Optometrists who attend this year’s Vision Expo West meeting in Las Vegas can choose from more than 200 hours of clinical CE content and an additional 100 hours of business-related courses geared to help you boost your bottom line. This year’s meeting will be held at the Sands Expo & Convention Center. Education courses will be offered from Sept. 5-8, and the exhibit hall will be open from Sept. 6-8.
“The International Vision Expo & Conference team constantly looks for ways to enhance the attendee experience at our show,” says Tom Loughran, vice president for Reed Exhibitions, which co-owns International Vision Expo with The Vision Council. “This year, we’ve enhanced a variety of programs and events to do just that—from our concerted effort to collect and promote exhibitors’ show specials to additional networking opportunities and parties to expanding the number of travel and entertainment discounts offered,” he says.
In addition, they’ve expanded the conference program with new sessions like Government Regulations and Sales U “to help organizations’ stay abreast of the latest requirements and hone their skills in this turbulent economy.”
Here’s a snapshot of key meetings and courses you won’t want to miss:
- Courses led by Ron Melton, O.D., and Randall Thomas, O.D., M.P.H. Their sessions include:
- On Call with Melton and Thomas (Friday, Sept. 7, 2:45 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.). Gain a better understanding of challenges encountered during weekend call in the tertiary care environment.
- Glaucoma Grand Rounds (Friday, Sept. 7, 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.). This team-taught course will share numerous patient presentations in a case-study/grand rounds format. Emphasis will be on the diagnostic work-up, assessment of risk, selection of drug therapy and follow-up care.
- Melton and Thomas Treatment Guidelines (Saturday, Sept. 8, 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.). The Melton-Thomas team will discuss some common and not-so-common disorders often seen in the primary care optometric practice. Current information and recommendations are discussed regarding approved drugs and treatment modalities as well as off-label use of drugs.
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Assessing & Selecting Managed Vision Care Plans (Wednesday, Sept. 5, 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.), Mark Johnson, A.B.O.C., N.C.L.E.C. This course will help you evaluate different managed care plans to determine which are right for your practice.
Vision Expo will “double down” on CE opportunities for optometrists at this year’s meeting, offering over 350 hours to choose from.
- What’s New in Eye Care? (Wednesday, Sept. 5, 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.) Moderator Kelly Kersick, O.D. This course will be a discussion of EHR benefits, challenges and processes of implementing into today’s optometric practice.
- Corneal Collagen Cross-Linking in Management of Corneal Ectasia (Wednesday, Sept. 5, 3:45 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.), Melissa Barnett, O.D. In patients with progressive keratoconus and post-LASIK corneal ectasia, collagen crosslinking (CXL) is a new treatment that uses riboflavin and ultraviolet light to strengthen the cornea. This course offers a comprehensive overview of CXL for the eye care practitioner.
- EHR Survival: Deployment and Rewards, (Thursday, Sept. 6, 2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.), Phillip Gross, O.D. This one-hour course will discuss the critical issues and steps involved when deploying an integrated EHR system, whilefocusing on the realities, challenges and rewards. Real-world examples will help you successfully prepare and execute your own transition to EHR.
- Point-Counterpoint Glaucoma (Friday, Sept. 7, 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.), Robert Wooldridge, O.D., and Murray Fingeret, O.D. This course will review controversial areas in diagnosis and management of glaucoma. Items to be addressed include: choosing the best adjunctive medication, contemporary models of care, the role of surgery as an initial therapeutic modality and new diagnostic instruments (optic nerve imagers, newer perimeters).
- Using the OCT Beyond the Macula (Saturday, Sept. 8, 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.), Diana Shechtman, O.D. This lecture presents challenging cases in which OCT analysis played a key role in the evaluation of retinal conditions that go beyond macular disease.
- Board Certification Review. Courses include how to prepare and study for the exam, featuring proven test-taking strategies.
- Frame Buyers Certificate Program. This program provides 14 hours of content dedicated to streamlining the process of managing, monitoring, positioning and promoting your frame inventory.
- Social Media and Internet Marketing Courses. Learn to develop, set up and use social media, Internet marketing and other web tools.
- Sales U. This new three-hour practical session focuses on selling.
- Management & Business Academy. This program will offer two three-hour modules, one dedicated to finances and private practice benchmarks, and the second focused on marketing and merchandising.|
- Optical and Contact Lens Boot Camps. Courses include Anatomy & Physiology and Optics; Lenses and Frames, Measurements and Eyewear Selection; Eyewear Sales and Communications & Troubleshooting Rx Complaints; Contact Lens Boot Camp; Frame Adjusting & Repair, Spectacle Measurements and Basic Lensometry.
- UV Symposium. Learn about the effects of UV damage, product solutions to guard against exposure and ways to get the UV protection message to your patients and community.
Vision Expo has increased its CE offerings significantly over the past few years and recently has assembled a Medical Advisory Panel that will be meeting at Vision Expo West during the upcoming meeting. The panel represents leaders in the optometric field who provide insight on optometric programs, meeting content and how to improve the overall attendee and exhibitor experience at the Vision Expo meetings. Members of this new panel include: Rick Weisbarth, O.D. (Alcon Laboratories); Dave Gibson (Allergan); Mohinder Merchea, O.D. (Bausch + Lomb); Arthur Alvut (Coopervision); Robert Kalapp (Marco); Bob Gibson (Topcon Medical Systems); and Lee Ball, O.D. (Vistakon).
To register, go to
www.visionexpowest.com.
| Mark Your Calendar for These Special Events |
| Wednesday, September 5th, 7:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
• Eyefinity’s “Focus 2012: Embracing the ‘i’ Craze,” Eyemax Theatre, Conference Area (Room 503). This program will explore how today’s optometric practice is being transformed by new mobile technology. The keynote address is “The Future of Health: Where Can Technology Take Us?” presented by Dr. Daniel Kraft, a Harvard University and Stanford University trained physician and scientist. A panel discussion focusing on the growth of mobile technology throughout the optometric industry will follow.
Thursday, September 6th
Friday, September 7th
Just for Students
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