Tadeusz Krwawicz Gold Medal shines a light on those who have made advances in diseases of the anterior segment and/or introduction of new technologies as well as having advanced international relationships among ophthalmologists. The medals are awarded every four years.

Dr. Brancato will deliver a memorial lecture commemorating G. B. Bietti in Rome, where he will be received by the Fondazione Bietti. Dr. Bird will be presenting the Tadeusz Krwawicz Memorial Lecture at the national meeting of the Polish Ophthalmological Society.

On behalf of the ICO Board, I congratulate Drs. Brancato and Bird for well-deserved recognition of their international stature in ophthalmology.

– Jean-Jacques De Laey, MD, ICO Secretary General

2. WOC 2012: February 16-20, 2012

The invited scientific program for the 2012 World Ophthalmology Congress® (WOC), February 16 – 20 in Abu Dhabi, is now available at: www.woc2012.org/invited_program.html.

All ICO subspecialty Society members are invited to develop one or more scientific sessions. More than 50 societies have organized 58 scientific sessions. To review their sessions, go to: www.woc2012.org/participating_societies.html.

All those who submitted an abstract to participate in the program will be notified by the end of August if their paper, poster, course or video has been accepted.

For monthly updates and the most up-to-date information, sign up to receive the WOC 2012 e-newsletter at: woc2012.org/join_maling_list.html.

See you in Abu Dhabi!

– Peter Wiedemann, MD, Chairman, WOC Scientific Program

3. WORLD: International Ophthalmology 2021

“International Ophthalmology 2021” will be the theme of the 2011 World Ophthalmology Roundtable on Leadership Development (WORLD) at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) meeting in Orlando, Florida.

This fourth WORLD Roundtable will be from 12:00 to 13:50 on Saturday, October 22, 2011, in the Bayhill Room at the Peabody Hotel.

I invite leaders of ICO Member societies and other ophthalmologic leaders and educators who will be attending the Academy to join us. There will be enlightening presentations, stimulating discussion and challenging questions about the future practice of ophthalmology as we look down the road ten years to 2021.

– Download the preliminary agenda here: www.icoph.org/downloads/ICO-WORLD-Agenda-draft.pdf

– If you plan to participate, please go to this address and sign up, so that we can be sure to have lunch for you: www.icoph.org/rsvp/WORLD-Orlando-2011.htm.

I hope you will make every effort to join us on October 22 and participate in this Roundtable on what international ophthalmology should be in 2021.

– Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO President

4. Eyexcel Meeting

The 4th annual Eyexcel meeting took place on July 26-29 at the Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology facility in Madurai, India. Thirteen teams from hospitals in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Mexico participated in this unique meeting, co-sponsored by the ICO, designed to improve or facilitate creation of new training programs to increase the availability of eye care.

The teams were interested in a variety of projects including initiating ophthalmic technician training programs, ophthalmology subspecialty programs, establishing new e-learning courses and establishing new vision centers. The Eyexcel course utilizes a variety of teaching methods and addresses curriculum development, program evaluation, administrative skills, methods of e-learning and principles of sustainability.

The next Eyexcel course will take place July 17-20, 2012, in Madurai, India. Enrollment is limited. For more information go to: www.aravind.org/education/courseprofile.aspx?tmpcatcode=C000000088&tmpcoursecode=C000000425.

– Karl Golnik, MD, Chair, Steering Committee on Regional Conferences for Ophthalmic Educators

5. ICO Updates Five International Clinical Guidelines

The ICO has updated five of its 20 International Clinical Guidelines based on similar updates of the Preferred Practice Patterns created by the American Academy of Ophthalmology: 

• Diabetic Retinopathy Management Recommendations
• Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Initial Evaluation
• Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Follow Up Evaluation
• Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Suspect
• Primary Angle Closure Initial Evaluation and Therapy

The ICO Clinical Guidelines are prepared by the ICO Clinical Guidelines Committee to serve a supportive and educational role for ophthalmologists worldwide. They are intended to improve the quality of eye care for patients.

We encourage societies to translate, adapt, change and edit the Clinical Guidelines as appropriate for local practice.

For more information, go to: www.icoph.org/enhancing_eyecare/international_clinical_guidelines.html

– Richard Abbott, MD, ICO Director for Guidelines

6. 2011 BCSC Distribution with AAO

This year marks the fourth year the ICO and American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) have partnered together to send 200 sets of the AAO Basic and Clinical Sciences Course (BCSC) to ophthalmology residency training programs in economically disadvantaged countries. Beginning in 2008, 800 BCSC sets to date have been delivered.

The 13-volume BCSC is a core educational foundation for resident training and a source of up-to-date clinical knowledge for practitioners. Distribution is at no cost to the recipient programs.

This collaboration between the ICO and AAO serves to bring much needed medical education resources to all parts of the world. The ICO’s contribution is supported by Alcon.

– Stephen Ryan, MD, ICOF Foundation President

7. Next ICO Meetings and World Ophthalmology Congress

ICO Board of Trustees Meeting: February 15, 2012, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

ICO General Assembly: February 16, 2012, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

World Ophthalmology Congress®: February 16–20, 2012, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (www.woc2012.org)

World Ophthalmology Congress®: April 2-6, 2014, Tokyo, Japan

World Ophthalmology Congress®: February 5–9, 2016, Guadalajara, Mexico

Upcoming ICO Meetings and World Ophthalmology Congresses

Conference for Ophthalmic Educators, Busan, Korea, April 12:
New Techniques to Enhance Teaching and Learning

• Register online to attend: icoph.org/rsvp/Busan

World Ophthalmology Congress Meetings

• WOC2014: Tokyo, Japan, April 2-6, 2014, www.woc2014.org
• WOC2016: Guadalajara, Mexico, February 5–9, 2016
• WOC2018: Barcelona, Spain (provisional selection, dates to be announced)

More News

For more news of the ICO and international ophthalmology and resources for ophthalmologic leaders, see the ICO 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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