Symposium Resources

The COS is pleased to provide access to the presentations from the co-developed symposium presented at the 2018 COS Annual Meeting, CSI: Cataract Surgery Investigation. Dr. Ike Ahmed, along with a team of forensic ophthalmologist investigators, presented three different and engaging cases, unveiling clues to analyze the causes of poor outcomes in cataract surgery patients. They discussed tools and strategies to prevent these outcomes from occurring in future patients. Below, you will find video presentations and handouts on complicated cataract surgery.

CPD Credits
Scanning resources that are relevant to your professional practice by enhancing your awareness of new evidence, perspectives and findings can be claimed as Section 2: Self-Learning under Scanning in MAINPORT with the MOC Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Episode 1: Residual Sphere
Join forensic expert Dr. Amandeep Rai on his investigation of a spherical refractive error after cataract surgery. Do you have what it takes to uncover the suspect in this refractive surprise?

Episode 2: Astigmatism Post Toric
Special Agent Dr. Rosa Braga-Mele tackles a complicated case of astigmatism post TORIC IOL implant. Can you catch the perpetrator?

Episode 3: The Miniature Ghost
Follow seasoned investigator Dr. Guillermo Rocha as he puts together clues to uncover the truth about an apparent ghost. What will you notice at the dysphotopsia crime scene?

Episode 4: CSI Case Discussions
In the last episode of this season, members of the investigative team field questions and discuss their challenging cases, including the use of different formulas and calculations and the implementation of new technologies.

This symposium was co-developed with the Canadian Ophthalmological Society and Alcon in order to achieve scientific integrity, objectivity and balance.

This resource is only available in English.

J. Pinto & Associates is a healthcare management consulting firm that focuses on strategic business planning, operations and marketing interests of pharmaceutical companies, basic science centers, university departments, hospitals, multi- specialty clinics and single specialty facilities.

John Pinto is the country’s most-published author on the subject of ophthalmic practice management. More than 95% of all services have been to ophthalmic practices ranging from modest solo ophthalmology practices, to higher-volume cataract, refractive surgery and retinal market leaders and teaching centers.

Target Audience

Publications are geared towards physicians and administrators who wish to learn new skills and management skills. The resources serve as a guide to strengthen ophthalmology practices and assist ambitious surgeons to build practices of distinction.

Access the J. Pinto & Associates website for recent articles and publications. His numerous books are available from ASCRS/ASOA.

MedSKL offers free videos and downloadable resources from the world’s leading medical professors. All courses provide a description, overview, lecture, and areas for more articles resources for many sub-specialty areas.

The resources are created by doctors for doctors, medical students, pre-medical students, and medical schools and professors who are looking for additional resources and learning tools. Learners have the opportunity to join other ophthalmologists on the discussions pertaining to their area of interest or questions posed based on their learning.

Learning Objectives

After the completion of any given course, the learner should be able to:

• Apply a comprehensive approach, identify when to refer to specialists, and describe the treatment options for conditions
• Recognize clinical conditions that can be lethal

The 6 ophthalmology modules offered are:

• Acute Visual Loss   
• Amblyopia  
• Chronic Visual Loss  
• Diplopia  
• Eye Redness  
• Strabismus 

Visit MedSKL today to register for courses.

October 2018 Issue Highlight
Access the full article

Authors

Fady Sedarous, MD candidate, Helen Dimaras, PhD, Maram Isaac, MBBS, MHA, Myrna Lichter, MD, FRCSC, Nasrin N. Tehrani, MBBCh, MSc, FRCSEd (Ophth), FRCSC

DOI | Check For Updates

Abstract

Objective

To assess the ophthalmic needs of families with children residing in Toronto shelters.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Participants

Forty-nine families, including 86 children (age 0–16 years) and 55 adult and youth family members (AYFM) (age >16 years), randomly selected from 5 family shelters in Toronto, Ont.

Methods

Ten families with at least 1 child aged 16 years or younger were randomly recruited from each shelter. Data on sociodemographics, medical history, ocular history, and access to eye care were collected through a structured interview. Eye examinations were performed in the shelters for all children and AYFM.

Results

The mean age for AYFM was 34.9 ± 9.3 years (range, 17–60 years), and the mean age for children was 6.1 ± 4.3 years (range, 1 month–16 years). Thirty-nine percent of parents reported dissatisfaction with their vision, and 6.7% of children had parents who perceived that their child had eye problems. Overall, fewer parents had accessed care for their own eye problems in the last year than for their children (parents 36.4%, children 81.8%). Examination revealed abnormal ocular findings in 47.3% of AYFM and 24.4% of children. The commonest finding in AYFM was refractive error (30.9%); among children, it was refractive errors (16.3.%) and strabismus (3.5%).

Conclusions

We found that a significant percentage of families living in shelters had eye problems that required treatment. We propose a proactive approach to identify these families and their dependent children in order to expedite access to appropriate eye care in a timely fashion for this vulnerable population.

The Iowa Glaucoma Curriculum was created by Wallace L. M. Alward, MD, supported by the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.

