Final Glaucoma Course & Certification 2023

PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU WERE NOT A MEMBER AS OF JANUARY 1, 2023,

YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE DISCOUNTED RATE.

Registration Deadline: Sunday, July 9, 2023
Member pricing $1199.00 || Non-Member pricing $2299.00

A FULL YEAR OF 2023 MEMBERSHIP DUES MUST BE PAID IN FULL OR YOU MUST BE SETUP ON AUTOMATIC PAYMENTS PRIOR TO REGISTERING FOR THIS COURSE AS A MEMBER. ALL MEMBERSHIPS MUST HAVE BEEN ACTIVE BY JANUARY 1, 2023, IN ORDER TO BE ELIGBLE FOR THE MEMBER RATE.

PLEASE MAKE CERTAIN TO REGISTER IN THE CORRECT CATEGORY. INCORRECT REGISTRATION WILL NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE NECESSARY LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

• For Member As Of 2023 Registration:

Member Registration

• For Non-Member Registration:

Non-Member Registration

Course Schedule-2023

Course Information

The State Licensing Board for Optometry has approved an additional Certification course to be offered from the MSO, in conjunction with NECO, beginning in July 2023. This certification course will count towards 6 hours of your Massachusetts Board approved continuing education for 2023.

Expanded Scope of Practice Certification Course

Course Goals and Objectives: This 40-hour post-graduate course will augment the knowledge of the optometrist to use or prescribe pharmaceutical agents for the purposes of diagnosing, treating, and managing glaucoma and other ocular abnormalities of the human eye and adjacent tissue. New diagnostic criteria will be discussed along with a thorough overview of new imaging technologies, new pharmaceutical agents and drug delivery systems, new surgical interventions, and cultural and social implications in the care of patients in the 21st century.

Clinical application of pharmaceutical agents used in the treatment of glaucoma and the use of oral anti-infectives for managing the ocular effects of certain systemic conditions will be presented in depth. Emphasis will be placed on the safe, effective, and practical clinical application of these treatments in the primary care optometric setting. Indications for use, contraindications, side effects, and drug interactions will be discussed. The program also includes a discussion of generally accepted referral criteria for options beyond medical management of the glaucomas, including laser treatments, filtration surgery, and the implantation of microvalves and shunts.

The successful completion of this course will qualify experienced optometric practitioners to safely and conscientiously care for their patients through the development of critical thinking skills that will enhance their decision-making ability in treating and managing glaucoma as well as other ocular abnormalities of the eye and adjacent tissues.

Goals of the course:

1. Understand the clinical application of topical and oral therapeutic agents used in the treatment of glaucoma and other ocular disorders and be able to recognize and manage adverse side effects.
2. Apply the standard of care and clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of glaucoma.
3. Be confident in making clinical decisions in all aspects of diagnosis, treatment, and management of glaucoma and other ocular abnormalities of the eye and adjacent tissue.
4. Provide patient education and counseling to patients who are at risk or diagnosed with glaucoma and patients who have other ocular abnormalities of the eye and adjacent tissue that require intervention.

Format and Final Grade: The course will consist of 10 four-hour modules (broken down into one or two hour lectures) that will be taken in an asynchronous video format. Through a learning management system (LMS), participants will have access to the recorded videos, slide deck and other curated and developed materials that will facilitate learning for the adult learner. At the end of each module, there will be a quiz. The final grade will be weighted ⅓ for quizzes and ⅔ for the final examination. The final examination will be sixty (60) multiple choice questions, open resource, cumulative examination that will cover materials offered during the entire course. A final grade of 70% must be obtained for successful completion of the entire course. Each participant will have two opportunities to pass the final exam.

Format of Virtual Case Based Supervised Clinical Education

• The Clinical education will start after the completion of the 40 hr. certification course
• They are based on educationally appropriate clinical cases using robust medical histories, clinical findings, and clinical imaging
• Participant reviews each case in-depth and submits a thoughtful treatment plan for the case study.
• Review with an optometrist/ophthalmologist who is credentialed to treat glaucoma and the use of oral anti pharmaceutical agents to ocular pathology
• Five, 4-hour modules
  • Each participant spends one hour independently reviewing cases pertinent to each session. He/she then submits a treatment plan based on his/her independent study, then spends 2 hours reviewing group discussion and review with the preceptor.

Glaucoma Course & Certfication 2023