| Greensheet – Winter 1997
PRESIDENT'S COLUMN These last few months since the previous issue of the Greensheet
have been a busy one, with a Board meeting in September and January,
and the Tripartite meeting in October. The Tripartite meeting was
held in Washington, with representatives from ASCO and the National
Board. Of great concern to the IAB participants was the announcement by
the National Board to report the scores of Part III to the state
boards and candidates a month earlier in 1997 than in previous
years. With scheduling changes, it is possible the National Board
may be able to report the scores even earlier. Both the IAB and ASCO representatives agreed that additional
dialogue was necessary to resolve the outstanding issues with COPE.
Subsequent to the Tripartite meeting, IAB and ASCO held a meeting in
Orlando, FL, in December 1996 to continue these discussions. We are
hopeful that a resolution may be forthcoming. Our latest project was the Data Collection Committee's Workshop
in Internet Communications, which was held in San Diego on January
18. With the increasing use of the Internet as a means to
communicate with the general public and with licensees, the IAB
decided to help our member boards as much as possible by hosting a
workshop to bring board personnel up-to-date on this new, and
exciting means of communication. The workshop proved to be a
resounding success (see related story this issue). More and more information about the IAB is now available at our
World Wide Web (WWW) Home Page. The address on the Internet is:
http://www.iabopt.org If you have access to a 'net browser, go to
the IAB's Home Page and look around. You might see what the Board of
Directors look like!!! Plans are still proceeding to create an active 'news group' style
of dialogue, using the Internet and e-mail. It came to our attention
at the Internet Workshop that board members and staff are concerned
about using e-mail as a form of communication, and the possible
implications of the Freedom of Information Acts that are in place in
some states. Be sure to check with your Board attorney before
getting involved in this problem. We believe that as long as this
form of communication fosters the sharing of information between
boards of optometry, and no official decisions are made by e-mail,
then board members and staff can interact with this news group. More
details on this issue will be forthcoming. The Data Collection Committee is working with several Boards to
set up their home page on the WWW. Almost all state governments have
a designated server for state government use. We will be working
hard to help our member boards appear on those servers, with the
goal of increasing communication between boards, your licensees, and
the general public. Please do not hesitate to contact the IAB if you
require assistance in these areas - this is a member benefit we are
happy to provide. Howard F. Flippin, O.D. President ANNUAL MEETING 1997 - IN THE HEARTLAND OF AMERICA The IAB Annual Meeting will be held on June 8-10, 1997, in
St. Louis, Missouri. The IAB Annual Meeting will be held immediately
PRIOR to the AOA Annual Congress. The AOA Congress is
scheduled to begin in the afternoon of Wednesday, June 11. The IAB
Annual Meeting House of Delegates will be in session on Monday, June
9 and Tuesday, June 10. The National Board Workshop/IAB Internet
Workshop will be held on Sunday, June 8. The National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NB) workshop is
free and open to anyone who is interested; boards who designate a
representative (one individual only) to attend the workshop will
receive a $500 stipend to offset travel expenses. The stipend is
possible through a cooperative effort by the IAB and NB, however,
the representative MUST register for, and attend, the IAB meeting as
well in order to receive funding. Both the NB Workshop and IAB Internet Workshop WILL BE HELD
OFF-SITE. Transportation will depart the hotel early on Sunday
morning. Remember, you should plan on arriving in St. Louis, MO, on
Saturday, June 7 to be ready to participate in the activities for
Sunday, June 8. Hot Topics To Watch Out For At This Year's Annual
Meeting
Hotel Reservations The Adam's Mark Hotel is situated in the heart of St. Louis'
business district, immediately across from the Gateway Arch. It is
within walking distance of Busch Stadium, Laclede's Landing and the
St. Louis Centre, and only twenty minutes from St. Louis
International Airport. The IAB, in conjunction with Adam's Mark
Hotel, is pleased to announce the following special room rates for
IAB meeting attendees: $105.00 (+ local taxes) for a single occupancy $120.00 (+ local taxes) for a double occupancy IMPORTANT: The reservations deadline is May 7;
thereafter, accommodations will be on an "as available basis" and
room rates cannot be guaranteed at this price. For those of you who are planning to attend the IAB meeting and
stay for the AOA Annual Congress, it will be to your advantage to
arrange your accommodations as soon as possible. Remember,
the AOA are celebrating their 100th Anniversary in St.
