ASCO Chief Academic Officers Convened on Zoom for Annual Meeting

ASCO Chief Academic Officers Convened on Zoom for Annual Meeting

As the country begins to ease restrictions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, ASCO Chief Academic Officers (CAO) met for a session on June 15th during ASCO’s virtual meetings from June 8 - June 18, focusing their time and efforts on discussing the effects of COVID-19 on optometry institutions, their faculty and staff, and most importantly, their students. Dr. Bill Miller led the Alcon-sponsored session asking for thoughts about students’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on undergraduate and graduate student school performance during the COVID-19 pandemic had been previously presented to the group by Dr. Soria in a special educational session for CAOs and SAOs. This session was recorded and can be viewed on-demand.

In addition to speaking about this research, the CAOs discussed the possibility of seeing an increase in testing accommodations for students in the near future due to the impact of the pandemic. Further, they discussed changes regarding Part 3 of the NBEO Board exam. Lastly, post-COVID conversations revolved around student and faculty resistance to in-person learning, as well as the pros and cons of asynchronous vs. synchronous courses.

The CAOs are looking forward to being able to meet in person on November 4, 2021. This session will be held in conjunction with the 2021 American Academy of Optometry Annual Meeting happening from November 1, 2021- November 5, 2021 in Boston, MA. Stayed tuned for an announcement about registering for this event.