News From Ophthalmic Optics Special Interest Group
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News From Ophthalmic Optics Special Interest Group
Making Up For Lost Time
A long-awaited Ophthalmic Optics SIG meeting was held virtually on December 7, 2021. The last in-person gathering was held all the way back in October 2019 at the AAO meeting in Orlando.
Grand plans of a fun and exciting annual meeting the following July were dashed by COVID-19. Disappointment was strong since that event would have capitalized on the 20/20 theme perfectly by being held at the Southbridge Hotel and Conference Center, a facility built around the original American Optical Factory and incorporating the tradition of everything optical into its décor and aesthetic.
Postponing to July 2021 seemed liked the obvious decision for all. At least that was until COVID struck again, cancelling the 2021 in-person meeting. With plans for a third try for July 2022 in the works, SIG co-chairs, Drs. Rachel Brackley and Maria Armandi (both PCO/Salus), under the guidance of LaShawn Sidbury-Duckett, ASCO Director, Meetings and SIGs, realized the need to get the members together to catch up before more time passed.
At the December Zoom session, warm greetings abounded with everyone happy to see familiar faces and welcome new ones too. Members engaged in productive discussions of various topics regarding how COVID had impacted their delivery of Ophthalmic Optics content and the broader subject of virtual learning and its effect on both student performance and student engagement.
Then plans for a second virtual meeting were made for February. The summer in-person meeting was a popular final topic as hopes for the “third time being the charm” were strong. The possibility of combining meetings with the Low Vision SIG, also planning to meet in July, not too far from Southbridge, Mass. at MCPHS in Worcester, was talked about with OO SIG members open to the idea. Being able to have some overlapping topics, share resources, have a joint visit to the Optical Heritage Museum and hopefully attract more sponsors made it an attractive option.
Members look forward to convening once again.
