Ophthalmic Education

Eye Care and Vision

Research

Advocacy

Society Relations and Support

Organizational Development

* - Increase the quality of eye care worldwide through enhanced training of ophthalmologists, subspecialists, medical students, and allied health personnel

* - Preservation and restoration of vision

- More effective training programs and training

- Increase access to care and meet the eye care needs of the public

- Ophthalmologists acquire the knowledge, skills and professionalism they need

- Clarify what constitutes ophthalmology and define minimum essential requirements for training (e.g., experience with certain kinds of patients)

- Provide leadership for training of allied and mid-level personnel

- Assume responsibility for ongoing management of the World Ophthalmology Congress to assure continuity and educational quality

- Offer educational resources online, along with opportunities for self-assessment

- Provide curricula, resources and support for training in other languages than just English

- Work with the American Academy of Ophthalmology and others to support distribution of relevant educational materials worldwide

- Enhance continuing medical education of ophthalmologists, particularly by helping ophthalmologic societies improve what they offer

- Work with national ophthalmologic societies and others to promote and support the establishment of self-sustaining eye centers where needed to provide both care and training

- Link training with the infrastructure required, so that those who are trained, including subspecialists, have the equipment and resources needed to practice what they learn

Standards for Residency Training: to define and develop consensus on appropriate standards for residency training around the world.

Mid-Level Personnel: to develop a program to enhance the training and continuing education of allied eye care personnel, including education of ophthalmologists about the value of such personnel and how to work with them most effectively.

World Congress: to assume responsibility for ongoing management of the World Ophthalmology Congress in order to assure continuity and the quality of the scientific program.

- Residency training of ophthalmologists, particularly to work in underserved areas

- Programs directors and other teachers of ophthalmologists

- Mid-level/allied personnel

- Subspecialty training, particularly for underserved areas

- Medical students

- Ophthalmologists already in practice (continuing professional development/continuing education)

- Eye care mangers

- Optometrists and refractionists

- Orthoptists

- Nurses, social workers, etc.

- Ophthalmic technologists

- Opticians

- Other physicians, either during training or already in practice

* - Develop/provide educational materials that will be free for residents (e.g., free copies of journals), either via the Internet, on CD and in other ways

* - Encourage residency programs to use the ICO Assessments and develop other self-assessment mechanisms for residents

- Arrange or offer scholarships for residency training of individuals from developing countries who are qualified and eager to be trained

- Help programs obtain the technology and equipment they need for teaching

- Promote the development and use of simulators for surgery

- Provide more continuity of support after training, so that ophthalmologists can maintain their proficiency and continue to learn

- Encourage residents to learn English

- Facilitate translation of educational materials into other languages, including Chinese

- Encourage companies to support establishment of permanent wet labs for teaching

- Form partnerships to develop educational resources that don’t duplicate what already exists

- Evaluate the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Clinically Relevant Curriculum (CRC) and suggest how it might be adapted for use in different countries and cultures

- Ask the Academy to discount the CRC for societies in developing countries

* - Establish an ICO committee with members from around the world who can help develop and teach courses for program directors from different countries and cultures

* - Extend the courses for residency program directors to more areas

* - Encourage a shift from an apprenticeship model to an apprenticeship/ curriculum model of residency training and help program directors to define the curriculum for their programs

* - Establish a forum where each country can report on the status of training and discuss progress

* - Promote and support twinning of residency programs in developed and developing countries, such as between Germany and Africa, covering not just training but equipment, with joint research projects to promote the development of research capability in developing areas

- Encourage training of residents in “soft skills,” including management, team building, etc.

- Make sure there is follow-up with participants in ICO courses for program directors and evaluation to determine if there are improvements in residency training

* - Work with subspecialty societies to define curricula for training in subspecialties

* - Stimulate societies to set up training programs for underserved areas

- Work with subspecialties to offer six-month or longer fellowships

- Endorse or co-sponsor courses with subspecialty societies similar to the course ICO is co-sponsoring with the International Uveitis Study Group

- Identify good centers for subspecialty training and develop direct relations with them

* - Issue a strong statement from the ICO that societies can use to protect time for ophthalmology in the medical student curriculum

* - Make the time medical students spend on ophthalmology relevant to what they will see in practice and useful to them, not esoteric

