Optometry’s Meeting® prioritizes impactful, contemporary education

Optometry’s Meeting® continues to move the needle toward progressive continuing education (CE) and professional development with an integrated, contemporary curriculum relevant to the whole practice.

Over 120 hours of cutting-edge, expert-led educational programming intersects the profession’s leaders and advocates at Optometry’s Meeting, June 24-26, in Denver, Colorado, where a reimagined experience gives doctors, paraoptometrics and students every opportunity to engage and meet head on optometry’s expanding scope of practice. This advanced educational curriculum, developed by the AOA, ensures industry-leading CE and professional development for an ever-evolving optometry practice.

“The courses selected and offered at Optometry’s Meeting continue to evolve and reflect progressive educational topics, along with professional development selections, that include contemporary courses, better equipping doctors and their paraoptometric staff not only for the clinical and practice management realities of today but also for those of tomorrow as optometry’s scope of practice continues to advance in waves across our country,” says George Veliky, O.D., AOA Education Center co-chair.

4 education highlights from #OM2021

The profession’s premier meeting presents education with a vision in 2021, offering a relevant and actionable CE and professional development program that distinguishes itself from other education meetings. Take a look at these education highlights from the 2021 CE catalog and register today to ensure your seat in the courses of your choosing.

1. COVID-19 vaccination administration. To ensure enough vaccinators can meet demand for COVID-19 inoculations, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services expanded the eligible vaccinator workforce to include doctors of optometry and optometry students. This unprecedented action reflects the AOA’s and affiliates’ relentless advocacy to gain expanded injections authority, and Optometry’s Meeting offers a chance to take advantage of this opportunity. A series of courses covering intramuscular injection administration and Red Cross CPR/AED certification helps reinforce optometry’s ability as primary eye health care providers in their communities.
2. Contemporary optometric surgical and injections procedures. As states continue logging significant scope of practice wins for contemporary optometric procedures, including certain laser surgery and injections authorities, Optometry’s Meeting is the place where attendees can gain the skills necessary to meet head on these advances. This year, consider among 7 hours of optometric surgical or injection skills and concepts courses or 6 hours of laser procedures and concepts courses. Some courses offer hands-on application along with the necessary didactic components that support office implementation, as well as joint doctor-paraoptometric learning opportunities.
   
   
3. Integrated clinical, practice management topics. Over 30 hours of education are available for doctors and paraoptometrics to learn in an integrated setting, enhancing the care coordination of their practice. These courses range from billing and coding procedures to patient communication, nutrition, genetic testing and therapy, and myopia control. Staff also can access almost 30 hours of dedicated, paraoptometric courses, while doctors attend courses in systemic disease, anterior segment, contact lenses, neuro-optometry and more.
   
   
4. NEW! Hybrid attendance available for education. This year, Optometry’s Meeting offers a worry-free attendance option with a virtual education selection. Consult the CE schedule where courses offered under the Room 1 column will be offered both in-person and via livestream. Find more information regarding hybrid participation in the registration information provided in the 2021 Conference Preview.

Courses are filling quickly, so register soon. During registration, attendees will select their preferred educational courses as only a limited number of seats are available due to social-distancing occupancy requirements.

AOA credit explained

The AOA’s modernization of its educational opportunities reflects the reality of optometric learning, today. Year-round education, when and where it’s convenient for doctors and their staff, ensures practices continue to provide high-quality primary eye health care.

To deliver that meaningful, year-round professional education, the AOA is offering association credit for courses offered through AOA programs, such as Optometry’s Meeting, the Virtual Learning Livecast, and the AOA’s EyeLearn Professional Development Hub. This allows the AOA to expand education offerings and deliver clinical, business and communication-related topics that advance the practice of contemporary optometry.

AOA credit expands the concept of what CE is while still maintaining the high standards for education and delivering innovative and unique content not found elsewhere. This credit satisfies most state boards’ CE requirements and is respected by many organizations within the practice of optometry; however, knowing that some states still require specific COPE credit, the AOA continues to offer these courses for the benefit of members.

Attendees should verify their state board requirements prior to selecting courses to attend as some courses carry only AOA credit or COPE credit. For more information about AOA credit, visit Optometry’s Meeting Education Policies and Procedures.

Optometry’s Meeting health, safety protocols

Safety remains foremost as Optometry’s Meeting returns with expanded health precautions that build upon those already required by local and state authorities, as well as those of our host facility, the Colorado Convention Center. In fact, those protocols factored into Denver’s selection for our 2021 meeting with exceptional cleanliness and safety measures that distinguish the Colorado Convention Center from other facilities, including:

• Denver 5-Star Certified. This public certification denotes that the facility has implemented safety measures that go beyond what is already required by current public health orders.
  
  
• ASM Global VenueShield Environmental Hygiene Program. ASM Global staff at the convention center have worked to upgrade the facility with equipment and protocols to provide a safe environment for gathering, including implementing a new environmental hygiene protocol in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
  
  
• Global Biorisk Advisory Council® STAR™. This gold-standard accreditation for facilities denotes that the convention center has implemented the most stringent protocols for cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention.

Additionally, Optometry’s Meeting requires attendees to follow prevailing public health guidance, such as face coverings and social distancing, as well as event-specific protocols that include a daily Wellness Check to enter the convention center, self-scanning badges to promote a hands-free atmosphere, free-standing hand sanitizer stations and room capacity modifications.

Visit the COVID-19 safety protocols page for more information about attendee requirements and specific cleaning procedures employed by the convention center and headquarters hotel.