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ICO Leader Letter

February 2010, Volume 7, Number 2

1. Subspecialty Education - A Key to Preserving and Restoring Vision

Ophthalmology has become so broad and deep, with the knowledge base expanding so rapidly, that it is impossible to be on the cutting edge of every ophthalmic discipline.

There is a critical need to create subspecialists in developing regions, both to provide more advanced care needed by the public and to assure that residents are trained by experts in subspecialty areas.

This issue of the International Council of Ophthalmology Leader Letter highlights what the ICO and our partners are doing to help enhance subspecialty education, particularly in developing regions. I hope it will stimulate your thinking and encourage your involvement in this important aspect of the preservation of vision.

- Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO President

2. ICO Task Force on Subspecialty Education to Stimulate Regional Training Centers

To enhance the state of our profession, to take care of more complicated cases, and to do a better job of training ophthalmologists (particularly in the developing world), the ICO Task Force on Subspecialty Education has recently established an eight-point plan of action:

1. Foster development of regional training centers in developing countries
2. Partner with these regional centers to enhance training opportunities
3. Offer hybrid fellowships of both six and 12 months
4. Develop financial support for fellows to travel to developed country institutions
5. Gather educational content in key areas of knowledge for subspecialists
6. Develop regional subspecialty organizations
7. Strengthen subspecialty liaisons with the ICO
8. Collaborate with other key national and international players

Our overall goal is to enhance the international coordination of subspecialists, help train subspecialists, and to enhance organizations that support the differing needs of developing regions. You can download a report on our plans from: archive.icoph.org/pdf/ICOSubspecialtyReportFeb2010.pdf (PDF - 1.5 MB)

I am enthusiastic and hopeful that these plans will dramatically enhance the state of ophthalmology in the world today. I look forward to reporting our progress in the near future.

- Randy Olson, MD, ICO Task Force for Subspecialty Education Chair

3. Would Curricula for Subspecialty Training Be of Value?

The ICO Education Committee and its Task Force on Subspecialty Education would like to know if you think it would be helpful for us to define model curriculum for training of subspecialists in ophthalmology.

Just as the ICO has defined curricula for education of residents, medical students and allied eye care personnel (archive.icoph.org/ed/index.html#curric) are intended to be adapted for local use, it has been suggested that we work with subspecialty societies to define curricula for training in each subspecialty area.

Please reply to this email or send an email to education@icoph.org with your answers to the following questions:

1. Do you think it would be helpful to have model curricula in each subspecialty?

2. Would the "Advance Level Goals" defined in the ICO curriculum for residency training (archive.icoph.org/pdf/icocurricres.pdf) be a good place to start in defining subspecialty curricula?

3. Would you send us any existing curricula you are aware of for any of the subspecialties?

4. If we decide to go ahead, would you like to be involved in the process?

Thanks in advance for your response.

- Mark O.M. Tso, MD, DSc, ICO Director for Education, and Randy Olson, MD, Task Force for Subspecialty Education Chair

4. The Sandwich Fellowship - A Model for the Developing World

"The Sandwich Fellowship: A Subspecialty Training Model for the Developing World," in the August 2009 Academic Medicine, proposes an exciting new option for training of subspecialists in developing countries.

A sandwich fellowship is characterized by the completion of a rotation at an academic institution in a developed country, a rotation with the host in the fellow's home country, and then a return to the original fellowship location.

This model is particularly attractive for ophthalmologists from developing countries, where it may not be realistic to complete a one-year or two-year fellowship in another country, and it offers the potential to improve capacity at the fellow's home institution.

The article outlines the critical steps in the model, from the sample criteria for selection of a partner institution to the responsibilities of fellowship training director. The full article is free and available at journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/Fulltext/2009/08000/The_Sandwich_Fellowship__A_Subspecialty_Training.35.aspx.

In 2008, I completed a clinical and research sandwich fellowship in glaucoma in conjunction with the University of Ottawa and am now establishing a glaucoma program in Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya.

- Dan Kiage, MD, Head of Ophthalmology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, and Ophthalmological Society of Eastern Africa (OSEA) President

5. News from the ICO Alcon Training Center in Slovenia

In mid-2008, the ICO named the Ophthalmology Department at University Eye Hospital in Ljubljana, Slovenia as the first ICO Alcon Ophthalmology Training Center. We established this center to address the need for fully trained ophthalmology subspecialists in developing countries in Eastern Europe.

In addition to Fellowships and Observerships, the funds contributed by Alcon to the ICOFoundation support teaching activities and equipment upgrades.

On February 2 and 3, we celebrated the opening of a new surgical training wet lab and held a cataract surgery symposium, and more than 150 delegates attended from Slovenia and Croatia.

We will soon be hosting our first fellow in vitreoretinal surgery, Dr. Izabella Karska-Basta, from Poland, who was able to attend the inauguration and symposium.

We will continue to offer Fellowships and other programs through 2011. We look forward to sharing the results and more information from this new training center in the coming year.

- Marko Hawlina, MD, ICO Alcon Training Center Coordinator

6. Register Now for Subspecialty Days at WOC 2010

Courses, wet labs and other Subspecialty Day programs on June 6 and 7 at World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC) 2010 in Berlin are now available to reserve online (see link below).

Featuring diabetic retinopathy, corneal diseases, age-related macular degeneration and more, the subspecialty programs reflect the diversity of ophthalmology in diagnostics and therapy and offer the opportunity to learn and discuss new research approaches.

Follow these links for more on each of the subspecialty programs:

• Cataract
• Glaucoma
• Pediatric Ophthalmology
• Refractive Surgery
• Retina

To register, go to www.woc2010.org/information-for-participants/online-registration.html. The early bird deadline for booking these events is May 10, 2010.

- Gerhard Lang, MD, WOC 2010 President

7. Helmerich Fellowships Support Subspecialty Training

The ICO Helmerich Fellowships are designed to provide advanced subspecialty training to ophthalmologists from developing countries and help transmit new knowledge to their home countries. Supported by a grant to the ICOFoundation from the Retina Research Foundation, two 12-month fellowships are awarded each year. The awardees will receive salary and air transportation support, and the host institution will receive a stipend to assist with training expenses.

The first Helmerich awardees were: Dr. Mohammed El-hanan, of Egypt, for training in cornea and anterior segment at L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderbad, India; and Dr. Siamak Zarei-Ghanavati, of Iran, for training in cornea at The Jules Stein Eye Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.

The ICO is now accepting applications for the 2011 Helmerich Fellowships with a deadline of September 1, 2010. A complete description, application requirements, and instructions are available from: archive.icoph.org/pdf/helmerichfellowships.pdf (PDF - 736 KB).

I would appreciate you sharing this information with anyone who may be interested.

- Jean-Jacques DeLaey, MD, ICO Secretary General

8. WOC 2010 Advance Program Now Available

• The WOC 2010 Advance program is now available at www.woc2010.org/scientific-program/advance-program.html.


• Find WOC 2010 on Facebook
  Become a fan! www.facebook.com/WOC2010Berlin


• Help Promote WOC 2010
  Please add a link to the Congress, www.woc2010.org, to your Web site. Download promotional tools from www.woc2010.org/downloads.html. [Username: WOC2010 Password: See_you]

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

• ICO Board of Trustees: June 4, 2010, Berlin, Germany
• ICO General Assembly: June 5, 2010, Berlin, Germany
• World Ophthalmology Congress®: June 5-9, 2010, Berlin, Germany (www.woc2010.org)
• Other future ICO Meetings: archive.icoph.org/lead/icomeet.html.

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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