- Promote adoption of a curriculum that defines the basic eye skills and knowledge that every medical graduate should have

- Have a Medical Student Education Committee develop more resources for medicals students and their teachers

- Offer continuing education related to eye care for other MDs

* - Focus on helping ophthalmologists offer services for whole communities, including refractions and glasses

* - Educate ophthalmologists about community needs and the role allied personnel can play in increasing productivity

- Work with the WHO, VISION 2020 Human Resources Working Group, Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO) and other groups to develop educational programs

- Offer materials for allied education online

- Offer continuing education for community ophthalmic nurses

* - Work with supranational and national societies to organize courses at supranational and big national congresses

- Provide stipends or other support for people from developing countries to participate in the World Ophthalmology Congress or other congresses

- Work with IFOS members on an initiative to improve training

- Improve evaluation of ICO educational programs

* - Define and establish minimum expected behavior for ophthalmology and ophthalmologists

* - Improve the quality and clinical consistency of eye care by defining generalizable standards of care

- Make ophthalmic practice more evidence-based

- Help ophthalmologists practice effectively and efficiently and meet the needs of those in their communities

- Help ophthalmologists in developing areas as well as large countries

- Help ophthalmologists in training learn what’s expected in practice

- Help societies adapt and use the standards

- Conduct focus groups or evaluate in other ways how ICO Clinical Guidelines and standards are being used now and what could be done to help societies and practitioners adapt them for use in practice

- Assess what the ICO can do to help ophthalmologists, particularly in developing areas, practice effectively and efficiently

- Provide CDs, videos, courses and other resources to help societies adapt Guidelines and individual ophthalmologists use them (e.g., if a Guideline says something is expected, provide practical resources on how to do it)

- Add to the Guidelines Committee representatives from all supranational societies and regions, who will be responsible for promulgation and use within those regions

- Evaluate and endorse guidelines and standards developed by other societies and organizations and make them accessible through the ICO Web site

- Define new ICO Clinical Guidelines on corneal ulcers and infection and on endophthalmitis

Use of Guidelines and Standards: to conduct an evaluation of the current use of ICO Clinical Guidelines and standards and define what the ICO should do to help societies adapt them and individual ophthalmologists use them in practice.

Practice Support: to assess what other support in non-clinical areas the ICO might provide to help ophthalmologists in practice, particularly those in developing countries and underserved areas.

* - Replicate the model for implementing the Guidelines in China: translate them, hold workshops on defining guidelines, adapt them, introduce them to members, promulgate them to hospitals and institutions, etc.

- Obtain funding for projects to implement the Guidelines in other countries

- Develop partnerships with countries to promulgate the Guidelines and promote and support their use

- Incorporate use of the Guidelines into teaching residents and continuing medical education

- Streamline the Guidelines down to the bare essentials so that they can be read quickly and used in practice

- Beware of efforts to turn the ICO Guidelines into protocols and potential medical liability issues

- Find out what the American Academy of Ophthalmology does to encourage and support use of the Guidelines in practice

- Vascular anomalies

- HIV/AIDS

- Graves

- Define how to promulgate the standards and what can be done to help with their use

- Applanation tonometry

- Perimetry

- Electrophysiology and Multifocal ERG

* - Provide special recognition for individual ophthalmologists who have passed the Assessments or met other professional development goals

- Provide information and resources related to effective management: how to build a team, increase productivity, etc.

- Develop basic, intermediate and advanced videos on non-clinical subjects related to practice, like maintenance of slit lamps

- Work with other societies to develop specific products and services for individual ophthalmologists, including courses co-sponsored by subspecialties and other societies

- Avoid redundancy with existing products

* - Raise the standard of care and improve practice

* - Support ophthalmic teaching

- Support evidence-based ophthalmic practice

- Development of new knowledge and treatment modalities

- More targeted operational research that helps define what is most cost effective

- Support for basic research in ophthalmology (which is a tool to acquire scientific skills and a better understanding of physiology, pathology and treatment possibilities)

- Give ophthalmologists self-confidence that what they are doing is effective

- Provide a source of financial support for individual ophthalmologists in developing countries

- Stimulate and encourage operational research in areas where it is most needed to define what is most cost effective and should be done

