American Board of Optometry Introduces Board Certification to Students and Residents

American Board of Optometry Introduces Board Certification to Students and Residents

Dr. Catherine Hines, Director of Education and Assessment at the American Board of Optometry (ABO), always enjoys meeting the students and residents who stop by ABO’s booth at Optometry’s Meeting, Academy or SECO. The conversation often focuses on the role board certification plays in advancing patient care in all health professions, and the commitment to lifelong learning that it represents. “Students and residents are beginning to realize the challenges they’ll face in the near future once they’re no longer in an academic setting and solely responsible for keeping up with rapid advances in health care,” said Dr. Hines. “So, they recognize and appreciate the value of ABO’s unique maintenance of certification program that provides a structured approach for continuous learning.”

Through these one-on-one conversations, it became apparent that many students and residents had not been introduced to board certification during school and most were not familiar with ABO. Dr. Hines, along with ABO’s Executive Director, April Wilhelm, decided that needed to change. At ABO’s annual meeting in June 2023, they introduced an initiative to visit selected optometry schools each year and meet with 4th year students and residents to get the word out about board certification. Working through ABO school ambassadors and residency directors, visits are planned for 10 schools this academic year, four of which have already taken place. From sponsoring an afternoon snack break at NSUOK to hosting a resident breakfast at NOVA, the events have been engaging and informative for all attendees, including faculty.

“During these visits, we focus on incentives for new graduates to become board certified,” said Dr. Hines, “but we also like to remind full-time faculty that they’re eligible to take the board certification exam at no cost. Board certification is primarily a credential for optometrists in active clinical practice but can certainly be of value to those in an academic setting as well, and we want to encourage faculty who are interested to pursue it.”

ABO first began offering incentives for residents and young ODs, as well as faculty, back in 2018. Since that time, the number of residents taking the exam has increased by almost 50% and the number of faculty members taking it has increased as well. Dr. Diane Adamczyk, ABO Board Chair, has been enlightening SUNY residents about the board certification process for years and, as a result, SUNY consistently has the highest number of residents taking the exam each year.

“Our goal is to reach students and residents early,” said Dr. Adamczyk. “Beginning your career with a commitment to lifelong learning benefits the optometrist, employers, the patients we serve, and the greater profession. ABO is working hard to create a path for more student involvement, and we hope to announce another exciting student initiative this summer in Nashville at our annual board meeting during Optometry’s Meeting in June.”

For more information on any of our student, resident or faculty initiatives, or to schedule an ABO visit to your school, please contact April Wilhelm at awilhelm@abopt.org.