P resident’s Message
I am excited to bring you two important announcements: First, it is official―JCAHPO is now “IJCAHPO.”

In June, JCAHPO’s Board of Directors and Commission changed its name to the International Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (IJCAHPO) and transitioned from a Commission to a Council of representatives. IJCAHPO’s new mission is to, “promote global equitable comprehensive eye health through program accreditation and the education, certification, and support of Allied Ophthalmic Personnel (AOP) for the eye care team.” As ophthalmology advances and the need increases for a skilled eye care team, IJCAHPO has expanded to bring certification and education to the global Allied Ophthalmic Personnel (AOP) workforce. Over this next year, we will transition to IJCAHPO while we continue to provide the services that formed our organization’s foundation.  

The next major announcement is that “I’m back” as IJCAHPO’s President! Beginning August 1, I was seated as IJCAHPO’s new President from 2017-2019. I am serving my second term as President, with my first term from 2007 to 2009 when we first developed the concept of IJCAHPO. I have a long history of service to IJCAHPO having joined the organization in 1995 as the Canadian Ophthalmological Society representative. In 1999, I was elected to the IJCAHPO Board of Directors and served as Chair of the Certification, Education, and International Relations Committees.

In my official position, I am the Director of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus at Alberta Children’s Hospital, a Professor at the University of Calgary in the surgery department, and a consulting ophthalmologist at Foothills Medical Centre and Peter Lougheed Centre. My research includes laser refractive surgery, pediatric cataracts and implantation of intraocular lenses in children, amblyopia research, and the effects of diabetes on the pediatric eye.

I look forward to serving IJCAHPO and bringing our global AOP workforce to a higher level of knowledge and skills to serve our patients!

William F. Astle, MD, FRCSC, Dipl. ABO
Education and E-Learning

Annual Continuing Education (ACE) Conference

Join us at the 45th Annual Continuing Education (ACE) Conference— the premier event in eye care education . Our continuing education program takes place November 10-12, 2017, in New Orleans and offers over 270 courses and workshops with IJCAHPO CE credits, AOC, OPS, and CA-BRN credits. This is your opportunity to expand your knowledge and skills through courses led by a world renowned faculty and learn from other ophthalmic professionals. This year’s program offers more advanced and master’s level courses to keep you challenged and bring new skills to your practice and patients!

ACE Convention Highlights:

  • New Courses: IJCAHPO will offer more than 80 new courses this year at the ACE Conference.
  • New Boot Camps this year: The Boot Camps use real-world situations and hands-on workshops to help AOP sharpen their skills. Intermediate and advanced level Boot Camps will be offered to train AOP to be more effective in patient evaluations.
  • Basic Track Training for New Employees: Practice Managers—this three-day Basic Skills track provides your new hires with the fundamentals for becoming a valuable member of the eye care team.

Important Registration Dates
September 6:   Early Registration Closes
September 7:   Registration Price increase
October 20:   Changes/Cancellation/Refunds Deadline
October 31:   Registration Price increase
November 9-12:   On-site Registration (available only as space allows)
For more information visit: www.jcahpo.org/ACE

Complimentary Online CE Course

IJCAHPO will offer a complimentary online course during October: “Utilizing Tear Osmolarity Testing in Ocular Surface Disease.” This course will introduce the clinical utility of TearLab, a point-of-care lab test, and how it can help a practice identify and manage patients with abnormal tear osmolarity. This course is brought to you complimentary by TearLab. You will need to register for the course by using your IJCAHPO ID and account. Register in October for this free course.

EyeCareCE Clinic Subscription

IJCAHPO’s new annual EyeCareCE clinic subscription offers a cost-effective way for all staff at one practice location to take courses for a $349 annual fee. All eye care team members in the practice are able to use the clinic’s coupon code to access over 150 online courses. Registrants can access the courses 24/7 and earn CE credits from IJCAHPO, AOC, OPS, and CA-BRN. The annual subscription is valid from the date of purchase.

Regional Events

Attend an upcoming regional meeting! Regional meetings are a convenient and cost-effective way to earn continuing education credits at a location near you.

  • Cleveland, OH, Regional Program (in cooperation with COPS and ATPO), September 16

  • Hot Springs, VA, Regional Program (in cooperation with NCSEPS), September 22-23

  • Buffalo, NY, ATPO Annual Conference, October 20

  • Las Vegas, NV, Regional Program, October 28

  • New York, NY Regional Program (in cooperation with OSN-NY), November 4

Distance Learning Opportunities

Did you know that you can earn CE credits online? IJCAHPO hosts monthly live webinars on a variety of eye care topics. Upcoming webinars include: Mastering the Hand-Held Examination; Evaluation of the Patient with Double Vision; Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire: Neuro-Ophthalmology Lecture; Advanced Slit Lamp Examination; Treat or Not to Treat: Evaluating the Glaucoma Suspects ; and other subjects. Visit http://store.jcahpo.org/calendarschedule.aspx for additional information.
Certification News

New Core Certifications Examinations

The implementation of the new multiple-choice examinations for our core certifications has been extended until August 1, 2018. The extension provides additional time to ensure IJCAHPO's public announcement reaches our candidates.