Louis and hotel accommodations will be sparse - book early!
Call the Adam's Mark Hotel directly to make room reservations at
(314) 241-7400. Registration Rates Registration rates for the meeting are: Early-Bird Rate* Regular Rate Voting Delegate: $200 $250 Non-Voting Delegate: $150 $200 *Early-Bird rate cutoff date is March 31, 1997,
received in the IAB office. NOW is the time to make your plans to attend and, if appropriate,
to seek the necessary funding from your state board. IAB INTERNET WORKSHOP A GREAT SUCCESS! I attended the IAB Internet Workshop meeting in San Diego and
would like to express my opinion. The class was outstanding and
extremely beneficial. The course content was designed to allow the
novice to understand but was challenging. The course will be a must
for all boards for the future. The instructors were very well
prepared to ensure thet participant will have the knowledge base to
succeed on their own. Thanks for the opportunity to attend. Keep up the outstanding
work. Don H. Sealock, O.D., FAAO President Minnesota Board of Optometry The IAB's recent Internet Workshop, held in San Diego, CA, on
January 18 was considered by all attendees to be a great success. An
on-site survey of attendees conducted by the IAB registered high
marks in all areas, and many urged the IAB to hold the workshop
again. Dr. Don Sealock's comments (above) were among many we
received at the conclusion of the workshop. Included in the many topics addressed during the workshop: An
Introduction to the Internet (Handouts/Glossary of terms/Email/Web
Browsing); Accessing State/IAB Home pages; Search Engines: How to
use them/Demonstration/Tips & Techniques; Introduction to Web
Software, Web Browsers, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Telnet, Virus
Scanning, Email Programs, Web Resources; IAB National Optometric
Practitioner Databank; and simple HTML programming. Our last topic of the day was one we felt may have been the most
daunting for the novices: HTML programming. However, we received an
enthusiastic response from attendees during this session, and many
wanted the workshop to continue long past the official ending time.
We practically had to force attendees out the door at the conclusion
of the workshop! An abbreviated, half-day version of this workshop will be held on
June 9, 1997, in St. Louis, MO, in conjunction with the IAB's Annual
Meeting. Attendees noted that you could expect to pay hundreds of
dollars to attend a similar workshop offered by a computer
consultant, but for member boards of the IAB, this workshop is
FREE!! This class will be off-site from the hotel, and will
be held on the same day as the half-day National Board workshop. We
advise you to arrive in St. Louis on Saturday, June 8 to be
in time to for the transportation that will depart the hotel on
Sunday morning. The IAB WILL be repeating the full, all-day workshop
again in the near future. More details will follow in the
summer. Our thanks to the IAB's Data Collection Committee for their hard
work in making this workshop such a successful event: Robert Sorrell, O.D. - Chair Ohio Peter Cottone, O.D. Massachusetts Robert Dager, O.D. California Ms. Lois Ewald Texas Robert Nyre, O.D. North Dakota Larry Stoppel, O.D. Kansas Howard Flippin, O.D., Board Liaison Ernie Patterson, Consultant OPTOMETRIC RESOURCES ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB For those board members and staff who are already surfing the
'Net, here is a small guide to optometry related resources currently
available: IAB COPE http://sunsite.unc.edu/index.html http://sunsite.unc.edu/cope/cope.html Boards of Optometry: http://www.state.ar.us/opt/arkopt.htmlArkansas http://sunsite.unc.edu/states/ct/ctopt.htmlConnecticut http://www.state.il.us/dpr/learn/default.htmIllinois http://www.state.ma.us/reg/op.htmMassachusetts http://sunsite.unc.edu/states/nc/ncopt.htmlNorth Carolina http://www.state.oh.us/opt/Ohio http://www.state.or.us/agencies/83300/00090/Oregon http://www.tob.capnet.state.tx.us/Texas
Schools and Colleges of Optometry http://www.opt.indiana.edu/Indiana University http://www.optometry.ohio-state.edu/Ohio State University http://www.pco.edu/Pennsylvania College of Optometry http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/optometry/optometry.htmlUMSL - School of Optometry http://icare.opt.uab.edu/Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham http://spectacle.berkeley.edu/Univ. of California, Berkeley http://www.opt.uh.edu/Univ. of Houston http://www.ne-optometry.edu/New England College of Optometry http://about.ferris.edu/htmls/colleges/optemetr/optometr.htm Michigan College of Optometry at Ferris St. Univ. http://www.sunyopt.edu/New York State College of Optometry http://www.nsuok.edu/catalog/opt/opt.htmlNortheastern State Univ. College of Optometry http://www.nova.edu/cwis/centers/hpd/index.htmlNova SE Univ. College of Optometry http://quark.uwaterloo.ca/Univ.
