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COTP Newsletter: Winter 2012

President's Message

Greetings COTP member programs!

In this brief message, I am happy to present the progress COTP has made in the last year to all of you, and to outline a few areas in which we can make further progress.

The COTP Website has been running for some time now (http://www.cotpedu.org/). Its presentation and viewer-friendly navigations have been updated with new hyperlinks to Current Members; Accredited Programs; Newsletter; Mentor Network; FAQs; and Members Only sections. Please make sure you look at all navigations, and let the home office know how it went. Feel free to give KUDOS as well as highlighting any problems you may have had.

Our consortium is maintaining its current membership at 27. We are compiling a list of non-member programs and are planning to approach them with an invitation to join COTP. Part of that message will include the many benefits of COTP membership.

Our presence on the CoA-OMP Board is also bearing many fruits. Chiefly, we are a stakeholder and, thus, were able to give our collective input to the proposed revisions of the Standards and Guidelines. This input included identification of existing and potential problems in the revisions, as well as proposed solutions. CoA-OMP took almost every one of our proposed solutions into account while revising the Standards.

A few areas in which we can make even more progress: increasing membership; updating the boilerplate curricula to take into account the revised CoA-OMP Standards and Guidelines; improving and increasing our educational offerings (slides; outlines; re-useable learning objects, or RLOs).

As we move ahead this year, I look forward to working with (and for) all of you.

Last, but not the least, thanks to the home office staff for doing such a great job and keeping the Board on the straight and narrow path!

Aaron Shukla, PhD, COMT
President

JCAHPO Representative Message

Dear Colleagues:

It is my privilege to serve as your representative to JCAHPO. In the fall, I was able to attend the annual JCAHPO Commissioners Meeting, which was held via webinar. This year I am serving on the Education Committee and I recently participated in the ACE planning committee webinar. I was also appointed by JCAHPO's President Dr. Tyree Carr to serve on the nominating committee. Please feel free to contact me at any time if I can be of assistance to you or your program. I look forward to seeing everyone in Chicago in the fall!

Barbara T. Harris, PA-C, MBA, COA
JCAHPO Representative

COTP Annual Meeting - Save the Date!

Saturday, November 10, 2012
5:00 to 8:00 pm at the Hilton Chicago
Chicago, IL

RSVP required by September 15th to Nick Weirens, COTP Coordinator. Contact Nick at nweirens@jcahpo.org or call 651.731.7244.

Program Updates & Tips

This is a new segment where we will address questions from COTP members, provide news from JCAHPO and CoA-OMP, and share new products and tips for training programs.

JCAHPO Updates

COT multiple-choice examination scheduled to be updated in August 2012
COMT Performance Test simulation is being delivered at the JCAHPO office year-round and at select regional meetings. Please contact the JCAHPO Certification Department for more information.

CoA-OMP Updates

Revised Standards and Guidelines are complete and available at http://www.coa-omp.org.
New CoA-OMP Website is complete and is available at http://www.coa-omp.org.

New Self-Study Template is complete and is available for download at http://www.coa-omp.org.

NEW COTP Website!

The new website is complete and ready for use. Please visit http://www.cotpedu.org and start chatting with fellow members and uploading your program's resources. This great new resource for COTP can be an amazing benefit for ALL members.

FREE Webinars for all COTP Members

All members will have access to one JCAHPO monthly webinar. You will be sent an email with instructions every month on how to access the scheduled webinars (ATPO's Certification Review Sessions are not included in the free webinars).

ATPO Membership

The Association of Technical Personnel in Ophthalmology (ATPO) offers membership to students at the discount rate of only $20 a year. Start introducing your students to ATPO and get them involved with their professional membership organization!

New Training Tools from JCAHPO

Have you visited JCAHPO's groundbreaking educational online resource for eye care professionals, www.actioned.org? ACTIONED provides online continuing education for the entire eye care team.

Complete courses and assessments online
Earn JCAHPO CE credits online
Courses starting at just $8
Access courses on-demand - on your schedule
JCAHPO Learning Systems are now on ACTIONED!
The ATPO COA Review Course is now on ACTIONED!

If students need additional education in certain content areas, ACTIONED is a great resource for them.

The JCAHPO & ATPO Pocket Guide has proven to be a great study guide and tool for students. COTP member students can now receive the Pocket Guide for the discount price of $18.

