Optometric Education Section Newsletter

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A Message from

the Optometric Education Section

Optometric Education Section Newsletter - Winter 2019

In This Issue:

Message from Dr. Patricia Hrynchak, Chair
Congratulations to our Newest Diplomates - Drs. Raymond Chu and Daniel Taylor
Summary of Symposium by Dr. Daniel Taylor
Summary of Workshop by Dr. Daniel Bastian
Results of Optometric Education Survey
How to Become an OE Diplomate

Message from Dr. Patricia Hrynchak, Chair

Dear Optometric Education Section Members,

I hope everyone who attended Academy 2018 San Antonio enjoyed the conference. San Antonio is a beautiful city with a wonderful Riverwalk.

I would like to thank Dr. Michael Giese for his leadership in the role of Chair of our Section and am pleased that we will continue to benefit from his wisdom as Immediate Past Chair. We have a wonderful team of people in Dr. Daniel Taylor as our Vice-Chair, Dr. Daniel Bastian as our Program Chair, Dr. William Heffner as our Workshop Chair, Dr. Marlee Spafford as our Diplomate Chair and Dr. Vikki Yu as our Communications Chair.

The mission of the Optometric Education Section of the American Academy of Optometry is to serve the educational needs of its membership by advancing research, promoting innovation in optometric education, encouraging visionary thinking, supporting ethical practices, and affirming provocative concepts in optometric education worldwide. As such, we are pleased that the 3rd World Congress of Optometry will be held in conjunction with the American Academy of Optometry meeting this year.

I would very much like to hear from you if you have ideas on projects or initiatives that you would like the Optometric Education Section to pursue.

Warm regards,

Patricia Hrynchak, OD, MScCH(HPTE), FAAO

Chair, Optometric Education Section

patricia.hrynchak@uwaterloo.ca

The Optometric Education Section would like to thank Dr. Michael Giese for his invaluable service as Section Chair!

Many thanks to Dr. Giese!

Dr. Patricia Hrynchak, new Chair, presenting an acknowledgement of appreciation to Dr. Michael Giese, outgoing Chair, at Academy 2018 San Antonio.

Congratulations to Our Newest Diplomates - Drs. Raymond Chu and Daniel Taylor

Raymond H. Chu, OD, MS, FAAO, Diplomate, Optometric Education

Associate Dean of Academic Affairs

Southern California College of Optometry at Marshall B. Ketchum University

What motivated you to pursue your OE diplomate?

I had great mentors in Drs. Michael Rouse and Eric Borsting, who motivated me to pursue a MS degree in instructional design and technology. I learned how to apply instructional strategies to my teaching in clinic and in the classroom. In the process, I discovered there was a forum to share these ideas in the Academy which helped me connect with others in the optometric education community who have similar interests. This is how I began my journey to pursue the OE Diplomate.

What about this accomplishment makes you most proud?

Receiving a Diplomate in any field of optometry is a milestone distinction. What I am most proud of is now having an opportunity to do what Drs. Rouse and Borsting did for me—to help mentor others in being better educators.

What was the most challenging experience(s) of the Diplomate process?

I didn't have much experience in writing manuscripts before starting the process. I feel that was the hardest part for me.

Would you encourage others to pursue their OE Diplomate? Why?

Definitely. I found the community to be supportive and encouraging. Whenever I fill out an application that asks what industry I work in, I always feel conflicted whether I should pick education or healthcare delivery. The truth is, working in optometric education, most of our jobs are about educating future practitioners. As educators we should share ideas and best practices and look at what we do in clinic and classroom teaching as an experiment on what needs improvement, how to improve it, and see what the results are. That goes hand-in-hand with the OE Diplomate process. Within optometric education, I feel that there are so many good ideas and questions that we tackle every day. We just don't think about it in the same light as best evidence in patient care but we can.

Daniel A. Taylor, OD, EdD, FAAO, Diplomate, Optometric Education

Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs

Michigan College of Optometry

What motivated you to pursue your OE diplomate?

I started pursuing the OE Diplomate out of a growing interest in general educational technology and practice. At the time, I had begun my studies toward my EdD, so it made sense to work on a specialty in optometric education.

What about this accomplishment makes you most proud?

“Achievement is its own reward,” as a wiser man than I once put it, yet I am particularly proud of the understanding and perspective the OE diplomate process granted me. When your work is parsed by the OE Diplomate Committee, you become aware of the manifold assumptions and blind spots in your knowledge and practice. Addressing these, and growing as a result, is an accomplishment of true value.

What was the most challenging experience(s) of the Diplomate process?