- Encourage training in epidemiology to facilitate operational research

- Offer ICO seminars and courses on basic methodology for both clinical and operational research at World Ophthalmology Congresses and supranational and other congresses

- Disseminate the results of research relevant to eye care

- Actively promote basic research related to ophthalmology, including building relationships with other scientific disciplines

- Offer IFOS/ICO Fellowships or other extended training and support for individuals to do research, including Fellowships in epidemiology

- Develop consensus on what operational research is most needed

Courses in Research Methodology: to offer seminars and courses at international congresses and other meetings covering the basics of both clinical and operational research, targeted particularly to ophthalmologists in developing countries who were not involved with research in residency training.

- Offer basic courses, such as “Statistics for Practitioners” and “Writing Papers for Publication”

- Get prominent journal editors involved in a course at the World Ophthalmology Congress

- Get more involved with operational research and research on health economics

- Help build the capacity for doing both operational and clinical research into collaborating eye centers and residency training programs in developing countries

- Encourage twinning among residency programs in developed and developing countries with joint research projects

- Seek funding from industry for specific research projects to demonstrate whether certain forms of treatment are effective

- Evaluate in which situations phaco is cost effective and where it is not and compare phaco with other techniques

- Establish an ICO center or someone responsible for measuring whether what we do is cost effective

- Recognize the importance and value of ophthalmic pathologists

* - Influence national governments to adopt policies and act to support and improve eye care

* - ICO is recognized as a leader of and contact point for international ophthalmology and eye care

- Stimulate national governments to develop and implement national eye care/Vision 2020 plans and comply with WHA Resolution 59.25

- Increased funding for eye care, training and research

- Protection of ophthalmologists

- A public informed about ophthalmology and eye and visual problems

- Justification of membership in IFOS

- Work closely with WHO/IABP/NGOs: be part of the VISION 2020 strategy and process, have a continuous physical presence and participate in all decision making

- Form an ICO committee on VISION 2020/prevention of blindness, with respected representatives from different supranational societies and each WHO region who will define strategies and work as advocates within those regions, in cooperation with WHO, IAPB and NGOs

- Spread awareness of VISION 2020 among ophthalmologists and encourage their participation: prevention of blindness should be the goal of every ophthalmologist

- Define specific projects or initiatives that governments will want to allocate funds to support

- Teach national societies how to be effective advocates and influence policies of their governments, not only at the national level but also regional or district levels where appropriate

- Act as an advocate directly to national governments in countries where there is no ophthalmologic society

- Identify an individual from each national society to work with the ICO on advocacy

- Build ongoing relationships with non-governmental development organizations (NGOs), with ARVO and with other groups

- Generate coverage in the news media by scheduling “Eye Summits” and news conferences as part of Congresses

VISION 2020, WHO and NGOs: to define clearly the role that the ICO wants to play in the VISION 2020 initiative and relationship it wants to have with WHO, IAPB and other NGOs and name respected individuals to represent ICO within each WHO region.

National Advocacy: to educate national ophthalmologic societies about what they can do to be effective advocates and establish a network of advocates from each country.

Involvement of Ophthalmologists: to increase individual ophthalmologists’ awareness of the importance of VISION 2020 and other prevention of blindness initiatives and what they can do to participate and contribute.

1. The World Health Organization (WHO), International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and non-governmental development organizations (NGOs)

2. National governments, including ministers of health and education and other officials

- Regional and district governments within countries

- The news media, and through it the public

- Ophthalmic industry

- Other medical societies and organizations

- Lions, Rotary and other service organizations

- Patient advocate organizations, including those focused on particular diseases

- Universities

- Insurers and payers for health care

1. National societies

2. Supranational societies

3. Subspecialty societies

4. Individual ophthalmologists

5. Other ophthalmic research and educational societies, including the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)

 * - Pick knowledgeable and highly respected people in each WHO region to represent the ICO

* - Identify ophthalmologists who are well-connected with government leaders in their countries and enlist them as advocates to mobilize resources

- Identify important meetings (e.g., WHO regional meetings) and make sure that ophthalmology is represented

- Get more involved in the educational aspects of VISION 2020, such as workshops on how to implement it regionally or nationally

- Focus more on training institutions and the tertiary level of care (surgery, subspecialties, etc.) since NGOs focus more on primary and secondary levels

- Focus on training of eye care providers to improve eye care worldwide and become the leader for the Human Resources Development thrust of VISION 2020

* - Focus on establishing self-sustaining eye centers where needed as one way to build the reputation and influence of international ophthalmology

* - Work more closely with Rotary, Lions, etc.

