Ophthalmic Education:

More News of ICO Programs, Initiatives and Resources

More education news headlines:

• 2010 World Congress in Berlin
  
  
• 2008 World Ophthalmology Congress in Hong Kong
  
  
• University of Nairobi Ophthalmic Training Center Celebrates 30 Years
  
  
• ICO endorses Atlas of Ophthalmology on the Web
  
  
• Curriculum Guidelines for medical student education
  
  
• Ophthalmology should be part of the essential curriculum for medical students
  
  
• ICO works to invigorate ophthalmic education worldwide

Also see the latest ophthalmic education news.

2010 World Congress in Berlin

The dates for the next World Ophthalmology Congress, the XXXII World Ophthalmology Congress will be June 5 – 9, 2009 in Berlin.

The German Ophthalmological Society will host.

Registration is now open. See the Congress Web site at www.woc2010.org.

2008 World Ophthalmology Congress in Hong Kong

The XXXI World Ophthalmology Congress was held June 28 – July 2, 2008 in Hong Kong.

The Congress was in conjunction with the XX Hong Kong Ophthalmological Symposium and the XII Chinese Ophthalmological Symposium.

It was the first time that the Chinese Ophthalmological Society met in Hong Kong.

University of Nairobi Ophthalmic Training Center Celebrates 30 Years

The Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Nairobi has been training ophthalmologists from Kenya and the region for 30 years. It is one of the most successful training centers in Africa, having graduated over 120 ophthalmologists from 13 African countries since it was established in 1978.

The department is part of the planning and implementation for the VISION 2020 global initiative in the region. For more information, visit the department web page: www.uonbi.ac.ke/departments/index.php?dept_code=JV&fac_code=61.

The Ophthalmology Department at the University of Nairobi is also one of the founding members of the Eastern Africa College of Ophthalmologists (EACO), www.eacokut.org/, created to improve the quality of eye care in the region through training, research and sub-specialization.

ICO endorses Atlas of Ophthalmology on the Web

The ICO has endorsed the Atlas of Ophthalmology, an online multimedia database edited by Robert Machemer, MD (Durham, USA) and Georg Michelson, MD (Erlangen, Germany).

A helpful learning tool for ophthalmologists and students worldwide, the Atlas makes photographs related to more than 1000 ophthalmic diagnoses available through the Internet free of charge.

Curriculum Guidelines for medical student education

Also available are Principles and Guidelines of a Curriculum for Ophthalmic Education of Medical Students (PDF - 201 KB) developed by the ICO International Task Force on Ophthalmic Education of Medical Students, which is chaired by Richard K. Parrish, MD.

The Curriculum Guidelines propose a range of standards for medical student education, including ophthalmic cognitive and clinical skills for medical students and the time allotment for ophthalmic education in medical schools.

Ophthalmology should be part of the essential curriculum for medical students

The ICO International Task Force on Ophthalmic Education of Medical Students strongly recommends that "all medical schools include ophthalmology as a part of the essential curriculum and not exclusively as an elective."

This position supports previously adopted ICO policy.

"The increasing age of the world population, high prevalence of common problems such as eye injury and red eye, and importance of vision in the information age support the need for the expansion of ophthalmic education," according to the Principles and Guidelines of a Curriculum for Ophthalmic Education of Medical Students (PDF - 201 KB).

ICO works to invigorate ophthalmic education worldwide

Under the leadership of ICO Director for Education Mark O. M. Tso, MD, the ICO is working to invigorate ophthalmic education around the world.

As part of implementation of Vision for the Future: International Ophthalmology Strategic Plan to Preserve and Restore Vision, Dr. Tso has organized international Task Forces focusing on four aspects of ophthalmic education:

• Ophthalmology Medical Student Education
  
  
• Ophthalmology Resident-Specialist Education
  
  
• Ophthalmology Continuing Education
  
  
• Allied Ophthalmic Personnel Training

Follow the links above to learn more about the ICO's initiatives in each area.

Comments are welcome.

Next: Contacts for ophthalmic education.

Also see: ICO Ophthalmic Education Programs