The curriculum is intended to serve as an introduction to glaucoma for residents and perhaps as a review for practitioners. It began in the early 1990s to address areas such as aqueous humor dynamics or cholinergic agonists.

The site is organized by a checklist that includes tasks (like sitting in on a visual field and having one performed on themselves) and 50 didactic topics that cover all of glaucoma in digestible image and video collections.

The curriculum neatly breaks glaucoma into fifty bite-sized lectures that average 14 minutes in length (ranging from 4 to 37 minutes). It is highly visual with over 900 images (mostly clinical photographs and visual fields) and upwards of 90 brief movie clips. In total, the curriculum is just under 12 hours long.

The Glaucoma Curriculum also gives physicians and residents the option to search syndromes that have been associated with primary congenital glaucoma easily through PubMed. Alternatively, viewers can consult comprehensive glaucoma textbooks to determine whether the association has been described before.

Clinical Photograph Submissions

If you have a better example of any figure or are a skilled artist, Dr. Wallace L. M. Alward welcomes submissions. Please note that submitted materials cannot have been previously published and copyrighted. Submissions can be made to: The Iowa Glaucoma Curriculum.

Cybersight is a global community of learning, sharing and practice, providing online training and mentorship service for eye health professionals in developing countries.

Cybersight is a boundary-pushing, not-for-profit telemedicine initiative founded by Orbis International to help mitigate the shortage of skilled eye health professionals in developing countries, and help those in remote areas combat geographic isolation.

The primary goal of the training is to increase the capacity of eye health professionals and health systems to treat and prevent blindness and visual impairment.

Cybersight offers free online courses in ophthalmology, developed and delivered by international ophthalmology experts, on topics that include: cataract surgery, cornea, glaucoma, ophthalmic nursing, pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus.

Current Course Catalog:

• Basic Pediatric Anesthesia
• Fundamentals of Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS)
• Fundamentals of Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus
• Ophthalmic Nursing Fundamentals
• Introduction to Pediatric Glaucoma
• Introduction to Pediatric Eye Care and Disease
• Introduction to Retinoblastoma
• Genetics in an Hour
• Fundamentals of Motility
• Fundamentals of the Optic Disc
• Cornea and External Disease – Herpes Infections
• Immune-Mediated Diseases of the Episclera and Sclera

Orbis also offers a library with lectures, surgical videos, quizzes, and textbooks and manuals for ophthalmologists across specialties. Access the online library here.

CPD Credits

Scanning resources that are relevant to your professional practice by enhancing your awareness of new evidence, perspectives and findings can be claimed as Section 2: Self-Learning under Scanning in MAINPORT with the MOC Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Access Details

All courses are optimized for mobile devices. To access free courses, join the community of learners here.

This resource is only available in English.

Accreditation

The Wills Eye Hospital is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. 

The Wills Eye Hospital designates live educational activities for AMA PRA Category Credits.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in each activity.

To register for courses or lectures today, please visit The Wills Eye Hospital Knowledge Portal.

This resource is only available in English.

The CanMEDS 2015 Framework is an educational framework that describes the abilities physicians require to effectively meet the health care needs of the people they serve. CanMEDS is the basis for the educational and practice standards of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC). 

Watch the LEGO episode and enjoy the playful tutorial and overview of the CanMEDS roles:

How to obtain and claim MOC credits in ophthalmology – Opportunities for additional learning.

Dear COS members,

As ophthalmologists and physicians, lifelong learning through continuing professional development (CPD) is at the heart of what we do. Taking care of our patients requires us to keep up with current standards and maintain and enhance our competence, knowledge and skills.

As members of the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) committee, an arm of the COS Council on CPD, we would like to provide you with a list of CPD activities accessible to you. Below you will find a wealth of resources. They vary from online learning modules to live, interactive sessions.

Take advantage of these resources to earn all the credits you need to meet the annual requirements of the Royal College. Remember to enter your credits into MAINPORT as you complete CPD activities.

• Updates to the Royal College MOC program
• The MOC Framework
• To review information about MAINPORT

A big thanks to Cheryl Ripley for helping to synthesize these resources. Members of the COS MOC committee include: Dr. Colin Mann, Chair, Dr. Chloe Gottlieb, Dr. Phil Hooper, Dr. Rob Shertzer, and Dr. Glen Hoar.

How many CPD credits do you need?

New Cycle requirements are such that all Fellows and Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program participants will be required to complete a minimum of 25 credits in each section of the MOC Program during their new 5-year MOC cycle. The annual minimum of 40 credits and a cycle overall minimum of 400 credits are still applicable.

This new policy will only apply to new cycles starting in January 1, 2014 or later. If currently completing your MOC cycle, the minimum credit requirements will not apply until your next cycle begins. Not sure when your current cycle ends? You can find out by logging into your MAINPORT account (your cycle dates appear on the dashboard, under your name). You may also contact the Royal College Services Centre to find out.

Further information on the types of activities you can claim can be found in each section.