Charles F. Mullen

ICO and the OD/MD Alliance

Excerpt from ICO Matters, Summer 2023 – ICO and the OD/MD Alliance

All kidding and nostalgia aside, in 1997, Charles Mullen, OD, ICO’s fourth president, forged an alliance with the neighboring University of Chicago Hospital and Department of Ophthalmology that has flourished in the decades since. For over twenty-five years, the two institutions have worked to improve care and access to services for Chicago’s South Side that Dr. Mullen recently described as the ‘gold standard’ of vision care.

Read the full article (pdf)
Read the full newsletter (pdf)

The Paradoxical Evolution of Optometry

For the past several decades there has been a significant increase in Commercial/Retail Optometry. Some lament Optometry’s returning to its mercantile roots.

Paradoxically, during the same period, there has been extensive expansion of the scope of practice. This has strengthened optometry’s position as a medical eye care provider, and as a valued healthcare profession.

The implications to optometric education of the paradoxical evolution of the profession of optometry are profound:

Is the current 8 years of education unnecessarily long for Retail Practice? See: Optometric Education in Crisis, Slide 15, Enhance Appeal for Careers in Commercial, Office Practice and Medical Eye Care.
Does the current curriculum adequately prepare graduates for expanded scope practice? See: Three Critical Elements for Expanded Scope of Optometric Practice.
There has not been an increase in the optometry student applicant pool in a decade. See: An Analysis of the Optometric Applicant Pool Relative to Matriculants.

The above fundamental issues present a significant challenge to the optometric educational enterprise.

Potential Factors Contributing to a Decade of No Growth in the Optometry Student Applicant Pool

Image of the Profession

While the University of Chicago’s NORC surveys indicate optometry is considered a high prestige profession, the increased visibility of Retail Optometry is projecting an image different from potential applicants’ expectations of what it means to be a “doctor.”
Association with the selling of eyeglasses: Is an optometrist a health care provider or a merchant?
While the applicant pool has not increased in 10 years, less qualified matriculants have increased thereby diluting the quality of the optometric workforce.
New schools of optometry exacerbate the situation of less qualified matriculants.

See: An Analysis of the Optometric Applicant Pool Relative to Matriculants

Income to Debt Ratio

A high percentage of income is required to pay educational debt: 15% of income is the highest of all health care professions.
Starting income is relativity low when loan payments are considered.
Income growth accrues primarily to private practice owners. Retail optometrists’ and employed optometrists’ income remains effectively level throughout their careers.
The magnitude of debt takes years to repay.

Oversupply of Optometrists

Lewin Survey Finds Large Optometry Surpluses

Education

Concern education is too long and too costly for return on investment?
No Federal support for costly optometric clinical training.

Optometric Practice

Paradoxical Evolution of Optometry.
When scope of practice does increase additional education/clinical training is required.
No profession-wide recognized Specialty Certification Boards. The public considers Board Certification as the “Gold Standard” for quality practitioners. See: Optometry Specialty Certification Boards Provide a Uniform Indicator of Advanced Knowledge and Skills.

Recommendation

The first step in solving any problem is to honestly identify the cause or causes. Once the causes are identified then the task of implementing corrective measures should commence.

Optometry Specialty Certification Boards Provide a Uniform Indicator of Advanced Knowledge and Skills

Introduction

There is a need for increased postgraduate clinical training and Optometry Specialty Certification Boards to manage the rapid expansion of the Scope of Optometric Practice. See: Three Critical Components for Expanded Scope of Optometric Practice.

Board Certification is understood by the health care community and general public to mean that a physician has acquired advanced knowledge and skills in a specialty area such as Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, etc.

Although there are many types of Optometry Residency Programs, only ABCMO offers residents the opportunity to be Board Certified in an Optometry Specialty. This leaves many other residents without the opportunity for Board Certification in their respective Specialties. This deficiency can be addressed by the development of additional Optometry Specialty Certification Boards.

To facilitate the development of Optometry Specialty Certification Boards, and to ensure high standards for all specialties, the American Board of Optometry Specialties (ABOS) was created. Similar to the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), which provides oversight and guidance to independent Medical Specialty Certification Boards, ABOS provides oversight and guidance to independent Optometry Specialty Certification Boards.

American Board of Optometry Specialties (ABOS)

ABOS currently has one member optometry specialty certification board and recommends the formation of an additional three.

American Board of Optometry Specialties (ABOS)