Affected certification examinations Include

  • Certified Ophthalmic Assistant® (COA)
  • Certified Ophthalmic Technician® (COT)
  • Certified Ophthalmic Medical Technologist® (COMT)

IJCAHPO strives to improve and maintain the relevance of our educational offerings and certifications for current and future certificants. IJCAHPO conducts a job-task analysis (JTA) survey every five years to establish standards of performance and develop future examinations. The results of the job-task analysis are the basis for the development of the updated core examinations.
Foundation News

Local Eye Site (LES) Certification Grant

Apply Now —Grant applications are currently being accepted for certification examination support. LES provides a generous grant each year to fund 5-10 certification awards. LES is a leading company in recruitment of AOP and has a partnership with ATPO and IJCAHPO. Brad McCorkle, LES President, is committed to AOP and your career advancement. Apply by completing an application form and submitting a brief essay or short video on "My top ten tips for ophthalmic medical technicians.” Grants are awarded as certification vouchers. Amounts range from $50-$340 and are valid for one year. Applications are accepted August 1 to November 30. Download an application here.
ATPO Corner

Join ATPO for a "Train the Trainer: Developing Training Strategies that Work" course on Friday, November 10, (8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.) during the ACE Conference.

This course is moderated by a panel of speakers with years of training experience. Participants will learn an organized strategy to help create and implement effective, ophthalmic-specific training methods in their practices. Topics will include identifying a good trainer, matching learning styles, utilizing effective training techniques, developing a systematic approach, and evaluating the success of training methods. The course has been approved for 3.5 credit hours in Category A of the Certified Ophthalmic Executive (COE) credits by the National Board for the Certification of Ophthalmic Executives (NBCOE), a division of the American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASOA).
Career Development

A joint committee of ATPO and IJCAHPO has been working on a career development initiative to address the increasingly critical shortage of AOP. We have developed materials to encourage potential candidates to explore careers in eye care and help employers attract and retain staff. Check out our new video, flyers, and other resources in the coming months.
Did you know that IJCAHPO offers a complimentary recruiting toolkit with several items to help your practice attract AOP candidates? The toolkit contains the following: 

  • Wall-mounted or free-standing cardboard easel with tear-off flyers that promote eye care careers to patients and visitors
  • Recruiting strategies brochure with ideas to help you recruit candidates and retain staff
  • Frequently asked questions (FAQ) sheet
  • List of IJCAHPO’s online resources
  • Sample AOP job descriptions
Meet IJCAHPO’s New Secretaries of Education and Certification

The IJCAHPO Board of Directors is pleased to announce our new Secretary of Education Michael Stewart, MD, and welcome back our Secretary of Certification, Marc Lafontaine, BSc, COMT.
Secretary of Education, Michael Stewart, MD

Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, Dr. Stewart graduated with honors in chemistry from Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and from the McGill University Faculty of Medicine in Montreal, Quebec. He completed an internship in internal medicine at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida, and an ophthalmology residency at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Stewart completed vitreoretinal fellowships at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, Louisiana, and at the University of California, Davis, after which he became a partner at Retina Associates in Jacksonville. Dr. Stewart joined the Mayo Clinic in 1999 and was awarded the title Professor of Ophthalmology in 2014. His research interests include diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, retinal vein occlusions, and infectious retinitis, with particular emphasis on retinal pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and the mathematical modeling of ocular diseases and treatments.
Secretary of Certification, Marc Lafontaine, BSc, COMT

Mr. Lafontaine has served on IJCAHPO’s Certification Committee and Commission since 2006 and this is his second term as Secretary of Certification. He also represented IJCAHPO on the ORBIS trip to Cameroon. For the past eight years, Mr. Lafontaine has been the Clinical Manager at Focus Eye Centre in Ottawa, Canada. Previously, he was the Clinical Research Program Manager for 12 years for the Refractive Surgery Centre at the University of Ottawa Eye Institute. He has served as President and Vice-President of the Canadian Society of Ophthalmic Medical Personnel (CSOMP) and is currently the Treasurer.
International Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology
2025 Woodlane Drive · St. Paul, Minnesota 55125-2998
Phone: 651-731-2944 · Toll Free: 800-284-3937 · Fax: 651-731-0410 ·  www.jcahpo.org 
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