of Waterloo School of Optometry Other Organizations: http://www.aoanet.org/American Optometric Association http://www.aaoopt.org/American Academy of Optometry http://www.opted.org/Association of
Schools & Colleges of Optometry Our list of links is too large to reprint all of them. To see a
complete list, please visit our links page at http://sunsite.unc.edu/iabclass/iablinks.htm.
If you know of any that we have missed, please let us know!
E-mail us at IAB@IABOpt.org. 1997 DIRECTORY OF BOARDS OF OPTOMETRY The 1997 Directory of Boards of Optometry was recently mailed to
all board members and staff; we hope you find it a useful reference
tool. IAB staff would like to extend their appreciation to all board
staff for helping us to keep our board rosters up to date. As ever,
please feel free to contact the IAB staff at any time. Both Mr.
James Vrac, Executive Director, and Ms. Rosanne Garfield, Programs
Coordinator, are available to answer your questions. 1996 ADOPTED RESOLUTIONS The following resolutions were passed at the IAB Annual Meeting
in June 1996, in Portland, OR, by the House of Delegates and
subsequently approved by the Judicial Council: Resolution 1 WHEREAS, Mr. Ronald W. Jones performed an outstanding service
during his four years as Executive Director of this Association;
and WHEREAS, His service was exemplified by his dedication and
loyalty to the International Association of Boards of Examiners in
Optometry; and WHEREAS, The member boards of this Association wish formally to
posthumously Mr. Jones's distinguished contributions to them and to
the profession of optometry through his service as Executive
Director; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the International Association of Boards of
Examiners in Optometry, at this 77th Annual Meeting, expresses its
sincere condolences and appreciation to the family of Mr. Ronald W.
Jones for his excellence in service and outstanding contributions to
the profession. Resolution 2 WHEREAS, Dr. James A. Boucher has performed an outstanding
service during his eight consecutive years (seven as chair) on the
Council on Optometric Education; and WHEREAS, His service has been exemplified by sterling quantities
of leadership which underlie his personal success and those of the
Council on Optometric Education; and WHEREAS, The member boards of this Association wish formally to
acknowledge Dr. Boucher's distinguished contributions to the member
boards of this Association through his service on COE, and to the
profession; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the International Association of Boards of
Examiners in Optometry, at this 77th Annual Meeting, expresses its
sincere thanks to Dr. Boucher for his many years of distinguished
service and outstanding contribution. Resolution 3 WHEREAS, The Council on Optometric Education has made an on-site
visitation to five schools and colleges of optometry and 21
residency programs; and WHEREAS, The Council has listed those schools and colleges as
having achieved the accreditation classification of either
Accredited or Conditionally Accredited; and WHEREAS, The Council has reported its activities and
recommendations regarding accreditation to the IAB at its June 1996
Annual Meeting; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the International Association of Boards of
Examiners in Optometry at this 77th Annual Meeting on June 21, 1996,
accepts the report of the Council on Optometric Education of the
American Optometric Association as submitted and recommends to its
member boards that the "accredited" status bestowed by the Council
on Optometric Education be accepted by the member boards of the IAB
for accrediting purposes as may required by state laws. 1997 DUES NOTICES ARE IN THE MAIL! The IAB recently mailed out the 1997 dues notices to all
designated dues recipients for our member boards. We stress the
importance of not only your membership in the IAB as your
international organization on issues that concern everyone, but also
of remitting your membership dues promptly to help the IAB in next
year's budgeting process. Remember, one of your most important
benefits, voting rights at the Annual Meeting, may be in jeopardy if
your member board has not paid dues in time to participate in the
business of the House of Delegates. CALL FOR NOMINATIONS Nominations are being solicited for TWO positions on the IAB
Board of Directors. The following nominations and elections are to
be made at the Annual Meeting:
Interested in running for office? Call the IAB for more
information - (301) 718-6506. REGIONAL MEETING DATES FOR 1997 Three more meetings remain in the IAB's 1997 Regional Meeting
calendar. These meetings are open to anyone, however, specific
invitations to attend are mailed only to those optometry boards in
