Canadian Ophthalmology Curriculum Topics & Objectives

This document is the finalized list of curriculum topics and objectives for Canadian undergraduate medical education in ophthalmology. The development of this list was based off  three resources: The 2018 objective list developed by the Association of University Professors in Ophthalmology (AUPO) with endorsement from the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO)¹, the AUPO’s 2009 Ophthalmology Core Knowledge and Skills competencies²,and the Medical Council of Canada’s (MCC) objectives pertaining to ophthalmology³.

After a preliminary list of objectives was made based off the previously mentioned resources, a survey was sent to the members of AUPO asking for expert opinion on each curriculum objective and if they warrant inclusion. Based on this survey, talking points were created and later discussed in a virtual meeting where the list was finalized.

*Urgent and red flag conditions have been denoted with a red Asterix. These warrant urgent referral to an ophthalmologist.

Download the full PDF Document here:

Click on the links below to explore the topics:

The Eye Care in Health Systems: Guide for Action provides practical, step-by-step, guidance to support Member States in planning and implementing the recommendations of the World report on vision with the goal to provide integrated people-centered eye care services.

This new resource leads Member States through a four-step process: situation analysis; development of an eye care strategic plan and monitoring framework; development and implementation of an operational plan; and establishing and maintaining ongoing review processes.

Currently, more than 2 billion people are living with a vision impairment and of these, at least 1 billion people are needlessly living with poor vision due to lack of access to eye care services. This burden is not borne equally: 90 percent of people with vision impairment or blindness live in low- and middle-income countries. Often, all that is needed is a cost-effective intervention, such as a pair of spectacles or cataract surgery.

Implementing integrated people-centred eye care has the potential to improve millions of lives worldwide and produce huge benefits for the economy, gender equity, inclusion, education and the workplace.

The Guide links to other tools developed by WHO, through consultations with international experts, including:

 The Guide currently links four resources, or tools, including:

1. Eye care situation analysis tool (ECSAT)
   Purpose: Questionnaire based survey tool to comprehensively assess eye care in a country.
2. Eye care indicator menu (ECIM) 
   Purpose: List of recommended eye care indicators to be collected regularly.
3. Package of eye care interventions (PECI)
   Purpose: Planning and budgeting for eye care at each level of the health system.
4. Eye care competency framework (ECCF)
   Purpose: Planning tool for eye care human resources based on competencies.

For more information click the link below:

The June 2022 CJO is now available online. Here are some of the highlights:

Resident Perspectives + visual abstract: Our amazing team of residents have summarized 7 articles with a focus on what’s most relevant to ophthalmology learners here in Canada and around the globe, including the article featured in our June visual abstract, Postoperative supine position after primary Descemet-stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty reduces graft detachment rate.

Original research articles:
• Clinical features, visual outcome, and poor prognostic factors in occlusive retinal vasculitis
• Effectiveness of a 3D-printed mask fitter in an Ophthalmology setting during COVID-19
• Research productivity and impact of Canadian academic ophthalmologists: trends in H-index, gender, subspecialty, and faculty appointment
• Comparison of outcomes in patients with and without soft contact lens wear following Boston keratoprosthesis type 1
• Incidence of steroid response in microinvasive glaucoma surgery with trabecular microbypass stent and ab interno trabeculectomy

Research letters, photo essays, and case reports:
• Outcomes of first cases of DMEK at a Canadian university hospital centre [research letter]
• Retinal racemose hemangioma characterization with multimodal imaging [photo essay]
• IgG4-related orbital disease [photo essay]
• Rare case of extramacular choroidal macrovessel [case report]
• Multiple myeloma with concurrent herpes zoster ophthalmicus [case report]
• Wellness among Canadian ophthalmology resident physicians: a national survey [correspondence]

Follow the CJO on social media:

Twitter: @CanJOphth

Instagram: @cjo_jco

Facebook: CanJOphth

Eye Care Embedded in New WHO Neonatal Care Guidelines

The ICO shares the recent launch of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global guidelines to support women and newborns in the postnatal period.

For the first time ever, eye care has been embedded in neonatal care guidelines, demonstrating the importance of access to high-quality vision care in the healthy development of babies.
 
The ICO is in Official Relation status with the WHO. We encourage all ICO Member Societies to share these new guidelines with their networks.

The April 2022 CJO is now available online. Here are some of the highlights: 

Resident Perspectives + visual abstract: Our amazing team of residents have summarized 7 articles with a focus on what’s most relevant to ophthalmology learners here in Canada and around the globe, including the article featured in our April visual abstract, Frozen versus fresh corneal graft carriers in Boston keratoprosthesis surgery: 10-year outcomes.

Original research articles:

• SD-OCT assessment of macular and optic nerve alterations in patients recovered from COVID-19
• Sunlamp use is a risk factor for uveal melanoma: a meta-analysis
• Ocular manifestations of disseminated Mycobacterium chimaera infection after cardiothoracic surgery
• Evaluation of dry eye disease in children with blepharokeratoconjunctivitis
• Reversible HER2 antibody-drug conjugate–induced ocular toxicity

Research letters and case reports:

• Features and management of strabismus from skull base chordoma [research letter]
• Clinical course and poor prognostic factors of Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada disease in a tertiary uveitis clinic [research letter]
• Making the most of what you have: improving patient and provider experiences at an eye clinic through interior design [case report]
• Building better education after COVID-19: the 2021 Canadian ophthalmology residency match [case report]
• Detection of Alcaligenes chronic endophthalmitis mimicking noninfectious uveitis with 16S ribosomal RNA PCR [case report]

Follow the CJO on social media:

Twitter: @CanJOphth

Instagram: @cjo_jco

Facebook: CanJOphth

An article, entitled Re-visioning by Carol Yaple, which was included in the CMAJ, Vol. 194, Issue 97 Mar 2022

“On Dec. 1, 2011, I received a diagnosis of Stargardt disease, an inherited retinal disorder that affects central vision. Genetic testing showed that my mother carried the mutation, and my father contributed a common variant. One in 10 000 are afflicted with this rare condition, which often presents in childhood.”

Read the Full Article here:

How do quality improvement activities relate to CPD offerings?

Read the full Royal College Maintenance of Certification (MOC) guideline on how to identify areas for quality improvement using MOC Section 3

Expanding Learning QI Implementation

Aligned with calls to integrate quality improvement (QI) and physician life-long learning, the Royal College is collaborating with partners and stakeholders across the health care system to evolve its Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program. In small, practical increments, this renewed CPD strategy aims to be more relevant, improvement-focused, and user-friendly, enabling physicians to achieve care outcomes and/or continued personal-professional growth important to them and their patients.

Although these collective goals are clear, some specialists may be unfamiliar with QI principles and thus have difficulty connecting them to important improvement work they already do. Others might be challenged with identifying how to apply QI towards a specific personal development goal, professional practice role (e.g. clinician, educator, administrator), or transitioning stage of their career.

The following guidance aims to address these issues and provides:

• An introduction to understanding Quality Improvement (QI) science
• Tools, resources, and illustrative examples to help make connections between QI and existing professional practice.
• Help to start planning, implementing, and reporting new QI initiatives in current professional practice.
• Direction on claiming QI activities in the MOC program Section 3: Assessment activities (3 credits per hour).

For information on QI implementation visit the Royal College’s website.