Why Optometry’s Meeting®? 3 reasons Washington, D.C., is the place to be

Optometry’s Meeting® delivers a premier conference experience, by members and for members, with an unparalleled opportunity to engage our profession in our nation’s capital—and here’s why.

The 126th Annual AOA Congress & 55th Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry’s Meeting, June 21-24, returns to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., only blocks away from the iconic National Mall, U.S. Capitol and White House. That proximity is why Optometry’s Meeting has a unique advocacy focus this year with the profession invited to come and ‘voice their vision’ for the future of optometry and patients.

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This year’s meeting offers an opportunity to effect lasting change in our profession and make the AOA a stronger, more effective advocate. Likewise, Optometry’s Meeting is where the profession can take actionable steps to see that vision become a reality through progressive continuing education (CE) and professional development, career-building and business-development opportunities.

The alignment of the profession’s premier event in Washington, D.C., affords the opportunity to not only unite 3,000+ optometry students, new doctors and educators as part of the reimagined AOA+ experience but also see advocates in action with the AOA’s single-largest annual advocacy experience, AOA on Capitol Hill. But Optometry’s Meeting offers so much more.

The annual meeting of the AOA and AOSA brings together optometric and industry professionals for four days of networking and leadership opportunities, unparalleled learning and skills development, an expansive Eye Care Square exhibit hall, and engaging entertainment and after-hours events.

“Optometry’s Meeting provides the best education for optometrists, staff and students along with numerous networking opportunities and family-friendly events not offered by other industry conferences,” says Paul Hodge, O.D., AOA Meetings Center committee chair.

Here are three more takeaways for why Optometry’s Meeting is the profession’s premier meeting:

1. Leading-edge education opportunities for the whole practice.

Optometry’s Meeting offers over 190 hours of expert-led CE and professional development across 136+ courses, ranging in format from lectures to posters and 13 hands-on workshops. Doctors can earn up to 37 credits and paraoptometrics can earn up to 31 credits across the four days with top-notch speakers and topics you won’t hear anywhere else. This year’s meeting offers 22 hours of CEE/TQ, as well as over 40 hours of credits offered in an integrated, doctor-staff setting to promote care coordination.

NEW! Optometry’s rapidly advancing scope of practice to include certain office-based surgical skills precipitated a new course, specifically for paraoptometric staff. The four-hour “Optometric Surgical Assisting—A Paraoptometric Micro-Credential” workshop offers an in-depth, hands-on practical application in assisting for office-based surgical procedures. This course is the practical component of a micro-credential that staff may earn when paired with the lecture-based content offered in the AOA’s EyeLearn Professional Development Hub.

NEW! AOA+ attendees—students, new doctors and faculty—can find education courses hand-selected based on feedback from faculty colleagues and student leaders. These AOA+ Recommended Courses offer a broad variety of topics to support the practice of contemporary optometry—see the highlighted list of recommended courses.

2. Opportunities to build a career roadmap for your—and your profession’s—future.

This year, a bigger, bolder and more ambitious AOA+ experience will bring the profession’s next generation of leaders together for an immersive opportunity in career development, skill building, networking and advocacy. Like no other industry event, AOA+ delivers actionable resources and learning opportunities for optometry students and faculty, as well as new graduates, to take their professional involvement to the next level. AOA+ is your chance to stand up and be counted alongside the AOA and optometry’s advocates. See what we mean.

What’s more, the AOA and AOSA are committed to helping optometry students and faculty, as well as new doctors up to five years post-graduation, attend Optometry’s Meeting and the AOA+ programming. With over 3,000 AOA+ attendees anticipated this year, AOA+ travel grants are currently available to ease the cost of attending and traveling. But act quickly—eligible attendees seeking an AOA+ travel grant must register for Optometry’s Meeting by March 1 to retain eligibility for a travel grant. Reference the AOA+ frequently asked questions for more information about travel grants and housing.

3. Join optometry’s leaders and advocates in moving our profession forward.

Optometry’s Meeting is designed by members for members; it’s the only national meeting dedicated specifically to AOA and AOSA members. That’s why special membership pricing—for AOA associate-member paraoptometrics, too—allows you to engage all the meeting has to offer with competitive registration rates. But what makes it truly your meeting?

Here, optometry’s leaders, volunteers and advocates convene to advance the profession—be it through the deliberative body of the AOA House of Delegates or the organizational, volunteer work of the AOA Leaders Summit. Importantly, Optometry’s Meeting in our nation’s capital aligns with the association’s cornerstone federal advocacy event, AOA on Capitol Hill.

Directly connecting our profession’s leaders with our nation’s policy leaders, AOA on Capitol Hill is a key reason why the AOA is consistently recognized as one of the most effective, respected advocacy organizations in Washington. This year, attendees have an unparalleled opportunity to see the profession’s advocacy in action, firsthand, and even take an active role in advancing optometry. How?

Attend a Capitol Hill Briefing to learn more about the AOA’s pro-patient, pro-optometry advocacy agenda, and learn what it takes to become an effective advocate directly from AOA’s Advocacy experts. Join colleagues at the AOA+ Rally to show your support of critical primary eye health and vision care, and hear from members of Congress about the importance of advocacy work during the AOA+ Advocacy Workshop.

Interested in learning more about Optometry’s Meeting? Download your 2023 Conference Preview and start planning your trip to Washington, D.C.

Early-bird registration rates available

Registration and housing are now open for Optometry’s Meeting, June 21-24, in Washington, D.C. Take advantage of early-bird registration discounts now through March 31 and see other ways to save at Optometry’s Meeting.