ASCO News

The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry invites applications for the position of associate editor of its peer-reviewed journal, Optometric Education.

Responsibilities

The associate editor is responsible for collaborating with the editor on the editorial content of ASCO’s journal, including sharing the writing of three editorials per year. The associate editor consults with the editor on appointments to the journal review board and works with the editor and managing editor in facilitating a smooth peer review process. The associate editor assists with the development of issue features and solicits manuscript contributions to the journal.

Skills and Qualifications

Strong writing and editing skills, educational publication experience and a demonstrated interest and involvement in optometric educational issues, are required. The successful candidate will possess the Doctor of Optometry degree and have a minimum of 3 years experience in optometric education. The associate editor position is a volunteer role.

Application Requirements

Interested candidates should send:

• A cover letter describing :
  • past experiences in professional writing and editing
• A curriculum vitae
• Two writing samples

Information and Application submission

Contact: Dr. Aurora Denial, deniala@neco.edu

Who:           Dr. Muriel Martinez, one of three Doctors of Optometry featured in the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry’s Optometry Gives Me Life campaign, will be promoting the campaign in ASCO’s Booth #925 in the St. Louis Convention Center during Optometry’s Meeting.

Requests to interview Dr. David Damari, ASCO Immediate Past President and Dr. Lewis Reich, Chair of ASCO’s Applicant Pool Task Force also possible.

What:       ASCO’s Optometry Gives Me Life campaign promotion. Optometry Gives Me Life is reaching college-aged students who have expressed an interest in a STEM or health profession, but may not yet be considering optometry. Implementation is through specialized and targeted social media outreach, publications, ancillary promotional materials, emails, direct mail, and the campaign’s landing page at www.futureeyedoc.org.

Campaign materials show what a wonderful career optometry is: how it offers an enviable work/life balance, an excellent salary and quality of life, the various settings one can practice optometry in, the many ways Doctors of Optometry can give back to their community and positively affect the lives of others, and so much more. Some campaign materials are available at Booth #925.

Where:    Booth #925 in St. Louis Convention Center (701 Convention Plaza)

When:      Thursday, June 20 3pm – 7pm and Friday, June 21 9am – 5pm

Why:        The campaign’s purpose is to raise awareness of optometry as a career choice among the best and brightest students as well as to increase the diversity and quality of the applicant pool.

Contact:   Kimberly O’Sullivan, ASCO Director of Communications 301.987.8420 or kosullivan@opted.org

ASCO wishes to thank its sponsors VSP Global, CooperVision, Essilor, HOYA Vision Care, Luxottica, National Vision, and VisionWorks for their support to the Optometry Gives Me Life campaign.

ROCKVILLE, MD, April 8, 2018 – Every year, the Association of Schools and Colleges (ASCO) offers an optometry residency matching service – or ORMatch – to interested optometry students. The 2018 match occurred on March 12. Results from this year’s match continue positive upward trends from last year’s, and suggest that optometry students increasingly value completing a residency after graduation.

Below are some statistics from this year’s match.

• The number of students who participated in 2018 was the highest, at 517 participants, an increase of 7.7% from 2017.
• Applications submitted in 2018 was 2,614, an increase of 9.1% from 2017.
• The average number of rankings per participant in 2018 rose to 3.5, from 3.2 in 2017, an increase of 9.4%.
• The number of residency sites in 2018 increased to 240, a 2.1% increase.
• Residency programs filling all positions also rose in 2018 to 8.2, from 7.2 in 2017 an increase of 13.8%.
• Seventy percent (364) of participants were matched with a residency, a decrease of 4% from 2017.
• Residency programs filling all positions also rose in 2018 to 8.2, from 7.2 in 2017 an increase of 13.8%.

“The Optometry Residency Match shows a continued upward trend in interest in residency education,” according to Dr. Diane T. Adamczyk, Professor and Director of Residency Education at State University of New York, College of Optometry. “This year’s match, when compared to prior years, has seen an increase in the number of applicants, an increase in residency sites, and an increase in residency positions offered. The match reflects the growing interest and importance residency education provides to the practitioner, the patient, and the profession.”

