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ICO Leader Letter

October 2011, Volume 8, Number 11

1. ICO Strives to Teach the Teachers

For years the ICO has been committed to refocusing ophthalmic education, particularly “teaching the teachers.” This is especially important in developing countries where there are an inadequate number of skilled eye care professionals.

The ICO’s Teach the Teachers program helps ophthalmic educators become better teachers, resulting in more effective educational programs, better-trained ophthalmologists and eye care professionals and, ideally, better eye care accessible to more people worldwide.

The ICO’s Residency Program Directors Courses, organized since 2004, are one example of this initiative. The courses are held globally and focus on methods of instruction, skill assessment, behavior adjustment and competency measurement. The Residency Program Directors Courses are sponsored by the ICOFoundation, supported by Allergan and coordinated with the national ophthalmologic society.

This year, the ICO has exciting new programs in place to “teach the teachers,” including an update of the 2006 residency curriculum and development of a new online Center for Ophthalmic Educators.

I strongly encourage you to take full advantage of the ICO’s many educational resources.

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

2. Update of 2006 ICO Residency Curriculum

With education as one of its key pillars, the ICO is hard at work on an update of its 2006 curriculum for residency training. The curriculum will offer an international consensus on what ophthalmologists and subspecialists should be taught and is intended to be adapted for use by different cultures and countries.

A task force of sixteen international committees is overseeing the revision, which includes two new sections, Refractive Surgery and Community Eye Health. Also new is the addition of a “very advanced” level, which is geared towards education of the subspecialist.

The curriculum is stratified by the learners’ experience and expertise at basic, standard and advanced levels of ophthalmic training; within each level, “must know” items are clearly identified.

Once the Residency Curriculum is finalized, it will be available in the ICO Center for Ophthalmic Educators. Then, in 2012, we will start working with subspecialty societies on definition of curricula for the ophthalmologic subspecialties.

– Andrew G. Lee, MD, Chair, International Task Force on Curriculum of Ophthalmic Residency

3. Center for Ophthalmic Educators Coming in November

The ICO Center for Ophthalmic Educators, due for launch in November, will offer a broad array of educational tools for teachers of residents, subspecialty fellows, practicing ophthalmologists, medical students and allied eye care personnel.

Providing instructional design strategies and tools, the Center will also offer educational curricula and guidelines on teaching content; teaching resources presented in a variety of media; assessment strategies and principles; and tools to assess skills and knowledge. Resources can be sorted by the intended audience.

“Connections,” an interactive feature of the Center for Ophthalmic Educators, will enable ophthalmic educators to communicate with one another, share resources and collaborate.

The Center for Ophthalmic Educators is the next generation of the World Ophthalmology Residency Development (WORD) Web site, www.icoword.org, which was launched in 2008.

– Eduardo Mayorga, MD, Chair, ICO Director for E-learning

4. ICO Strategic Plan–Search for CEO

The ICO Board has recently approved a Strategic Plan. Top priorities for implementation include:

1. Greater responsibility for and strengthen the World Ophthalmology Congress.

2. Enhance ophthalmic education by “teaching the teachers.”

3. Modify the governance structure to achieve continuity.

4. Increase and diversify funding for the ICO.

5. Help national societies advocate for increased support for eye care.

6. Collaborate with and provide more benefits to ICO Member societies.

To download a summary of the ICO Strategic Plan, go to: www.icoph.org/downloads/ICOStrategicPlanSummaryAugust2011.pdf.

The Plan calls for these changes in ICO governance:

1. Change the terms of the current four ICO Officers (one from each supranational region) from four years to two years.

2. Hire a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), an ophthalmologist who would be a full-time ICO employee, elected by the Board to take primary responsibility for leading and managing the ICO.

The CEO will ensure continuity of leadership and work to ensure implementation of our strategic plan.

The draft CEO job description can be reviewed at: www.icoph.org/downloads/ICO-CEO-Job-Description-Draft-20-September-2011.pdf.

