2024 Call for Courses

The deadline to submit applications has closed. The AOA will email notification of selected courses by Sept. 29, 2023.

The AOA is committed to providing exemplary education for doctors of optometry, paraoptometric assistants and future optometrists. To deliver an education system that offers year-round integrated learning and professional development for doctors and assistants, the AOA’s 2024 Optometry’s Meeting® will feature courses focusing on cutting-edge topics and contemporary optometry. We invite you to submit lecture and workshop courses in the online application below.

If you have questions regarding the Call for Courses, please contact Keegan Palzkill, Education Analytics Technologist, at kpalzkill@aoa.org.

Topics

While the AOA is a Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE) qualified administrator and courses accepted for doctor of optometry education may be submitted for COPE approval, ALL courses offered will qualify for AOA CE Hours. The AOA will consider all education topics, including and not limited to emerging technologies, optometry patient care innovations and practice management.

Doctor Education : In addition to the familiar past topics, the AOA encourages courses that provide:

• Interprofessional co-management education demonstrating collaborative care provision with optometry, ophthalmology, endocrinology, cardiology, rheumatology, infectious disease, occupational therapy, and other health care professions.
• Interactive course experiences, including case study-associated small-group rotations, practical demonstrations, and problem-based learning instruction.
• Integrated public health-associated social and cultural topics.
• Communication techniques to improve a patient’s understanding of the care prescribed.
• Workshops instructing specific advanced procedures.
• Practice and personal finance and literacy topics.
• New patient acquisition and current patient retention education.
• Optometry specialties such as sports vision and neuro-optometry care of the traumatic brain-injured patient.
• Advanced procedures such as injections and eyelid lesion removal.
• Best practices for easing patient anxiety and shared patient decision-making with others.

Optometrist/Paraoptometric Assistant Joint Education: The AOA seeks to provide joint education for optometrists and paraoptometric/technician assistants. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Office-based surgical procedures and chairside assistance.
• Aseptic technique for office-based surgical procedures.
• Effective delegation in the workplace.
• Medical scribing assistance,
• Electronic medical record (EMR) data entry.
• Medical coding and billing.
• Techniques for effective patient communication.
• Wellness, nutrition, and disease prevention
• Communication skills in clinical practice including:
  • Improving adherence to prescribed treatment and follow-up care recommendations.
  • Breaking bad news.
  • Challenging emotional conversations with patients and families
• Cultural competency: Integrating self, social, and cultural awareness.
  • Shared decision-making with patients and families.
• Public health topics integrating social and cultural themes.

Please ensure that courses submitted as joint education are suitable for a combined doctor of optometry and paraoptometric/technician assistant audience.

All courses accepted for paraoptometric education will be submitted to the Commission on Paraoptometric Certification for approval.

Paraoptometric Assistant Education: The AOA is emphasizing the following paraoptometric/technician assistant topics, which may include, but are not limited to:

• Medical history taking using EMR software.
• Triaging urgent and non-urgent conditions in optometry practice.
• Human relations and practice operations management.
• Chairside assistance with office-based procedures.
• Examination procedures of the pediatric patient.
• Medical services and procedure coding and billing, including International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code changes.
• Hands-on diagnostic and treatment support workshops.
• Traumatic brain injury and low vision rehabilitation support.
• New low vision diagnostic and rehabilitative aids.
• New vision therapy diagnostic and treatment devices.
• Anterior segment devices, including, but not limited to, ocular coherence tomography (OCT), corneal topography and specular microscopy.
• Posterior segment devices, including, but not limited to, OCT, fundus photography and visual field perimetry.
• Scribing support, including terminology recognition and EMR data entry.
• New equipment training.
• Advanced spectacle and contact lens dispensing.
• Hands-on equipment workshops, including, but not limited to, slit lamp, OCT, and visual field use.
• Understanding general ocular anatomy, pathology, and pharmacology in relation to common ophthalmic pathology.

Additional Submission Offering

• The AOA is launching a workshop series featuring case reports presented in a "Choose Your Own Adventure" style. The AOA is seeking reports for use in this workshop series.
• Each submission must include a case report summary that provides associated detailed patient history, diagnostic assessment, treatment options, prescribed treatment, and patient education information.
• Authors will receive an honorarium of two hours per the AOA Speaker Reimbursement Policy and are encouraged to collaborate and participate in the interactive workshop series.
• Submissions can be completed using the Case Report Submission option in the Call for Courses submission platform.

All submitted courses that meet the requirements and have been submitted on time will be considered for acceptance for Optometry’s Meeting 2024.