Click on the image for the order form

Program News

Send us your program news, photos, and updates for the next newsletter. Content submission deadline for the Summer 2012 issue is July 15^th.

Caldwell Community College – Hudson, NC
by: Barbara T. Harris, PA-C, MBA, COA

The twelve students in the Ophthalmic Medical Assistant program have begun their final semester and are anxiously awaiting graduation and new jobs. This will be the 13^th class to graduate from the college. Faculty and students continue to volunteer monthly at the Lions Vision Clinic, which serves indigent clients.

Currently the students are doing a unit on ocular surgery, having observed Dr. Trey Oursler performing iLASIK at Graystone EYE. Operating room etiquette was the topic of a recent class. Students found out that closed gloving was a lot harder than it looks!

A new class has been accepted for the fall with a healthy waiting list in reserve.

Rockyview Hospital – Calgary, Alberta
by: Colleen Schreiber, COMT, OC(C), CRA

The Calgary Ophthalmic Medical Technology Training Program requires each student to present a 30-minute Power Point presentation each semester on the topic of his or her choice. This allows the student to gain experience in presenting, as well as to learn about a subject that interests them. In December, the students presented on Blood in Different Layers of the Eye, Retinopathy of Prematurity, Pregnancy and Eye Changes, and Effects of Smoking on the Eye. Students discussed these conditions as well as the impact on the clinical role of ophthalmic personnel.

Students receive a mark for their presentation from their Program Director with input from their peers. Some students are already considering presenting at local and national meetings with the invaluable experience and confidence they have gained.

Palm Beach State College – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
by: Robert M. Kershner, M.D., M.S., F.A.C.S.

The Ophthalmic Medical Technology Program at Palm Beach State College in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, is in the final stages of completion. We have received the go ahead from the College, the President, the District Board of Trustees, the State of Florida, our Business Partnership Council, the Health Science Cluster at the College, and the College's Curriculum Committee. We are also pleased to announce that the program just crossed its last hurdle by receiving accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools-Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC). Our clinical facility is nearing completion with a state-of-the-art eye clinic. We are now commencing recruitment of qualified students with the intention of admitting our first class in the fall of 2012.

Our comprehensive media center will allow microscopic images from exam room to operating theater to be broadcast throughout the OMT learning center as well as to viewers online.

Plans for our IT installations are proceeding on schedule, with our goal of a totally paperless educational program for students. If all goes according to plan, we expect to accept our first entering two-year students in the fall of 2012.

Regions Hospital – St. Paul, MN
by: Kris Fey, COMT

The School of Ophthalmic Medical Technology - Regions Hospital, in St Paul, MN hosted their 34th Annual Continuing Education for Ophthalmic Medical Personnel Program in May 2011. Over the weekend, we had over 130 participants from the Midwest and across the US attend classes/lectures and workshops.

In May, we graduated a class of five COMT candidates. At this time three of them have passed the written COMT exam, one has passed the COT, and they are all on their way to full certification!

Our newest class of nine candidates started in September 2011 and we are looking forward to the graduation of our Class of 2012 next May.

Duke University – Durham, NC
by: Jo Legacki, COMT

The eight members of the Duke Ophthalmic Technician Training Class of 2012 experienced their first ophthalmic continuing education meeting in Asheville. The JCAHPO North Carolina Regional Program held September 16-17, 2011, temporarily took the place of classroom learning. The students encountered lectures by a variety of eye care professionals and networked during lunch and breaks. This was a fantastic opportunity for the students to get an idea of the style and significance of continuing education meetings. The lectures reinforced concepts taught in the classroom as well as giving students new information.

This well organized meeting was a great first time experience. The speakers were well prepared and conveyed the information in an excellent format, and the venue was lovely.

This lively group of tech students delighted in the opportunity, which was provided to them at a reduced rate. Of course, they did not get/need credit hours, as they are not yet certified. Look for members of this bright group at meetings in the future, where they WILL need the CE hours! They graduate in June 2012 and will have taken (and hopefully passed) their written COT by then.

Membership Notes

Free Webinars - If you have any questions about accessing the free webinars for COTP members, please contact Amy Anderson at aanderson@jcahpo.org or call (651) 731-7252.

NEW COTP Website - Is now available and ready for use!

Annual Meeting - Make sure to RSVP for this year's COTP Annual Meeting in Chicago.