* - Designate a liaison officer to work with philanthropic organizations and form alliances, leading to more formal relationships

* - Continue to focus on defining plans and initiatives for countries with minimal ophthalmic presence

- Follow-up on WHO manpower studies and define clearly where more eye care providers are needed

- Develop partnerships with organizations that are effective advocates, such as disease-oriented consumer advocacy groups

- Encourage NGOs and ophthalmic industry to do more as advocates for eye care

- Hire one or more individuals to work on advocacy

- Develop closer relationships with individual NGOs, with the possibility of a larger role in the organization in the future

- Ask them what they would like to get out of the relationship and find out how they may want to participate

- Organize an annual meeting with them, explore how to cooperate and then build relationships

- Build on the Forum for Non-Profits at the last World Ophthalmology Congress

- Consider adding a representative of an NGO to the Advisory Committee or Board

* - Develop a leadership development program and courses on advocacy, focused on developing advocates to work at supranational, WHO regional and national levels

- Make symposia on prevention of blindness at Congresses more clinically oriented in order to attract a wider audience

- Organize meetings of the leaders from a region at supranational Congresses

- Develop messages and standardized presentations on advocacy and make them easy for societies to use

- Get ophthalmologists involved on all national VISION 2020 committees

- Participate in World Sight Day

- Help supranational and national societies organize events to generate media coverage

- (Also see “Communications with Societies” below under “Society Relations and Support”)

* - Development of stronger, more effective societies representing and serving all ophthalmologists

- More effective governance of societies, congresses, education, advocacy and greater access to eye care for the public

- Development of effective leadership for societies

- Coordination and cooperation among societies

- Name an ICO Director for Society Relations and Support

- Assess what societies need and want and what the ICO could do to help them develop and become more successful

- Based on the results of the assessment, offer courses, information and resources on subjects such as management, planning Congresses, education, advocacy, etc.

- Focus on countries where no society exists and either help ophthalmologists form a society or encourage regional societies to represent all ophthalmologists

- Work toward a goal of having every ophthalmologist be a member of a society that is a member of IFOS

- Encourage and facilitate twinning among societies

- Work through supranational societies where appropriate but directly with national societies when needed

- Use strategic planning as a basis to help societies decide what they need to do to become more effective, and provide the support needed for them to take those next steps

- Communicate with and provide information to societies on a continuing basis

Society Development: to assess the needs of national and supranational ophthalmologic societies and the relationship they desire with the ICO and define a plan and program to meet their needs and help them become increasingly effective.

Societies for All Ophthalmologists: to stimulate and support development or expansion of societies to cover areas with minimal ophthalmic presence and serve all ophthalmologists, so that every ophthalmologist is a member of a society that is a member of IFOS.

* - If there are enough ophthalmologists, provide information and consultation to help them form a society

* - Where there are too few ophthalmologists, encourage formation or expansion of regional societies (e.g., East Africa) to accept members from several countries

- Encourage large national societies to open membership to ophthalmologists from small neighboring countries (e.g., Australia and Pacific islands)

- Contact and work with national medical societies where appropriate

* - Seek sponsorship for society leaders to attend supranational or other society meetings to see and learn how others do it

* - Define alternative models and guidelines that are relevant to societies and provide the resources and support needed for them to adapt and use them

- Develop or obtain the expertise needed to provide resources and support to societies

- Define a stepwise approach to developing societies and provide a checklist or workbook to help the societies understand and do what is most important, including Bylaws, membership, finances, etc.

