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ICO Leader Letter

November 2009, Volume 6, Number 11

1. Productive Joint Meeting, ICO Awardees

Alongside the 25,000+ attendees (more than 6,000 international) at the Joint Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and Pan-American Academy of Ophthalmology (PAAO), the ICO Board and Committees met to continue our work on ophthalmic education and the prevention of visual loss. We have much to report on various ICO programs and initiatives in this and future newsletters.

First, I would like to congratulate our colleagues voted by the ICO Board to receive the following Medals and Awards at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC) in Berlin:

• Gonin Medal for outstanding work or research: Alan Bird, MD (United Kingdom)
• International Duke Elder Medal for the development of international relations and friendship between ophthalmologists: Mohammed Daud Khan, MD (Pakistan)
• Jules Francois Golden Medal for ophthalmic work of high scientific quality: Gisele Soubrane, MD, PhD (France)
• ICO Ophthalmic Pathology Award: Ursula Schlotzer-Schrehardt, PhD (Germany)

Each of these awards requires the recipient to make a presentation in 2010.

And as we announced in last month's Leader Letter, the G.O.H. Naumann Award for Leadership in Global Eye Care was presented to Francisco Contreras, MD. His acceptance presentation is available for download:
archive.icoph.org/ppt/FCNaumannAwardOct2009.ppt (PPT - 11.7 MB).

Congratulations to all of the awardees.

- Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO President

2. New Advanced ICO Examination

In October 2010, the ICO will offer a new annual Advanced Examination, in addition to the Standard Examinations in Basic and Clinical Sciences. The ICO has also changed the Assessments name to ICO Examinations.

This new Advanced Examination is for more senior ophthalmologists who have passed all parts of the ICO Standard examinations. It will test a high level of up-to-date knowledge and common sense decision-making. Passing the Advanced Examination will show that the candidate has a knowledge base to act as an independent consultant and it will entitle the use of the post-nominal acronym, FICO: Fellow of The International Council of Ophthalmology (once the candidate has obtained a license to practice in their own country).

For a limited time, a candidate will be exempt from the Basic Sciences section of the ICO examination if he or she has passed an examination of similar standard recognized by the ICO. The number of candidates is limited. The first Advanced Examination will be on October 21, 2010 with an application deadline of July 31, 2010. For more details, see www.icoexams.org/exams/advanced.

January 31, 2010 is the deadline to apply to take next year's ICO Standard Examinations in Basic and Clinical Sciences, which will be offered on April 15, 2010. For locations, applications and more information, visit www.icoexams.org.

- David Taylor, FRCOphth, ICO Director for Assessments

3. Refocusing Ophthalmic Education and Developing Ophthalmologic Organizations

Refocusing Ophthalmic Education is a new ICO initiative that gathered more momentum during the recent ICO meetings in San Francisco. The Education Task Force chairs and I are making plans to incorporate adult education techniques into our projects. We will report more details in future ICO news.

The ICO will host the World Ophthalmic Education Colloquium (WOEC) June 7-8, 2010 at the World Ophthalmology Congress in Berlin. Building on the success of the first WOEC in Hong Kong in 2008, we will present eight symposia highlighting new and different techniques from the Task Force subject areas.

Also in San Francisco, the ICO held a World Ophthalmic Residency Leadership Development (WORLD) session on Developing Ophthalmologic Organizations and Refocusing Ophthalmic Education, co-sponsored by the PAAO. Ori Brafman, Co-Author of The Starfish and the Spider, spoke on how "starfish" organizations tap into the power of a leaderless structure.

The room was full of energy and ideas as attendees engaged in a discussion on how to utilize the wisdom of the book in ophthalmology. Each attendee received a copy of the book in English or Spanish. For more information on the book, see www.starfishandspider.com.

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

4. PAAO and AAO Lecturers and Special Awards

Each year, we recognize our colleagues who have made extraordinary contributions to ophthalmology, education and service. I am happy to share with you the 2010 lecturers and special awardees who were honored at this year's Joint Meeting of the AAO and PAAO.

PAAO Lectures and Awards:

• Gradle Lecture: Bruce E. Spivey, MD
• American Academy of Ophthalmology Lecture: Michel Farah, MD  
• Moacyr E. Alvaro Pan-American Lecture: Enrique Graue Wiechers, MD  
• Benjamin F. Boyd Humanitarian Medal Award: H. Dunbar Hoskins, MD  
• A. Edward Maumenee Award for Distinguished Services: Michael W. Brennan, MD  
• Gradle Medal for Teaching: Hugo Nano, MD and Albert Vaiser, MD

Selected AAO Awards:  

• International Blindness Prevention Award: Louis Pizzarello, MD, MPH  
• Special Recognition Award: Iraqi Ophthalmology Society and The National Eye Institute  
• Outstanding Humanitarian Award: Jack A. Aaron, MD and Linda M. Lawrence, MD  
• Straatsma Award for Excellence in Resident Education: Mark S. Juzych, MD

Please join me in congratulating these lecturers and awardees on their accomplishments.

- Richard M. Abbott, MD, PAAO Past President and ICO Director for Guidelines

5. Enhancing Eye Care in Africa

At the ICO Board Meeting in San Francisco, Dr. Daniel Etya'ale presented his perspective on eye care in Africa: Enhancing Eye Care in Africa: Needs, Challenges, Opportunities, & Suggestions for a Radical Shift of Paradigm. To overcome the significant challenges of this region, he suggests a multi-pronged approach consisting of:

• Human resource development
• Essential equipment and supplies
• Disease control expansion and up-scaling
• Advocacy, targeted for and within Africa  
• Evaluation, monitoring, documenting and reporting

"We need to make an underlying paradigm shift from prevention of blindness to eye health, from disease control to prevention, from selective to comprehensive eye care, and other new approaches," Dr. Etya'ale said. A copy of his presentation is available for download at: archive.icoph.org/ppt/EyeCareAfricaOct09.ppt.

The Africa Ophthalmology Forum (AOF), formerly the ICO/MEACO Advisory Leadership Group, is moving to unite ophthalmologists across Sub-Saharan Africa to identify potential future ophthalmologic leaders in the region and help them acquire knowledge, skills and experience. AOF Chair Kunle Hassan, MD reported that the AOF is currently establishing officers, geographic area leaders and key committees to bring local leadership to the prevention of visual loss efforts in the region.

- Akef El-Maghraby, MD, ICO Vice President

6. ICO Advisory Committee News

Dr. Robert Ritch convened his first meeting as chair of the Advisory Committee to the ICO on October 22. The purpose of the ICO Advisory Committee is to stimulate the planning and direction of the ICO—a very important part of ICO leadership.

The group discussed the importance of communication and interaction between subspecialty societies and the ICO. A subcommittee chaired by new member, Dr. Neeru Gupta, will contact subspecialty societies to learn how the ICO might better cooperate with them.

Invited guest Dr. Randy Olson, new Chair of the ICO Task Force on Subspecialty Education, presented plans to connect general ophthalmologists developing regions to those with subspecialty experience. The Task Force is seeking to create subspecialty-training centers, where subspecialists can partner with local programs to teach skills applicable to local needs and operating budgets.

- Jean-Jacques DeLaey, MD, ICO Secretary-General

7. Submit WOC 2010 Abstracts by December 1

There is still time to submit your scientific contribution to the 2010 World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC). The deadline to submit oral presentations, posters, and videos is 20:00 December 1st, 2009 (Central European Time).

For more details, visit the WOC 2010 Web site: www.woc2010.org/abstract-submission.html.

8. 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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