Completing a residency in optometry is a unique and invaluable experience. The rich rewards gained from the year of advanced clinical training under an experienced mentor serve to enhance career opportunities and add to the level of confidence the resident has when beginning his/her post-residency career.

For more information on optometric residency programs, visit ASCO’s website.

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The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) is a non-profit association representing the interests of optometric education. Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Rockville, MD, ASCO is committed to achieving excellence in optometric education and to helping its member institutions prepare well-qualified graduates for entrance into the profession of optometry. Its membership encompasses the schools and colleges of optometry in the 50 states and Puerto Rico. A number of optometry schools outside the United States are affiliate members.

ROCKVILLE, MD, February 13, 2018 – The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2018 Special Recognition Awards.

ASCO Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr. William E. Cochran, President Emeritus of Southern College of Optometry is given this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes an outstanding individual who over an extended period of time provided exceptional leadership to ASCO and to optometric education; made outstanding contributions to the optometric community, and displayed exemplary commitment and dedication to the association.

“To all my colleagues in optometric education – It has been a privilege to serve the profession of Optometry,” says Dr. Cochran. “Thank you for honoring me with this Lifetime Achievement Award.”

ASCO Rising Star Award
Sponsored by Oculus, the ASCO Rising Star Award is given to an outstanding faculty member or administrator with less than seven years of service. Dr. Andrew D. Pucker is recognized for his outstanding contributions to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Optometry, through teaching, scholarship, administration and professional service and most notably in contributions to ASCO’s Biomedical Educators Special Interest Group.

“It’s an honor to be nominated by UAB and to be selected by ASCO to receive the 2018 Rising Star Award,” says Dr. Pucker. “Life as a translational scientist and educator is rewarding, though not always easy, and awards like this one are an inspiration to keep pursing my passion.” 

ASCO Ophthalmic Industry Leadership Award

The ASCO Ophthalmic Industry Leadership Award recognizes an individual from a current or past Corporate Contributor partner company who demonstrates exemplary support of ASCO and its member institutions. The individual serves as an example for his/her colleagues in industry, and has made exceptional and meaningful contributions to the advancement of ASCO and optometric education.

ASCO’s 2018 Industry Leadership Awardee is Dr. Rodney L. Tahran. Dr. Tahran recently retired from Essilor after 36 years and is an adjunct professor at Southern California College of Optometry at Marshall B. Ketchum University and the Pacific University, College of Optometry.

“I am honored to receive this award and am happy to contribute to optometric education and to support ASCO. Thank you very much!” says Dr. Tahran.

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The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) is a non-profit association representing the interests of optometric education. Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Rockville, MD, ASCO is committed to achieving excellence in optometric education and to helping its member institutions prepare well-qualified graduates for entrance into the profession of optometry. Its membership encompasses the schools and colleges of optometry in the 50 states and Puerto Rico. A number of optometry schools outside the United States are affiliate members.

ROCKVILLE, MD, January 9, 2018 – For the first time, pass rates on National Board examinations for the 2016-2017 academic year are now available on the website of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO).

This data, compiled by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) in conjunction with ASCO member institutions, includes the first-time pass rates for each school/college on Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the exam, the ultimate pass rate for each institution, and national averages for all of the above.

“The NBEO is pleased to collaborate with ASCO and ASCO member institutions in providing a uniform reporting structure for pass rate data.  All calculations were performed using candidates who have both graduated during the listed timeframe and attempted all three parts at least once.  It is our hope that this information will provide a consistent reporting mechanism and we look forward to further collaboration in the future,” says Jill Bryant, OD, FAAO, FSLS, NBEO Interim Executive Director. 

“We are happy to offer this important data of national pass rates from all of our institutions and plan to continue to do so each year going forward,” says Dr. David Damari, ASCO President. “All faculty at every one of our 23 schools and colleges of optometry strive to continually improve our students’ success on the boards until each student in our programs is capable of passing every part.”

This information will be updated and published on the ASCO website each fall.

Link to the report: https://optometriceducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/ASCO-Report-2016-2017.pdf.

The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) announces the release of a special issue of its Journal, Optometric Education. entitled Diversity and Cultural and Linguistic Competence (Volume 43 Number 1 Fall 2017) is available at http://journal.opted.org/. The issue features two peer-reviewed articles: Cognitive Strategies to Improve Patient Care in Cross-Cultural Settings and Developing Military Cultural Competency to Better Serve Those Who Have Served Us, two special reports: The Path to Cultural Competence in Optometric Education and Practice: A Timeline to Multicultural Clinical Excellence and Diversity in our Colleges and Schools of Optometry and other insightful “Educator’s Podium” pieces. The guest editor for the issue, Dr. Gary Chu, of the New England College of Optometry and former chair of the ASCO Cultural Competency Curriculum Guidelines Subcommittee, also authored a guest editorial: Diversity, Inclusion, Cultural and Linguistic Competence: Do We Have a Strategy?

The timely issue examines ASCO’s and optometry’s commitment to diversity and cultural and linguistic competence to date and asserts that making an impact in these areas requires further efforts and an ongoing profession-wide commitment. Dr. Chu notes, “ASCO has made great strides in moving the needle in the area of diversity and cultural competency. This journal is a reflection of what we have accomplished. However, there is much more to do. I hope this theme issue will help the reader pause, reflect, and act so we can move the needle further!”

ASCO and its member institutions have embraced diversity and cultural and linguistic competence in optometric education through the implementation of a multi-year, multi-stage project, generously funded by Walmart, that focuses primarily on the implementation of the ASCO Guidelines for Culturally Competent Eye and Vision Care at its 23 schools and colleges of optometry. The Guidelines are available at: https://optometriceducation.org/files/Guidelines_CulturallyCompetentEyeAndVisionCare.pdf

Dr. Andrew Buzzelli, University of Pikeville Vice-President for Optometric Education, Kentucky College of Optometry and chair of ASCO’s Diversity and Cultural Competency Committee says, “It is no secret why optometry has grown so rapidly in both number of patients cared for and scope of practice over the last three decades. It is the challenge of a modern and global society to extend our patient focus to individuals of different cultures and environments. A knowledge or acceptance of diversity is no longer the standard for optometric health care. It is no longer enough to be aware that a person is the product of a different cultural experience than ourselves. The tenants of that culture which may and probably will affect our treatment outcomes and patient understandings need to become as much a part of our knowledge as pathology and pharmacology are.”

For additional information about Optometric Education: Diversity and Cultural and Linguistic Competence contact Carol Brubaker, ASCO’s Manager of Professional Affairs, at cbrubaker@opted.org.

ROCKVILLE, MD, October 27, 2017 — The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) announces three new videos, ready for viewing and sharing on its YouTube Channel.

Learn about Research in Academic Optometry from Doctors of Optometry who discuss how research produces clinical science results that can be used in practice, what it’s like being a faculty member or graduate student moving the profession forward through research, and more.

InterProfessional Education and Collaborative Practice presents interviews with a student and faculty members discussing the importance of learning with, about and from students from other health professions, and the benefits to patients of collaborative care.

Why I Chose the Field of Optometry highlights several optometric students and a faculty member. Each discusses why they chose to attend optometry school and the influences behind their decision such as work/life balance, making a difference in someone’s life, research and technology, wanting to be in the health care field, and the importance of being happy in your career.

All three videos were filmed in June during the American Optometric Association’s Optometry’s Meeting in Washington, DC.

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The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) is a non-profit association representing the interests of optometric education. Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Rockville, MD, ASCO is committed to achieving excellence in optometric education and to helping its member institutions prepare well-qualified graduates for entrance into the profession of optometry. Its membership encompasses the schools and colleges of optometry in the 50 states and Puerto Rico. A number of optometry schools outside the United States are affiliate members.

ROCKVILLE, MD, August 29, 2017, 12:10 pm ET – The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) is closely monitoring the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, particularly how it is affecting the staff and students at our institution, the University of Houston, College of Optometry (HCO).

We are hearing from Dr. Earl Smith III, Dean of HCO, that the College, to date, has not sustained any damage and all students and staff are safe.

ASCO’s Board of Directors and staff sends its best wishes and prayers to everyone in the Houston area. ASCO will continue communications with Dr. Smith and send updates if necessary.

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