Call for Comments on Proposed Changes

Call for Comment on Proposed Changes to ACOE Optometric Residency Standards 2.4.4, 3.5 and 5.3

At the request of the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education based on input from Council liaisons and site visit evaluation teams, the ACOE Quality Improvement Committee conducted a targeted review of the Optometric Residency Standards 2.3, 2.4.4 and 3.5 at its February 18, 2011 meeting.  At its September 23-24, 2011 meeting, the ACOE Residency Committee reviewed these standards and recommended the following changes to 2.4.4, 3.5 and 5.3 of the 2009 Optometric Residency Standards.

At its October 21-23, 2011 Fall meeting, the ACOE accepted the recommendations of the ACOE Residency Committee concerning the following proposed changes to the 2009 Optometric Residency Standards, and as called for in Council policy, the changes to the standards are being distributed to the community of interest for comment prior to adoption.  Please review the changes below and send any comments you might have to acoe@aoa.org or to the St. Louis office address above by no later than January 21, 2012.  The ACOE will consider the comments received and the adoption of the changes at the ACOE Winter Meeting on February 17-19, 2012.

The wording to be added is underlined and the wording to be deleted is struck through.

Standard 2.4.4  The resident must be able to continuously improve patient care through self-assessment and quality assurance.

Examples of evidence:

·         QA activities involving residents

·         Evaluations of resident

·         Resident's self-assessment

Standard 3.5  The residency must participate in a clinical quality assurance process.

Examples of evidence:

·         Records of quality assurance process

Standard 5.3   The resident's orientation to the program must include written information on:

5.3.1            Clinical practice protocols,

5.3.2            Supervision policy,

5.3.2 5.3.3   Infection control,

5.3.3 5.3.4   Facility safety policies,

5.3.4 5.3.5   Counseling, remediation, and dismissal of the resident,

5.3.5 5.3.6   Receiving, adjudicating, and resolving resident complaints or grievances,

5.3.6 5.3.7   Due process provided to the resident on adverse decisions,

5.3.7 5.3.8   The program's academic calendar, including the program's start date, end date and significant deadlines for program requirements,

5.3.8 5.3.9   Criteria used to assess resident performance.

Examples of evidence:

·         Orientation plan

·         Documents and/or policies addressing the above provided to resident

·         Written policy for counseling, remediation and dismissal of resident

·         Written policy and, if applicable, records of receiving, adjudicating, and resolving resident complaints or
grievances

Regarding 5.3, the last two examples of evidence were deleted since standard 5.3 calls for written information on all of the subcomponents of the standard, and therefore the self-study and documentation submitted must include the written policies and information pertaining to all areas.  Records of receiving, adjudicating and resolving resident complaints, if any, is covered under existing 5.4 and appropriate documentation must be applied in relation to complaints.

The Optometric Residency Standards in their entirety are published in the "Optometric Residency" section of the "Accreditation Guidance and Resources" link.

The Council invites comments on the proposed changes, which are outlined in a memo from J. Bart Campbell, O.D., ACOE Chair. Comments should be submitted to W. Jean Redd, ACOE Manager, 243 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63141; fax 314-991-4101; or acoe@aoa.org. Deadline for submission of comments is January 21, 2012.

This call for comments was posted on 12/20/2011.

If you have any questions regarding ACOE or its review process, please contact us at acoe@aoa.org.