The OE Diplomate Committee takes its charge seriously: namely, to help applicants produce publishable-quality materials. The process of editing your work to meet that high standard can be taxing at times; yet—at the end—you find the pressure of the process has turned your crude original ideas into a refined crystalline argument.

Would you encourage others to pursue their OE Diplomate? Why?

Yes, if you are interested in learning to be the best teacher of optometry students you can be, consider completing your OE Diplomate. Embrace the process: you will be setting out to change your own practices and assumptions; one of the most important but also most difficult tasks you can set your hand to. Do it. Just do it.

Dr. Marlee Spafford along with the two newest Diplomates of the Optometric Education Section; Daniel Taylor, OD, FAAO of Michigan College of Optometry and Raymond Chu, OD, MS, FAAO of Southern California College of Optometry

Summary of Symposium by Dr. Daniel Taylor

The 2018 Optometric Education Symposium was held on Friday, November 9 during Academy 2018 San Antonio. Drs. Daniel Taylor and Linda Casser moderated a wide-ranging discussion on “Creating, Implementing, and Sustaining a Culture of Interprofessional Education (IPE) in Schools and Colleges of Optometry.” Dr. Richard Madonna started the session off with a presentation on the importance of IPE in optometric education. Drs. Elli Kollbaum, Valerie Quan, and Donnie Akers discussed how IPE has been implemented in their respective universities, while Dr. Melissa Zarn talked about the challenges of including IPE in the curriculum of a single-purpose institution. Finally, Dr. Candice Turner and several Rosenberg College of Optometry students participated in a lively discussion about the student perspective of the IPE experience.

Summary of Workshop by Dr. Daniel Bastian

The 2018 Optometric Education Workshop was held on Friday, November 9 during Academy 2018 San Antonio. Drs. Daniel Bastian and Linda Casser moderated a workshop discussion on "Toolkits for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice." Dr. John Nishimoto started the session off by bringing awareness to the IPE ToolKit developed by the Interprofessional Professionalism Collaborative and further discussed how the toolkits can be applied in optometric education and clinical practice. Dr. Block then brought to the discussion an awareness of the National Center of Interprofessional Practice and Education. The audience was educated on this resource and how it can apply to their institution.

Results of the Optometric Education Survey

The Optometric Education Section surveyed its members on what they thought priorities should be for the OE Section with regards to symposia, workshops and supporting the development of optometric educators. Surveyors could choose from Teaching, Research, and Diplomate and were asked to provide specifics in the comments section. 87 people responded to the survey. With regards to which area should have the most priority, 72% selected Teaching, 26% selected Research and 2% selected Diplomate.

Here are comments from surveyors about areas of teaching that they thought were important:

"How to best teach to the next generation; practical and useful tools for teaching in the classroom, lab and clinic.”
“Teaching updated curriculum and teaching to the highest scope of practice in any state given the expanding scope of practice for optometry."
"Learning about innovative techniques and success on flipping the classroom."
"Optometric educators need to be better at being teachers, and the Section should focus there. Examples:

Developing learning objectives that don’t use “no no” words like “understand” and “know.”
Sharing course outlines and developing more consistent and/or comprehensive objectives between programs.
How/when to use guest lecturers.
Challenging each other to write good test questions (perhaps workshopping this).
Overall, just challenging each other to be better through transparency and open forums."

In regards to research, the surveyors commented on teaching Optometric Educators how to do more scholarship and set up research projects and publications for optometric education.

For the 2% that commented on the Diplomate program, they would like more supporting programs that provide information about the Diplomate process and how to go through the process.

How to Become an Optometric Education Diplomate

Do you want to become an Optometric Education Diplomate? Review the exact point system and apply online .

3 Steps to Become a Diplomate in Optometric Education

1) Submit application with brief statement about why you want to be an Optometric

Education Diplomate.

2) Submit evidence of advanced education in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

20 points are required in order to advance to the next step. Examples include:

A list and brief review of conferences, course work, symposia, workshops or lectures that you have attended
List of other experience that advanced your knowledge of the education process. This may include special certifications in education or a degree in education, however a degree in education is not required.

3) Submit four articles of publishable quality that demonstrate the candidate's ongoing

interest in teaching and learning. Examples include:

Research projects done to determine evidence of improved learning in clinic or classroom
Review of a teaching technique and the evidence that shows improved knowledge
Any educational research project, teaching case reports, etc.

4) Oral presentation and final examination by the Diplomate Committee

For any questions regarding becoming a Diplomate in Optometric Education, email: