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ICO Leader Letter

January 2012, Volume 9, Number 1

1. Center for Ophthalmic Educators Launched – Helping Educators Become Better Teachers

We invite you to visit and explore the exciting new ICO Center for Ophthalmic Educators at educators.icoph.org. Launched in January, the Center is focused on helping educators enhance their teaching skills with curricula, tips and tools, ways to collaborate, and more. The new Center offers a broad array of educational tools and resources for those who train residents, subspecialty fellows, allied eye professionals, and medical students, and who organize continuing professional development programs.

The Center for Ophthalmic Educators strives to help educators become better teachers by presenting modern teaching and learning theories, and the tools to put them into action. The Center offers the next generation of services for teachers worldwide.

The Center was launched this month as part of the ICO's efforts to advance ophthalmic education, to meet the growing need for excellent eye care worldwide, particularly in the developing world. A good place to start your investigation of the site is at educators.icoph.org/about.

We welcome your participation in the new Center for Ophthalmic Educators. Please contribute your ideas, initiate forum discussions, post comments and educational resources, and give us feedback to improve what we offer.

Please email comments to us at educators@icoph.org.

– Eduardo Mayorga, MD, ICO Director for E-Learning

2. International Dedication Expands WORD into a Center for Ophthalmic Educators

The new ICO Center for Ophthalmic Educators at educators.icoph.org reflects the efforts and dedication of educators Eduardo Mayorga, MD, and Gabriela Palis, MD, to increase the scope of the successful ICO World Ophthalmic Residency Development (WORD) Web site they developed in 2008. WORD brought together the insights and skills of those who teach residents to be come better ophthalmologists, worldwide.

The Center for Ophthalmic Educators has now expanded beyond WORD to include educational resources and interactive forums for the broad range of educators who train ophthalmologists and allied professionals throughout their entire careers.

We congratulate Drs. Mayorga and Palis, not only for their vision, but for their persistence in working internationally to create this dynamic, interactive resource for ophthalmic educators. Education consultant Kathy Miller and ICO program assistant Christine Graham have also played a critical role in developing the Center, and we thank the entire team for this exciting new offering for educators from the ICO.

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

3. Ophthalmic Educators Letter – Resources and Discussions for Teaching and Learning

Educators are invited to subscribe to the newest ICO newsletter, the Ophthalmic Educators Letter. If you have not received it, please take a look at the inaugural issue at icoph.org/news/letter_for_ophthalmic_educators.html.

The Educators Letter showcases recent additions to the Center for Ophthalmic Educators (educators.icoph.org), as well as news of particular interest to teachers of ophthalmology.

The January issue of the Educators Letter features the call for comments on the new ICO Residency Curriculum and a special invitation to the Conference for Educators in Busan, Korea on April 12 [also see item 5 below]. The Letter will report postings in the ICO Technology for Teaching and Learning blog, the Ophthalmology Teacher’s Library, and curricula and other downloads.

If you would like to receive the Ophthalmic Educators Letter, please email us at educators@icoph.org.

-- Gabriela Palis, MD - 
Editor in Chief, Center for Ophthalmic Educators

4. Educator Programs at WOC in Abu Dhabi

One of the highlights of WOC is the World Ophthalmic Education Colloquium (WOEC), which focuses on the advances of ophthalmic education technologies to improve eye care in the world community.    

At the WOC 2012 in Abu Dhabi, the World Ophthalmic Education Colloquium will be comprised of two approaches:

I.  A series of eight WOEC sessions involve over 50 experts and consist of symposia and courses on recent advances in the educational activities globally.  The subjects of these sessions range from demonstrating innovative educational technologies, assessment of clinical skills of trainees, e-learning programs in ophthalmic education, teaching ophthalmic subspecialties in developed and developing countries, and the new development of educational approaches for allied health personnel.

You are invited to attend these inspiring sessions. You can find more details and the schedule at: icoph.org/WOEC. Please note the time, the places and the prominent speakers in the General Program of the WOC.

II. To invigorate ophthalmic education, various sub-groups will meet to review the achievements of the past and to develop new educational programs.  Strategic planning sessions on education and Committee meetings of education specialists will take place throughout the Congress.  It is our hope that following WOC 2012, Ophthalmic Educational activity will be enhanced worldwide in the coming years. 

In 1999, the ICO Strategic Plan to Preserve and Restore Vision emphasized that ophthalmic education is the cornerstone to improve eye care globally.  One of the many teaching efforts of the ICO Education Committee is to develop the World Ophthalmic Education Colloquium at World Ophthalmologic Congresses.

--Mark O.M. Tso, Director for Education, ICO

5. Conference for Ophthalmic Educators in Busan April 12: New Techniques to Enhance Teaching and Learning

Please join us at the Conference for Ophthalmic Educators on "New Techniques to Enhance Teaching & Learning” on April 12, in Busan, Korea. The third Conference for Educators features new presentations, plenary sessions, and workshops.

The Conference for Educators will precede the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) Congress in Busan, April 13 through 16 (see: apaobusan2012.com).

The Busan Conference for Ophthalmic Educators will offer short lectures with special focus on assessment principles and tools; interactive, practical workshops on educational techniques including assessment tools and feedback methods; and an opportunity for hands-on experience.

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

Participation is free, but participants must register in advance, and cover their own travel and personal costs.

Please fill out a brief survey, so we know your preferences for workshops and special interest groups: www.surveymonkey.com/s/26GV6VG



The Busan Educators Conference is organized and co-sponsored by the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO), the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) and the Korean Ophthalmological Society.

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

6. Upcoming 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 - woc2014.org

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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