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First World Congress on Optometric Globalization kicks off in Orlando
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ORLANDO, Fla. – Here at the first World Congress on Optometric Globalization, representatives from optometric organizations around the world gathered to address the changing state of vision care and trade agreements. In yesterday’s opening session, Damien P. Smith, PhD, MScOptom, FAAO, president of the World Council of Optometry, welcomed presenters who discussed the role of the World Trade Organization in the globalization of trade in services; licensure mobility in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and the European Union; and development of a competency-based model for the scope of practice in optometry.
According to Dale B. Honeck, counselor for the World Trade Organization, Geneva, under the General Agreement on Trade Services (GATS) commitments on professional services, optometry is found under “medical and dental services,” but there is no specific reference to optometrist or optometry in any of the GATS schedules or the agreement. The WTO is consulting with the WCO on the potential applicability of the accountancy disciplines to optometry.
Jane Duffy, executive officer of the Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand, Victoria, Australia, stated that the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement allows for recognition of New Zealand optometrists in Australia and vice versa. While the boards in Australia withdrew recognition of all foreign optometry qualifications, New Zealand still recognizes those of the United Kingdom.
Richard Carswell, secretary general of the European Council of Optometry and Optics, London, recognized that the 25 European Union member states all have different competencies for optometry. Ophthalmologists are included under “sectoral directives,” and optometrists and opticians are included under “general system,” he said. While ophthalmologists have the automatic right to recognition in another state of the European Union, optometrists have conditional, but not automatic, right of recognition. The ECOO proposal for a new directive on the recognition of professional qualifications has not been accepted yet, but it will probably form the groundwork for facilitating the mobility of professionals in Europe, Mr. Carswell said.
Steven H. Eyler, OD, FAAO, past-president of the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry and a board liaison for the Council on Endorsed Licensure Mobility for Optometrists, Charlotte, N.C., reviewed the progress U.S. optometrists have made in clinical care privileges, pointing out that only 11 states accept licensure by endorsement. “We’ve come a long way, but we owe it to our young ODs to allow them to move around,” he said. “Not only are they bright, but so are their spouses.” He emphasized how the armed forces also need this, and the American Optometric Association has passed resolutions in support of endorsement. ARBO formed the Council on Endorsed Licensure Mobility for Optometrists with the purpose of assisting state boards in reviewing applications for licensure from established practitioners in other jurisdictions.
WCO and ARBO have also formed the International Advisory Group on Optometric Competencies to develop an internationally acceptable competency-based model of optometry to allow objective comparisons of the optometric scope of practice between states that would ensure public safety and allow mobility, said Norman Wallis, PhD, OD, DSc, FCOptom, FAAO, of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry, Bethesda, Md. In an effort not to reinvent the wheel, the advisory group recommended using Australian competency statements and systems, Dr. Wallis told attendees. What resulted was a model that allows states to locate their current scope of practice in a two-dimensional matrix.
The meeting runs through Wednesday, at which point the American Optometric Association Congress begins here in Orlando.