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WCO establishes minimum competency for optometry
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CHICAGO – The World Council of Optometry has published a strategic plan to outline the group’s work over the next 3 years, agreed to the minimum competencies required to be called an optometrist and renewed official relations with the World Health Organization, WCO President Tone Garaas-Maurdalen told attendees at the group’s annual meeting here.
“The strategic plan reflects priorities identified by members at our last meeting and puts our members at the heart of our work,” she said.
“By agreeing on the minimum competencies required to call oneself an optometrist, we believe that WCO has taken an important step that will help increase the public and governments’ confidence in the profession,” Dr. Garaas-Maurdalen continued.
Building on this, a work group is reviewing the Global Competencies Module, she said. “This review will include valuable knowledge already gathered in Europe, where global competencies have been used to develop a European Diploma in Optometry. ECOO, the European regional organization, has also developed an accreditation scheme.”
Several WCO committees will meet here in Chicago, she said, to consider developing a method to accredit national qualifications against global competencies.
In early 2012, the WHO decided to continue official relations with the WCO, Dr. Garaas-Maurdalen said. “This important status allows us to work with many different organizations and ensures that we are able to be the voice for optometry when important world strategies and action plans for tackling avoidable blindness are developed.