AOA+ aims for new heights: 3,000 in DC for ’23

Optometry’s Meeting® promises an amplified 2023 experience replete with immersive advocacy elements and a reimagined AOA+ so impactful that AOA offers optometry’s next generation their ticket to ride.

Coming to downtown Washington, D.C., June 21-24, 2023, Optometry’s Meeting aims for a bigger, bolder and more ambitious experience than ever before as the AOA and American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) combine the power of the profession’s premier meeting with the AOA on Capitol Hill advocacy event and the AOA+ career-building experience. The goal is to provide an invaluable opportunity for not only doctors of optometry but also optometry students, newly graduated doctors, and optometric educators to connect, advance and strengthen the profession.

Like no other industry conference, Optometry’s Meeting offers every attendee an unprecedented opportunity to effect lasting change in the profession and make their AOA and AOSA stronger, more effective advocates for the quality care doctors of optometry provide their patients. And 2023’s AOA+ programming at Optometry’s Meeting is no different.

Whether a first-year student, five years post-graduate or an educator for our profession’s future, AOA+ is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to fully engage optometry. AOA+ will bring together the profession’s next generation of leaders for a four-day, enveloping experience in career development, skill building, networking and advocacy in our nation’s capital.

“We believe so greatly in the enrichment and engagement opportunities offered at Optometry’s Meeting, and especially the AOA+ activation, which seeks to engage our faculty, elevate our students and advance our new graduates’ practice and leadership skills, that the AOA is committing full support to getting our next generation to Washington, D.C., in 2023,” says AOA President Robert C. Layman, O.D. “Our plans are big, bold and ambitious, and so our support is likewise.”

AOA+ travel grant opportunities

The AOA and AOSA are helping 3,000 students, new doctors and faculty attend AOA+ at Optometry’s Meeting 2023 with travel grants available on a first-come, first-served basis. To receive an AOA+ travel grant, attendees must register for Optometry’s Meeting by March 31, 2023, to be included in the grant selection pool. Learn more about grant opportunities based on your registration type:

• AOSA-member students
• New doctors (graduating years 2018-2022)
• Educators and faculty

“If you want to know where you belong in optometry, AOA+ is an exceptional opportunity to find out,” says AOSA President Easy Anyama. “We’ve combined our two biggest student meetings into one this year as we head to Washington, D.C., in June. AOA+ is your chance to network with students and doctors from across the country, learn the professional advocacy tools we need as we enter practice and find career-building resources that we can use to start our careers off on solid footing.”

Interested in applying for a grant? Please note that travel grants are available only on a first-come, first-served basis and will be claimed quickly after registration opens for Optometry’s Meeting in January 2023.

Still have questions? Check out the AOA+ travel grants FAQ and see some of the student highlights for Optometry’s Meeting 2023 and AOA+.