Transforming and Supporting Patient Care - Health Professions ...

313Chapter 13 – Profession of OptometryEducation and Continuing CompetencyThere are two schools of optometry in Canada – the University of Waterlooand the University of Montreal. Along with 17 schools in the United States,both Canadian schools are accredited by the Accreditation Council onOptometric Education (ACOE). The curriculum at these schools encompassesboth academic and clinical training components.Optometrists graduate from a four-year professional program with a Doctorof Optometry degree. Graduates have the skills to therapeutically manageeye conditions, including ocular surface diseases, eye and eyelid infections,ocular inflammation and pain, ocular allergies, and glaucoma. Graduates ofboth Canadian schools are able to practise optometry in all Canadian andU.S. jurisdictions, including those where optometrists are permitted toprescribe drugs.All schools and colleges of optometry in North America are accredited bythe ACOE. To be accredited, optometry degree programs must includedidactic and clinical training components sufficient to satisfy the registrationrequirements of the jurisdiction with the broadest scope of practice. TheCOO has adopted the standard broadly accepted in the United States andother Canadian jurisdictions for practicing optometrists: a 100-hour coursein ocular therapeutics that involves didactic and clinical components aswell as an examination. 11Waterloo’s School of Optometry incorporates two courses related to thepreparation for prescribing drugs: Introductory Clinical Pharmacology andClinical Ocular Pharmacology. Introductory Clinical Pharmacology includesthe study of general pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles, aswell as the application of these theories on various systems of the body.Clinical Ocular Pharmacology emphasizes the pharmacological andtherapeutic principles of drug absorption following topical application,including the distribution, metabolism, mechanisms of action andelimination from ocular tissues.Graduates must pass an entry-to-practice examination, the CanadianStandard Assessment in Optometry (CSAO), which is required by allprovinces, including those where optometrists are authorized to prescribedrugs. The CSAO is a competency-based examination that includescomponents that assess the knowledge, skill and judgment of candidates forthe range of services provided by optometrists, including prescribing ofdrugs.The COO requires that members participate regularly in continuingeducation. Members are currently required to participate in at least 60hours of continuing education in each three-year period. With the recentintroduction of prescribing authority, the COO Council has increasedcontinuing education requirements. Starting in 2009, optometrists will needto obtain 70 hours of continuing education; at least 20 of those hours mustrelate to the diagnosis or management of ocular disease or related systemicconditions. 1211COO. Submission to HPRAC. November 2008: 6.12Ibid: 7.HPRAC Critical Links January 2009