- Provide societies with guidelines and information on how to organize congresses, courses, meetings and other educational programs

- Provide a calendar of future ophthalmologic Congresses to help societies schedule their meetings and avoid conflicts

- Develop other specific products or services for the ICO to offer to societies

- Develop educational materials for societies to offer to their members

- Make sure that what the ICO offers is relevant and useful to societies

- Ask national societies what relationship they want to have with supranationals

- Offer strategic planning to supranational societies, with the participation of ICO leaders and national societies, so that supranationals can serve as role models for nationals

- Have ICO/IFOS leaders participate in Board meetings of supranational societies

- Develop an e-mail newsletter or other joint publication with supranational societies to send to national societies

- Develop an e-mail newsletter or other joint publication with supranational societies to send to national societies

* - Ask what societies want and listen and be responsive to problems of individual societies (e.g., if it would help to have an ICO policy on a specific issue)

- Have direct contact with individual society leaders

* - An effective organization that is appropriate for accomplishing its goals

* - Good governance

* - The infrastructure needed to support programs

* - Financial resources

*  - A reputation as an effective organization and leader

- Identification and development of leaders to get the work done

- Opportunities for ophthalmologists to participate and take on responsibility

- Continuity

- Ask members of the Council to take ongoing responsibility for each of the six major goals (e.g., Advocacy) and identify other individuals to be responsible for the long range objectives and other ICO functions that fall under the goals (see Part 2)

- Provide administrative/staff support to help those who accept responsibility get the work done

- Assume responsibility for management of the World Ophthalmology Congress

- Generate income by organizing joint Congresses or courses with subspecialty, supranational or national societies, particularly in years when there is no World Ophthalmology Congress

- Work with the ICOFoundation to develop stronger appropriate relationships with industry and obtain support from other major Foundations

- Develop consensus on this Strategic Plan and modify the Statutes and Regulations as needed

- Establish a leadership development program for the ICO as well as national and supranational societies

Organizational Structure: to define who should be responsible for the goals, objectives and other functions defined in this Plan and develop an effective organizational structure to implement the Plan and do the work of the ICO.

Financial Resources: to define a strategy and plan to generate increased income for the ICO, including joint Congresses or courses with IFOS members and working with the ICOFoundation and industry.

Leadership Development: to establish a program to identify and develop future leaders for the ICO as well as for national and supranational societies.

* - Expand work beyond the Officers and Program Directors: get more Council and Advisory Committee members involved doing the work, with accountability for what they accomplish

* - Define what the ideal responsibilities and size of the Council/Board should be

* - Define and make it clear what we want the organization to be like two years from now, in 2008 - 2009

* - Rethink the role of the Advisory Committee, whether it should still be composed of representatives of subspecialties and address specific issues that may be controversial (e.g., ethics)

* - Consider adding lay individuals to the Council, possibly someone from industry or an NGO or another health professional

* - Reimburse travel expenses for individuals specifically representing the ICO

- To implement the Strategic Plan, identify the best people to do the work

- Add other effective and respected leaders to the Council who might serve as officers in the future

- Get more women on the Council and make it more representative

- Make the organizational structure clear and simple

- Expand the executive committee to include more than just the four Officers

- Consider having an “Executive Vice President” instead of Secretary General or designating an “Assistant Secretary General”

- Form task forces to handle time-limited specific jobs and committees to take on ongoing, evolving responsibilities

 * - Maintain a close working relationship with the ICOFoundation, with ICO input into proposals submitted for funding

* - Use IFOS dues to support the ICO infrastructure and administration of the ICOFoundation, with all donations allocated fully to pay for programs
* - Develop long-term partnerships with industry and obtain multi-year commitments for support

* - Consider establishing an advisory council of representatives from industry or ask the ICOFoundation to serve in that capacity

- Designate one individual to serve as a liaison officer to industry

- Research other major foundations, like the Gates Foundation, and define programs that would be within their scope

* - Develop expertise in areas such as improving residency programs and offer a fee-based consulting service

* - Increase membership in IFOS

* - Emphasize getting materials out to broader audiences more than generating income from sales

- Form relationships with commercial companies, such as airlines, in exchange for a small percentage of fees paid

- Evaluate if the ICO has intellectual property that it can sell

* - Define what skills are needed on staff

* - Develop or obtain expertise in education, management, advocacy, etc. in order to be able to provide resources and support to societies

- Hire one or more individuals to focus on advocacy

- Consider hiring a certified professional meeting manager with international experience and offer Congress management services to other societies

- Have some staff in different countries, so that there is a worldwide perspective and support

* - Decide on a single name for the organization, either “International Council of Ophthalmology” or “World Ophthalmology Council”