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.

The CanMEDS Framework was developed by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada to provide key strategies for healthcare professionals to increase efficiencies in their practice, improve communication with patients and colleagues, and demonstrate stronger leadership. 

The program explicitly expresses how CanMEDS roles are used in everyday clinical and non-clinical practice. The CanMEDS roles have been developed based on what patients believe are the most important competencies and abilities that physicians should possess.

Target Audience

This self-assessment program was developed with local faculty and subject matter experts to ensure a high degree of scientific integrity, rigor and balance for practitioners.

Learning Objectives

After successful completion of the program, participants will be able to:

• Use the CanMEDS Framework to improve your practice and your patient outcomes
• Identify areas for your continuing professional development using the CanMEDS Framework in all seven roles: Communicator, Collaborator, Leader, Health Advocate, Scholar, Professional and Medical Expert

CPD Credits

This program was co-developed by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and mdBriefCase Group.

This activity is an Accredited Self-Assessment Program (Section 3) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by the Royal College CPD Unit. You may claim a maximum of 1 hour (credits are automatically calculated).

Access Details

The online learning activity is free for RCPSC Fellows. To access the CanMEDS online self-assessment program, please visit the mdBriefCase website for more information.

This month, I want to highlight a site that offers curated content in the eye care area, which I find useful within my practice as an ophthalmologist. PracticeUpdate is an Elsevier product which provides journal scans across both the ophthalmology and the optometry literature.

In addition, it provides commentary from key opinion leaders. While not all the content is relevant to all ophthalmologists, I find it gives me a good overview of what is current and allows me to select areas of interest to pursue further learning.

PracticeUpdate is commercially supported by online advertising, sponsorship, and educational grants, however claims that it ‘maintains the highest level of academic rigor, objectivity, and fair balance associated with all Elsevier products. No editorial content on the site is influenced in any way by commercial sponsors or content contributors.’

Another feature that may be useful is that you can also signup for journal scans in other areas such as neurology or diabetes care that may be of interest. By registering, you can customize options for what information you wish to have pushed out to you, how often, and in what areas.

The site is responsive for access from a variety of devices. Check it out at www.practiceupdate.com.

Recommended by Dr. Colin Mann 
Chair, Practice Resource Centre

The Canada Retina Society (CRS) publishes an interesting and educational Vitreo-Retinal related image every three months – a ‘Snapshot of the Month.’ This quarter’s snapshot was written by Fannie Nadeau and Ananda Kalevar, MD (Department of Ophthalmology, HD Hospital, Sherbrooke University, Quebec). 

Snapshots entitled “Luck of the Draw” tell the story of an 80-year-old female experimented nasal visual field loss in her right eye (OD) with preserved temporal visual field. The patient had a cilioretinal artery; an anatomic variant found in 15 to 30% of the population that often supplies the papillomacular bundle, but that supplies the foveola in only 10% of eyes. 

To see this quarter’s images and read more, please take a look on the Canadian Retina Society website.

If you are interested in submitting a “Snapshot of the Month” for consideration, please see the SOTM Submission process requirements and guidelines.

EyeTube offers a collection of bi-weekly podcasts pertaining to innovations in eye care across all sub-specialities in ophthalmology. Episode topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• pediatric ophthalmology
• diagnostics/imaging
• ocular surface/ocular surface disease
• contact lenses and solutions
• diet and nutrition
• ulcers
• meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD)
• glaucoma 

Patient-physician relationships and patient complaints are examined subject areas that are discussed in new and meaningful ways from physicians in the field. Episodes provide viewers with a diversity of subject areas and refreshing perspectives from practitioners.

Explore expansive topical tools you can use within your physician practice.

Access EyeTube from iTunes or directly from EyeTube today.

As a physician, I am always searching for the most current content I can reference quickly that will be most relevant to my practice and sub-specialties. For those that may not be familiar with it, EyeRounds.org is a content-rich site which is a service of the University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. It provides access to content in a variety of forms including case reports, tutorials, videos and an online searchable atlas.

The information presented is, in many cases, useful to both trainees as well as a review for practicing ophthalmologists. One area I found fun and engaging is the series of Photo Quizzes. These eclectic collections of pictures and photos provide a quick challenge to your general ophthalmology knowledge base. 

The tutorials derive mainly from Grand Round presentations and while their usefulness to practicing ophthalmologists (vs trainees) varies, there are some excellent summaries which might be especially to community ophthalmologists who don’t have ready access to ophthalmology grand rounds in their area.

Explore the site at eyerounds.org for updated content.

I hope you find this website helpful for your practice.  

Recommended by Dr. Colin Mann 
Colin Mann, M.D.
Chair, Practice Resource Centre

Gonioscopy is one of the more challenging eye examination techniques for ophthalmology residents to learn. Unfortunately, in clinical practice gonioscopy, is not performed as often as it should be; therefore, Gonioscopy.org is a great tool that can be used to share techniques, images and provide a gap in knowledge for the ophthalmological community.

Target Audience

The informative website is designed by the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine to teach physicians and residents how to perform gonioscopy and to show the iridocorneal angle in health and in disease. 

Gonioscopy Videos

Examples of diagnoses are accompanied by videos to demonstrate specific exam techniques, techniques for difficult angles, and much more. There are occasional slit lamp videos as well if they provide illustrations of the findings in glaucoma-related diseases. These patient examples display an assortment of diagnoses and diseases that physicians can learn from. 

For a complete list of diagnoses with videography components, please see the detailed Diagnoses List to view specific techniques and findings. New videos are added frequently and will have red labels to indicate that they have been recently added to the website.

Access Details

To receive website updates, subscribe to the “What’s New” mailing list. New technique videos are posted regularly.

Access Details

Learn more about the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and their initiatives.

MÉDUSE offers online training modules and resources for all specialist physicians. The training courses have been designed in collaboration with medical associations in order to meet physician needs.

Méduse offers competency training modules and transferable skills, such as collaborator, leader, communicator, professional, health advocate and scholar, as per the 2015 CanMEDS Framework of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

The competencies aim to encourage specialists to gain and improve a variety of skills that are core to their practice and the delivery of quality patient care.

Learners can evaluate their knowledge with the pre-and post-tests, which are available for each course. Online learners can also share comments or read comments from fellow colleagues in the discussion forums of online courses. All the training modules offered on the e-learning platform are free for specialist doctors and accessible at all times.

Access Details

How to Access Training Modules: Sign in to the FMSQ portal and access the courses on MEDUSE.