Anyone who is interested in the position of CEO should contact me by November 1 at Jean.Delaey@Ugent.be. The deadline for applications is December 1, 2011.

A Search Committee will consider all applications and arrange to interview the top candidates prior to a vote on changes in ICO Statutes at the ICO General Assembly, which will be held on February 16, during the World Ophthalmology Congress® (WOC) February 16-20, 2012, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

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

5. Upcoming WORLD Meeting in Orlando

“International Ophthalmology 2021” will be the theme of the ICO’s 2011 World Ophthalmology Roundtable on Leadership Development (WORLD) at this month’s American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) meeting in Orlando, Florida. Our eighth WORLD roundtable will be from 12:00 to 13:50 on Saturday, October 22 in the Bayhill Room at the Peabody Hotel. A light lunch will be provided starting at 11:30.

Ophthalmologic leaders and educators who will be attending the Academy are invited to join us for enlightening presentations and stimulating discussion.

We are going to use an audience response system to probe for consensus on the way forward.

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

If you plan to participate, please sign up so that we can be sure to have lunch for you, by going to: www.icoph.org/rsvp/WORLD-Orlando-2011.htm. I hope to see you there!

– Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO President

6. International Topics at AAO

If you are planning to attend the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Annual Meeting October 22–25 in Orlando, Florida, the following sessions may be of special interest:

• Sunday, October 23 from 14:00 to 15:30 in room W414ab, the Academy will present the symposium, Why Does Quality Matter, and How Will It Impact You? The symposium’s focus is the future of health care in the United States and other countries, and how to enhance its value. www.aao.org/meetings/annual_meeting/program/programs.cfm (Use this page to find all AAO Annual Meeting and AAO Subspecialty Day program information, including details about this symposium.)
• Monday, October 24 from 08:30 to 11:00 in room W308b, the Academy will present the forum, Latest Trends and Next-Generation Developments in International Eye Care. A panel of international experts will discuss the latest trends in international eye care development, followed by a second panel on the next generation of international volunteers. www.aao.org/international/meeting/international-forum.cfm
• Monday, October 24 from 15:00 to 17:00 in the Peabody Hotel, Manatee Spring Room, the Academy will present The 2011 World Ophthalmology Leaders Forum in Education (WOLFE), a discussion of how optometrists, opticians and other non-physician providers are expanding their scope of practice beyond their level of training, and how ophthalmic societies can ensure patient safety in this environment. www.aao.org/international/meeting/wolfe.cfm

– Akef El-Maghraby, MD, ICO Vice President

7. News of WOC 2012, Abu Dhabi

Announcement of WOC 2012 Vice President

The ICO is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Manal Taryam as the Vice President of WOC 2012. Dr. Taryam is also the current president of the Emirates Medical Association Ophthalmic Society.

CME Credit

The World Ophthalmology Congress® 2012 (WOC 2012), which is being held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 16-20, is applying for accreditation by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME) to provide CME credits for ophthalmologists. The EACCME is an institution of the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS), www.uems.net.

We expect WOC 2012 to be designated for up to 40 European CME credits (ECMEC).

ECMEC's are recognized by the American Medical Association towards the Physician's Recognition Award (PRA). To convert ECMEC's credit to AMA PRA category I credit, please contact the AMA.

Registration and Other News

• The second Early Bird Registration deadline and last chance to register online is December 15, 2011. Register online now for WOC 2012 at: www.woc2012.org/register_online.html
• For monthly updates and the most up-to-date information, view the WOC 2012 e-newsletter at: www.woc2012.org/news.html
• For more Congress information, visit the WOC 2012 Web site at: www.woc2012.org
• For information on Abu Dhabi, go to: www.woc2012.org/city_information.html

– Abdulaziz AlRajhi, MD, President, WOC 2012

8. Next ICO Meetings and World Ophthalmology Congresses

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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