Course Criteria and Requirement

Due to the volume of submissions, not all submitted courses will be accepted. All applicants will be notified of accepted courses via email by September 29, 2023. Acceptance will be based on the following criteria:

• The primary speaker must be a member of the AOA.
• Courses accepted for Optometry’s Meeting should be original and not presented previously at Optometry’s Meeting or slated to be presented at any other meeting/conference in 2024.
• The complete electronic submission must be received by the AOA by July 26, 2023. Submissions will not be accepted in any manner after that date. Any incomplete submissions will be voided. An incomplete submission will not be considered for acceptance.
• Lectures may be submitted as one- or two-hour segments.
• Workshops must be designated for two-hour segments. Workshop proposals should indicate that participants will be provided with hands-on experience in techniques and procedures. The workshop size is limited to a maximum of 40 participants. ( Please specify the course is a workshop when submitting by adding the word “workshop” to the title.)
• Speakers are encouraged to submit courses that can be offered as part of a series. Speakers may collaborate with each other to create courses that offer a beginner, intermediate and advanced track of courses on related topics. (Examples: courses that explain how to develop a new niche in your practice, such as specialty contact lenses, low vision, or disease management [e.g., glaucoma]). Topics can be submitted with information geared toward entry-level practitioners (how to get started, equipment needed including basic level interpretation of test results), intermediate and advanced level of practice. Additionally, these courses can even be paired with a billing and coding course for the sake of completeness, as well as courses pertaining to education of the paraoptometric staff in said areas. * Series offerings, if selected, may be offered through different AOA education mediums (i.e., lecture offered through EyeLearn, workshop offered at Optometry’s Meeting, etc.).*
• Speakers need to tailor content to their audience.
  • If the course is doctor/paraoptometric joint education, ensure that the tone and content correlates to both audiences.
  • If the course is paraoptometric only education, ensure that the topic/tone and perspectives are tailored to that audience.
• If your workshop is accepted, a workshop equipment/supply request form must be submitted to the AOA by February 11, 2024. The AOA will provide basic supplies; however, you are expected to assist with the acquisition of any equipment and special supplies needed for your workshop. You may be required to bring your own supplies or to provide vendor contact information with your request form to assist with obtaining the necessary equipment and supplies.
• You agree to present the course at the time(s) scheduled by the AOA Education Center Committee. If you have scheduling conflicts, please indicate them in the comments box on the electronic submission form. Once scheduled, course times cannot be changed. It is encouraged for the speaker to attend Optometry’s Meeting in its entirety to best support the flexibility of the education grid. Courses are scheduled with this understanding.
• Indicate in the online form if your course can be considered for CEE (Continuing Education with Examination) credit. Only two-hour courses will be considered. If your course is selected, you agree to provide the AOA with a 20-question, multiple-choice-only exam with answers. The questions will be included in the CEE examination, which will be administered by an accredited third party.
• Indicate in the online form if your course can be considered for virtual learning. If your course is selected for virtual learning, you agree to provide the AOA with 10 multiple choice questions per hour of lecture, and/or four polling questions per hour of lecture.
• As part of the online submission process, you are required to upload:
  • A course outline. The outline must provide enough detail to allow the Education Center Committee to determine if the course is suitable for presentation and to submit to COPE for approval (paint a picture of how the course will flow). Follow the COPE outline guidelines.
  • An up-to-date curriculum vitae of the primary speaker.
    • If this course has multiple speakers/panelists, all names must be submitted when submitting the outline.
  • A brief biography of the primary speaker.

Accepted Courses

• If a course is accepted, the speaker(s) must complete an AOA Speaker’s Confirmation Agreement by Sunday, November 5, 2023.
• Final course outlines will be due by Sunday, February 11, 2024.
• Speakers must respond in a timely manner to achieve COPE approval.
• Course handouts are required and must be submitted electronically by Sunday, April 21, 2024.
• Speakers cannot promote their books, consulting services, etc., during education sessions.

 AOA Speaker Reimbursement Policy

AOA speaker reimbursement, stipend, and registration information:

• Honorarium Standard Courses—Up to $350/hour/per instructor that is selected/invited by the AOA Education Center Committee.
• Honorarium Labs—Up to $350/hour (per instructor, maximum of three instructors), or $350/hour solo lab.
• Honorarium Panels—Up to $350/hour. Will be split among all panelists.

Speakers will receive complimentary full registration for Optometry’s Meeting; speakers must register during Early Bird Registration time frame. 

Important Dates