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.

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