ACOE Calls for Comments to Residency Standards Change
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ACOE Calls for Comments to Residency Standards Change
On January 15th, the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE) distributed a call for comments to proposed changes they are considering to Optometric Residency Standards 2.1 and 2.4.
The proposed changes address a request submitted by the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry for residency programs to inform residents of the specific competencies that the resident is expected to learn and demonstrate prior to completion of the residency program. In response, ACOE is proposing to add to the examples of evidence for these standards a “list of advanced competencies” which the programs may use to demonstrate compliance with the standards.
Here are the proposed changes (new language appears in underlined text):
2.1 The residency must have a written curriculum that includes structured clinical experiences, didactic components and scholarly activities, designed to achieve the mission, goals, and objectives including training in advanced competencies.
Examples of evidence:
• Written curriculum description
• Typical weekly schedule of the resident
• Description of clinical, didactic and scholarly activities
• List of advanced competencies
2.4 The curriculum must specify the knowledge, skills and behaviors required for the resident to attain the advanced competencies indicated in the program’s mission, goals and objectives. At a minimum, the resident must attain the core competencies specified in standards 2.4.1 through 2.4.6 below.
INTENT: The intent of Standard 2.4 is to ensure the residency provides clinical, didactic and scholarly activities that will develop advanced clinical competence, effective communication skills, and lifelong learning skills.
Examples of evidence:
• Written curriculum made available to the resident
• List of advanced competencies
The proposed addition of “List of advanced competencies” to the examples of evidence would provide programs with additional guidance on documentation they may wish to provide to demonstrate compliance with the standards in the program’s self-study. Examples of evidence are meant to be examples of possible relevant documentation rather than an exhaustive list. A program may choose to provide some, all, or none of these examples as long as it provides evidence to demonstrate compliance.
The deadline for submitting comments is February 15, 2021. Comment should be sent to accredit@aoa.org. A copy of the current standards and other accreditation information can be found on the ACOE website at www.theacoe.org
