editor's perspective

GP Educational Opportunities

BY CARLA J. MACK, OD, FAAO, EDITOR

We feel it's extremely important to continue to dedicate our October issue to GP contact lenses. It takes only one case of improving a patient's quality of life through a carefully fitted GP lens to understand their important place in the contact lens field. The Ohio State University recently hosted the Gas Permeable Lens Institute's Cornea and Contact Lens Resident Education Symposium. Three full days of lectures and hands-on workshops covered every GP fitting topic from torics, multifocals and orthokeratology to irregular cornea fitting. It was inspirational to see these future contact lens leaders demonstrate great passion and desire to learn GP contact lens fitting.

A number of upcoming educational opportunities will focus in part or in full on GP lens fitting. Next month, Nov. 8 to 10, 2007, the Contact Lens Manufacturers Association Annual Meeting and Exhibition takes place in Santa Fe/Albuquerque, New Mexico (www.clma.net). January is host to two spectacular meetings. The 33rd annual Bronstein Contact Lens Seminar will meet in Scottsdale, Ariz., Jan. 11 to 13, 2008. For a second year, the Global Keratoconus Congress will feature comprehensive keratoconus fitting information including surgical options and post-surgical fitting strategies for all disciplines. The second GKC will feature 15 new speakers plus hands-on workshops and takes place Jan. 25 to 27 in Las Vegas (www.GKCongress.com).

Kansas City will host the 47th annual Heart of America Contact Lens and Primary Care Congress from Feb. 15 to 17. The Contact Lens Society of America will hold its annual education meeting March 5 to 9 in New Orleans. Also visit the CLSA's Web site (www.clsa.info) for hands-on clinical courses offered throughout the year.

Later in 2008, an all-day GP interactive lecture session with grand rounds experience is offered at the second annual GP Lens Specialty Practice Today and Tomorrow on May 4 in St. Louis, Mo. (www.umsl.edu/divisions/optometry). The British Contact Lens Association's Annual Clinical Conference and Exhibition will take place in Birmingham, United Kingdom, May 29 to June 1. Also, refer to the Orthokeratology Academy of America's Web site for information regarding its 2008 continuing education events (www.okglobal.org/ce.htm).

I've found the GPLI Web site (www.gpli.info) to be the most complete online GP resource. Visit the site for interactive on-line symposia featuring fitting experts in conjunction with the CLMA. Another valuable resource especially for your keratoconus patients is the National Keratoconus Foundation (www.nkcf.org).

Many other GP educational opportunities and resources are also available. Take advantage of these great programs if you'd like to grow your practice, hone your GP fitting skills and positively impact your patients' lives.