Sooner than we know it, Academy 2007 Tampa will be here! As you have probably
heard, this year's meeting has new dates: Wednesday through Saturday, October
24-27, yet promises to be the same great meeting you've come to expect from the
Academy.
Before I tell you more about this year’s meeting, I wanted to share with you
some updates from the Board of Directors.
About ten years ago, the Academy engaged in conversations with the American
Optometric Association (AOA) regarding the feasibility of joining our annual
meetings together into one. For reasons that were germane at that time, the
venture never came to fruition. More recently, we revisited that concept. There
have been many discussions in the past two years, and your Board has spent many
hours of due diligence in an attempt to make the best decision for the Academy
and our members.
There are many compelling arguments for co-locating the meetings of the two
organizations, and the Board considered those positives at length. But after
polling our own membership, just one-third felt it was a good idea. In addition,
the Board heard many specific concerns raised about the importance of
maintaining the Academy’s meeting as the premiere educational event in
optometry. Members made it clear that the strength of the educational program,
based on the unique integration of optometric research and practice, should be
maintained in order to continue to meet the needs of our members and attendees.
Many felt that the only way to do that was to retain an independent annual
meeting separate from that of the AOA.
As a result, the Academy Board of Directors has come to a decision that a
combined meeting with AOA is not in our organization’s best interest at this
time.
I would also like to tell you about a new initiative that is exciting and
will impact the future of our profession.. As you may have heard, a joint
project team has been formed to look at what a board certification process for
Doctors of Optometry would look like – IF one were to exist.
The joint project team evaluating this issue is made up of representatives
from the Academy, ARBO, AOA, AOSA, ASCO, and NBEO. The project team members were
selected by their respective organizations. Representing the Academy will be:
Drs. Mary Jo Stiegemeier and Tom Lewis. The group has been charged with
addressing the issue of continued and advanced competence in optometry via a
voluntary board certification process. The ultimate goal of this project is to
create a program that would be endorsed by optometric organizations and made
available to optometrists who have a need to demonstrate continued and advanced
clinical competence to the public, third party payers and government agencies.
Further, the team will not produce an abstract concept, but rather an actual
“product" that we can all look at, evaluate and discuss.
The Academy, AOA, ARBO, NBEO, ASCO and AOSA chose to address board
certification now because the profession has demonstrated a readiness to
consider the issue in a comprehensive, inclusive manner. This readiness is
evidenced by 10 of the 57 "preferred futures" of the Optometry 2020 Summits
relating to competence and certification. Additionally, one of the outcomes of
the recently held National Optometric Continuing Education Conference states,
“there be renewed dialogue involving all stakeholders to reassess continued
competence and board certification.” Finally, some optometric organizations have
already created elements of board certification including educational tracts and
testing for advanced competence in specialty areas. The project team anticipates
the process will take up to 24 months. I look forward to hearing from our
Academy representatives, and will communicate with you as their work progresses.
And now back to the Annual Meeting. With over 230 hours of lectures and
workshops, 13 section symposia, hundreds of scientific papers and posters, and
an outstanding Plenary program on “The Impact of the Aging Population on Eye
Care,” Academy 2007 Tampa offers an unparalleled educational opportunity for ALL
optometrists, vision scientists, new graduates, residents and optometry
students. In addition, you will have the opportunity to visit an expanded
exhibit hall with nearly 300 booths featuring the latest products, technology
and equipment.
Please make sure to visit the different areas on the Academy's web site about
Academy 2007 Tampa. You can already find information on traveling to Tampa,
the hotels, the Section
Symposia, and the Lectures
and Workshops program. In addition, our Program Preview mailer is currently
being printed and will mail in early May. Hotel and meeting registration open
May 23. Watch your mailbox!
I look forward to seeing you in Tampa!
Rick Weisbarth, OD, FAAO
President
