Preservation and Restoration of Vision:

Vision for the Future, Part 2: Ophthalmology Continuing Education: Twinning of National Ophthalmology Societies

On this page:

• Background
  
  
• Purpose of twinning
  
  
• How do we achieve it?

Pran N. Nagpal, MD

Background

1. Most of the ophthalmology national societies have the non-political aim of creating a platform for propagation of knowledge around ophthalmology and ultimately improving and modernising the eye care to the community.
   
   
2. They all have annual meetings and create other educational materials and programs of different sorts.
   
   Probably amongst the developed nations, the American Academy of Ophthalmology is the best national society to have achieved this aim.
   
   Developing countries in the Third World are generally at a very low level.
   
   
3. Most of the new developments in ophthalmology are taking place in the developed world.
   
   There is a great desire on the part of ophthalmologists of the developing world to look to developed countries for knowledge and also the methodologies for transmission of knowledge to their colleagues.
   

Purpose of twinning

1. To achieve transfer of knowledge from developed countries to ophthalmologists of developing countries.
   
   
2. To make available the know-how of different methods to transmit this knowledge.
   
   Twinning of a developed nationís ophthalmological society with that of a developing national society could help this cause.
   

How do we achieve it?

1. Some designated and desirous ophthalmologists of a developed nation's society should regularly attend the annual meetings of the developing nation's society and not only bring knowledge, but also help the developing nation's society to frame a locally useful program for annual meetings and for other educational materials.
   
   
2. Allow a few designated and desirous ophthalmologists of developing nation's society to attend annual meetings of developed nation's society. This exposure will help the developing nation's society to develop programs for its meetings.
   

As an incentive to this exchange, both societies should provide some kind of facilitation to the attending members of the other society.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology is trying to facilitate international exchange (for example, by providing free registration and "Host an ophthalmologist" programs), but this could be done by many other societies.

There may be a time limit of such twinning and a change over to new combinations.

At the same time, a developing nation's society can be twinned with a more developed one on one hand and twinned with a less developed nation's society on the other hand.

Language considerations will have to be given special attention while twinning national societies.

October 21, 2000

Next: Eye Care Guidelines and Recommendations

Also see: Table of Contents for Vision for the Future