geographic proximity to the meeting site. If you wish to attend a
meeting that your board typically will not receive an invitation to,
please contact the IAB office and we will be glad to register you
for the meeting. The remaining dates for 1997 are: Southwest Regional IAB Meeting Saturday, March 15, 1997, 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Meeting site: Addison Summerfield Suites Hotel, Addison, TX Invited Boards: AR, CO, KS, LA, MO, NM, OK, TX Mountain West Regional IAB Meeting Saturday, May 3, 1997, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Meeting site: Las Vegas, NV Invited Boards: AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, ND, NV, NM, OR, SD,
UT, WA, WY Great Western Regional IAB Meeting October 10, 1997, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Meeting site: To be announced Invited Boards: AK, AZ, British Columbia, GU, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR,
UT, WA, WY See the Spring issue for more Regional Meeting
Highlights! COPE ANNOUNCES NEW POLICY ON INTERNET RELATED
EDUCATION After considerable investigation and analysis, the Council on
Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE) committee of the
International Association of Boards of Examiners in Optometry (IAB),
is recommending an important change to the COPE application process
for continuing optometric professional education course review.
This change will have a far reaching impact on how users of the
COPE CE review process attain credit for some of the newest forms of
CE presentation. The profession has experienced a burgeoning proliferation of
continuing optometric professional education being offered on the
Internet. The COPE committee of the IAB has received several
requests to review such programs, and thus present them to all
thirty-nine (39) participating boards for consideration as suitable
for CE credit. The decision by COPE to investigate this form of CE
was prompted by a rapidly growing interest in this form of CE and
the increasing number of Internet courses that are already available
to practitioners. The IAB and COPE acknowledge that the new world of distance
education is soon to impact the profession of optometry. The COPE
Committee has reviewed several Internet programs and, noting the
interactive and information-rich nature of this form of CE,
considers it an excellent form of education. "It is COPE's firm belief that this method of CE delivery is a
credible and legitimate form of practitioner education. The decision
to accept Internet courses is based on our belief that it is a
unique format unlike a 'live' or 'correspondence' presentation.
Because of its unique nature and its potential to become an
important format through which many optometrists will gain
continuing professional education, we have recommended to each
COPE-participating board that they consider recognizing
Internet/On-line education as an independent form of CE
presentation, separate and distinct from other forms of CE
presentation such as those typically identified as 'Correspondence
Courses,'" stated Robert W. Smalling, O.D., Chair, COPE Committee.
[It is important to note that, while COPE may propose such
recommendations to COPE-participating boards, they are under no
obligation to accept such recommendations.] As a result of the review, COPE will be creating a new COPE
COURSE FORMAT and COPE COURSE PRESENTATION both entitled
'Internet/On-line.' The number of hours a COPE-participating board
actually approves of this, or any form of CE, is left entirely to
that individual board's particular requirements. The
'Correspondence' category for courses filed with COPE will still
apply to magazine articles, text books, and other written or
recorded material. These changes will appear in a new reprint of
COPE course application materials due in early 1997. It is important to note that COPE has a requirement that
any form of Internet CE must be accompanied by a post-course
test sponsored by an accredited school of optometry, pharmacy or
medicine. This requirement is considered necessary to assure the
quality of this particular form of CE. Dr. Frank Salimeno, IAB Board member and board liaison to the
COPE committee, noted, "Although a very young form of education,
Internet/On-line CE will have a substantial impact on optometric CE.
We feel that providing a separate course criteria for
Internet/On-line CE as part of the COPE review process will maintain
the integrity of this form of education and testing for OD's. This
designation will meet the requirements for approval of CE credit as
stipulated by optometry licensing boards." For more information, please contact the IAB/COPE office at 4340
East West Highway, Suite 401, Bethesda, MD 20814, Tel: (301)
718-6507, fax: (301) 656-0989. |