Applications to become ABCO Certified in Ocular Disease are expected to be available and will start being accepted in the Summer, 2011. The information below is preliminary and subject to change before ABCO begins accepting applications. Please be sure to check back here and in the News and Information for updates.

What is the optometric sub-specialty of Ocular Disease?

Certification in Ocular Disease is defined by the ABCO as an optometric sub-specialty in which the practitioner has demonstrated advanced training, education, and/or experience beyond that required for licensure as an optometrist in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of complex ocular disease and injury, with an emphasis in the diagnosis and optometric treatment and/or management of ocular manifestations and effects of complex systemic disease.

ABCO Certification in Ocular Disease is intended to denote that the certified practitioner has education, training, expertise, and experience in the many areas of ocular disease, including its diagnosis, treatment, and management, which includes, but goes beyond that required for passage of the National Board Examinations in general optometry and beyond that required to obtain a license to practice optometry. Earning ABCO Certification in Ocular Disease is a voluntary process unrelated to licensure and does not confer on the certified doctor any rights or privileges beyond that permitted by the doctor's license to practice optometry and his or her applicable state law. It does, however, denote that the optometrist has training, education, and/or experience in the area of ocular disease which non-certified optometrists are not required to have.

Why is Certification in Ocular Disease called a "sub-specialty" by ABCO?

Optometrists provide eye care to their patients within the broader community of health care providers. That community of providers including physicians, osteopaths, dentists, podiatrists, and others. Within this community of health care providers optometry is one of only two professions that have obtained the high level of training and education necessary to deal knowledgably and exclusively with the diagnosis, treatment, and management of the eye and vision. These two professions, optometry and ophthalmology, are both narrowly focused fields of health care, and the doctors that practice these professions do so with significantly more depth of training in the eye and vision than any other health care provider.

Both optometry and ophthalmology are specialties within health care, and both optometrists and ophthalmologists are trained to be specialists in the care of the eye and vision. While an optometrist obtains his or her depth of training in eye and vision care before becoming licensed as an optometrist, and not in a residency after licensure, as does an opthalmologist, this is a distinction without a difference. Both are eye care specialists. An Optometrist has training in the eye and vision that no other health care provider, except for ophthalmologists, has and for that reason optometrists are recognized as specialists within the community of health care providers.

Nonetheless, within optometry, there are distinct fields in which a doctor may focus his or her practice. These are optometric sub-specialties. Just as ophthalomology has sub-specialists in fields such as retinal disease, refractive surgery, and pediatrics, optometrists have sub-specialists in fields such as ocular disease, contact lens practice, neuro-rehabilitative practice, and vision therapy/pediatrics.

How do I earn certification in Ocular Disease?

To earn ABCO Board Certification in Ocular Disease, candidates for certification must meet the following criteria:

• Possess a valid unrestricted license to practice therapeutic (TPA) optometry in one or more states, territories of the United States, the District of Columbia, or Canada;
• No active state board investigations or history of license discipline related to the quality of patient care;
• Must have completed ABCO Certification in general optometry and be in good standing with the ABCO;
• Must have satisfactorily completed an ACOE-accredited optometric residency of one-year or longer AND passed the NBEO Advanced Competency in Medical Optometry (ACMO) examination, OR have current status as a Diplomate in the Disease section (clinical path only, any one of the four core areas) of the American Academy of Optometry;*
• Submission of three letters of reference from either optometrists or ophthalmologists, whose practice is primarily in the area of diagnosis, treatment, and/or management of ocular disease, demonstrating to the satisfaction of the ABCO your fitness, experience, and expertise in the sub-specialty.

How do I maintain my certification (MOC) in Ocular Disease?

ABCO Certification in Ocular Disease is valid for 10 years from the date of initial certification. Maintenance of ABCO Certification in Ocular Disease, and recertification every 10 years, requires the practitioner to meet the following criteria:

• Satisfactory maintenance of the ABCO Certification in General Optometry;
• Demonstration that at least 80% of the ABCO MOC continuing education hours were in topics directly related to the diagnosis, treatment, and management of ocular disease and/or ocular aspects of systemic disease;
• Passage of either a recertification examination or retaking and passage of the ACMO examination;
• If qualification for certification was through the Diplomate pathway, you must continue to be a Diplomate in good standing;
• Review of license status and discipline history to ensure continuing qualification.

How do I apply to become ABCO Certified in Ocular Disease?

The process of applying for and obtaining ABCO Certification in Ocular Disease begins with the completion and submission of the application for ABCO Certification in general optometry. The application for general ABCO certification is available now. If you are already ABCO certified, or once you have completed the ABCO certification process, complete and submit the application for ABCO Certification in Ocular Disease. This application is expected to be available beginning during the Summer, 2011. Once your application is submitted you are deemed a "Candidate" for certification in the sub-specialty.

You remain a Candidate until:

• All paperwork, including examination scores if applicable, required for completion of the application is received by the ABCO;
• ABCO has reviewed and approved your application and supporting materials; and
• You receive notification from the ABCO that you have been awarded ABCO Board Certification in Ocular Disease.

Once all three steps are successfully completed you will be awarded ABCO Board Certification in Ocular Disease, and status as an "ABCO Diplomate" in Ocular Disease.

What is the cost to become ABCO Certified in Ocular Disease?

The first step in obtaining ABCO Certification in Ocular Disease is to apply for and become certified by the ABCO in General Optometry. The cost for that certification is $350. The final fees for the certification in Advanced Management of Ocular Disease have not yet been determined, but are anticipated to be approximately $500 with a small annual maintenance fee. An additional fee is charged by the NBEO for the ACMO examination if that examination is required for your certification. Please see the NBEO website at www.optometry.org for information on the ACMO examination.

How will being certified in Ocular Disease help me?

ABCO Certification in Ocular Disease is a substantial achievement and reflects considerable commitment, training, and education beyond that required for general optometric licensure. It demonstrates your true and meaningful effort to obtain and maintain one of the highest levels of training and knowledge available to an optometrist that practices in the field of medical optometry and ocular disease.

It is anticipated that certification will assist the practitioner in obtaining and maintaining hospital privileges, gaining job opportunities or advancements, especially in conjunction with ophthalmology and interdisciplinary centers, and in ensuring patients that you have the skills and training to provide quality care for their complex ocular problems. While certification in Ocular Disease does not change your licensure status, and does not expand the scope of your licensure, which by law determines what an optometrist in your state may or may not do, it is nonetheless evidence that you are an exceptionally well qualified member of the health care team and are committed to a process of lifelong learning to maintain exceptional skills in the area of Ocular Disease.

Can I Advertise That I am ABCO Certified in Ocular Disease?

State law determines what an optometrist may or may not advertise in his or her state. It is fundamental that you may not make any statements that are false or misleading.

Some states have determined that optometrists in their state may not hold themselves out as "certified" or "board certified" by any organization other than the state board or that holding oneself out as "board certified" alone may be false or misleading to the public. While it would not appear to be false or misleading to state that you are "Certified in Ocular Disease by the American Board of Clinical Optometry," some states may deem this to constitute holding yourself out as a specialist or to otherwise violate the law by having advanced knowledge. In all circumstances, ABCO recommends that you check with your state board to ensure that there is no prohibition in your state law which would make your use of the ABCO desigation as Certfied in Ocular Disease illegal.

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* ABCO is not in any way affiliated with or endorsed by the Amercian Academy of Optometry, which is an indepedent organization. The American Academy of Optometry has not approved ABCO Certification, in Ocular Disease or otherwise, and references to the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) or links to their programs should not be construed as an endorsement of the ABCO or of its certification in Ocular Disease.