Federal support for clinical training, scholarships and loan forgiveness is essential for optometry to remain competitive in health professions education.
Medical, dental and podiatric education all benefit from Federal financial support while optometry does not, placing optometric education at a competitive disadvantage. Federal financial support will not address all of optometric education’s challenges. However, Federal assistance in financing an optometric education will certainly make optometry a more attractive career option.
The following are serious challenges facing optometric education:
- Stagnate Optometry Student Applicant Pool: Currently 1.5 applicants per entering seat—qualified for admission likely 1:1. Projection models suggest an actual decline in number of applicants per seat.
- Significant Increases in the Number of Entering Seats from New Schools and Increased Enrollments at Others: Applicant pool not increasing, although the number of entering seats has increased from 1160 to 1763 or 52% in a decade. Number of entering seats likely to exceed 2000 by 2015-16.
- Decline in Undergraduate College Enrollments: College enrollment declined by one-half million students in 2012.
- Optometric Manpower Uncertainty: Conflicting data on optometric manpower: Rand Study-1995 and Abt.Study-2000 both predicted significant surpluses. Meanwhile the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects high demand for optometrists. Hopefully, AOA’s Lewin study-2013 will clarify the matter, but the study has not been released.
- Full Time Employment Concerns: Anecdotal concerns expressed by recent graduates about the shortage of full time positions with sufficient income to service education debt. — Increases in law school enrollments, without corresponding increases in demand for lawyers, have resulted in that only 55% of recent law graduates can find full time employment.
- High Graduate Debt vs. Potential Income: Not unusual for student debt to exceed $200,000, while potential annual income averages $95,000. Thus the importance of the opportunity for Federal scholarships, loan forgiveness programs or stipends during final clinical year.
- High Cost of Clinical Training: Increases in clinical training costs are passed on to the optometry student in the form of higher tuition. Colleges of optometry are burdened by high fixed cost campus-based clinics. Relative costs per Clinical Teaching Encounter: Campus-based clinics are by far the most costly. ($100-350), Affiliated facilities less ($10-30). Externships least costly ($.50-1.00).
- Medicare Compliance Concerns: Current optometric Student-Directed Clinical Training Model is not compatible with “Medicare/Medicaid (CMS) Guidelines for Teaching Physicians, Residents and Interns (Students)”. Students can not provide billable services to Medicare beneficiaries and other insured patients. Two university- based optometry schools paid significant fines for Guidelines’ violations with the current Student-Centered Training Model.
- No Standardization of Certification Boards: Newly formed optometric certification boards have different criteria for board certification. It is essential that all boards operate with standardized criteria for recognition by Federal and private agencies and insurers. Medicine has such an oversight board, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).
- Lack of Federal Financial Support: Optometric education receives no financial support for clinical training because its clinical training model does not meet Graduate Medical Education (GME) expectations. Furthermore, optometry does not qualify for Federal scholarships and loan forgiveness programs, because the profession is not designated as a Primary Care Profession.
Immediate Action Required
The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) presents a unique opportunity to pursue Federal financial support for optometric education by:
Aggressively advocating and pursuing optometry’s inclusion in key Federal patient care, educational, scholarship and loan forgiveness programs.
The last serious effort by ASCO/AOA to include optometry in GME was in 2007 and the proposal was rejected because the optometry clinical training model does not meet GME expectations. There also have been periodic efforts to include optometry in Federal scholarship and loan forgiveness programs.
To be effective, advocacy must be organized, consistent, well-funded and managed by knowledgeable individuals, preferably Deans and Presidents of optometry schools and colleges. Unlike optometry, leadership in the medical profession emanates from the Academic Medical Centers and has significantly contributed to success of both medical education and the medical profession.
Specific Initiatives
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Create eligibility for the $11.5 billion Graduate Medical Education (GME) program by restructuring the curriculum, changing state licensing requirements and aggressive advocating to amend the Social Security Act to include optometry and its training facilities.
- Restructure the curriculum to potentially qualify for GME, the educational component of Medicare: New model would consist of 3 years for OD degree + final year of postgraduate training to qualify for licensure and board eligibility.
- Requiring postgraduate training for state licensure along with Board Certification would place optometry in parallel with medicine and enhance qualification for the GME program. “Best Practices” model would parallel medicine and consist of degree+ postgraduate training = licensure+ board certification. GME pays an average of $100,000 per medical resident annually to hospitals.
- Eight medical schools (DO & MD) have or are developing three year programs. Salus University/PCO is piloting a three year program. NECO has in the past offered a 3-year program. Only Arkansas and Delaware currently require postgraduate training for licensure.
- Persuasive leadership is required to convince schools/colleges, state licensing boards, residency programs, certification boards and accreditation groups of the necessity of collaboration in restructuring clinical training.
- Apply for a Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Grant to fund a pilot project of the new curriculum/clinical training model (3 years for OD + 1 year of postgraduate training).
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Qualify for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) by achieving Designation of Optometry as a Primary Care Profession and by Federal Legislative Amendment.
- Provides loan repayment and scholarships to health care professionals providing primary care in underserved areas.
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Include optometry in all aspects of Title VII, Section 747 by designation of optometry as a Primary Care Profession and Federal Legislative Amendment.
- Provides scholarships and loan repayment to students who agree to work in underserved areas. Also, supports minority graduates, residents and faculty.