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AOA Board certification program completed, reaffirmation vote called
LAS VEGAS – One year after the resolution for board certification was overwhelmingly passed by the House of Delegates at the 102nd American Optometric Association (AOA) Congress in San Antonio, details of the completed program will be presented to the membership at this year’s 103rd Congress, June 21 to 25. The presentation will then be followed by a reaffirmation vote.
Since the original vote on the resolution and the formation of the American Board of Optometric Practice (ABOP), the AOA has fielded a plethora of questions, concerns and outright grievances from a vocal minority within the optometric community regarding the board certification program. AOA president Harvey P. Hanlen, OD, said that the decision to once again present the program for discussion was partly a response to these concerns and partly a result of growth in the program over the last several months.
Program now complete
“We knew that what we took to the House of Delegates last year was not a complete, A-to-Z, detailed program, but we wanted to know whether the House was willing to support the concept of board certification in optometry,” Dr. Hanlen told Primary Care Optometry News. “What occurred is that many individuals felt that the concept was discussed, but that its details weren’t there.
“Now that the program is complete — and knowing that the first courses won’t be rolled out until 2001 — we felt that this reaffirmation is essential,” Dr. Hanlen continued.
The board certification resolution will require a majority of the vote of the AOA House of Delegates in order to pass. If it does not, the board certification program would be discarded. That occurrence is not likely, said David W. Nelson, OD, vice president of the AOA.
Proof of ongoing competency inevitable
“The reason why the AOA board recommended the reaffirmation vote to the House is because it’s inevitable that optometrists need to demonstrate ongoing competency,” said Dr. Nelson. “The Pew Commission did a 10-year study on this and felt that optometrists and other health care practitioners should demonstrate their competency through ongoing testing, and the continuing education should be structured to have an assessment at the end of the course material. If the AOA doesn’t do this somebody else will.”
Dr. Hanlen said that at this year’s Congress the ABOP will address the need for board certification, the board certification issue as it relates to other professions and the nuts and bolts of the program, including the courses that will be presented and the five core areas of education.
Dr. Nelson said he is confident the presentation will assure the House of Delegates members of the importance of board certification to the profession. “We feel certain that once the facts are presented, the house will agree that this is the type of program the majority of delegates voted to support last year,” he said.
For Your Information:
- Harvey P. Hanlen, OD, may be reached at 112 W. Foster Ave., State College, PA 16801-4809; (814) 238-8478; fax: (814) 238-0836; e-mail: AmOptBdHPH@aol.com.
- David W. Nelson, OD, may be reached at 7428 Mineral Point Road, Madison, WI 53717-1710; (608) 345-4722; e-mail: AmOptBdDWN@aol.com.
- The American Optometric Association can be reached at 243 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63141; (314) 991-4100; fax: (314) 991-4101; Web site: www.aoanet.org.