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Board certification exploration in early stages
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BOSTON – A report about the contentious issue of board certification for optometrists met with little fanfare Thursday during the opening day of the American Optometric Association House of Delegates here at Optometry’s Meeting.
The issue is being examined by the Joint Board Certification Project Team, which comprises six optometric associations, including AOA, the American Academy of Optometry, the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry, the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry, the National Board of Examiners in Optometry and the American Optometric Student Association.
“The profession has demonstrated a readiness to examine the issue,” AOA secretary-treasurer Randolph E. Brooks, OD, chair of the team, read from a joint statement. Dr. Brooks asked the delegates to “keep an open mind” in the coming months as the idea of board certification is examined. “It will take approximately 2 years to develop a model,” he said. “Our work has just begun, and we are in the earliest phase of the study.”
The AOA had announced the creation of the exploratory committee during the SECO International Conference in February. AOA President-Elect Kevin L. Alexander, OD, PhD, said at a SECO press conference, “These groups have met over the last few years, had a number of summits, surveyed the landscape and feel there’s a need to develop a process to demonstrate continued competence – advanced competence beyond licensure. “Right now in optometry, our only credential for demonstrating competence is licensure,” Dr. Alexander continued. “That’s an entry-level credential. It’s time to take another look at a credential to demonstrate advanced competence.”
There were no comments from the floor after the report was announced during AOA’s House of Delegates.