What About Continuing Education?

[rbaker]

Recent posts have made reference to CE credits required by many States Boards for the maintenance of Registration. I have ambiguous feelings about the value of these requirements as they are presently implemented.

We have all sat through many a sales presentation disguised as a “course” in order to get our ticket punched. Perhaps even more irksome are the courses that are at such a basic level that the bar tender is bored. And, I am sure that we have all endured hours of selling and marketing techniques that arguably have little to do with the real craft of opticianry. Of course, there are exceptions to this generalization. Some of us were blessed to sit in the presence of Ralph Drew and many others. And, I am sure that some contributors to this message board could contribute mightily to this task.

I guess the problem exists at the level of the State Boards and the ABO or whoever it is who gives these courses their imprimatur (approves the course for those of you in Rio Linda.). It’s almost as though there’s a conspiracy to make us all stupid.

For example, I note that someone on this board has posted a message stating that she is about to finish up her MS in Nursing. I bet everyone would agree that this achievement will add greatly to her value as an optician – everyone that is but her local Board of Registration of Opticianry or the ABO. She will not get a single iota of credit for her achievement. (What she is doing in opticianry escapes me.)

I completed an MS at Northeastern University and was a Licensed Physician Assistant and also received an MBA in Healthcare IT from the Isenberg School of Management at U Mass and none of this course work could be applied to CE credit.

Now, I do not believe that you should get credit for the English Literature course that you take but can’t we apply some common sense here. Why doesn’t the ABO or a State Board set down a list of "real" courses that would meet their CE criteria. After all, is not the purpose of registration the protection of the public welfare from ignorent and unethical conduct?

Why don’t some of you activists get on their case in this matter? Is someone afraid that we might actually advance the craft? I would do it but I have to go fishing and elk season is coming up.

[chip anderson]

Hear!Hear!

[QDO1]

how about educating the un-registered 1st!

[wmcdonald]

Those who approve ABO/NCLE courses generally are ill-equiped to recognize a good course if it presented itself. Many on state boards that judge the competence of those taking their exams are in a similar boat. We need to place a higher emphasis on selecting folks who know how a course should be designed to approve them. The schools have some good faculty that could provide that function, but there is reluctance to allow them to have any control over what they are best suited to do, educate. But it is not all the powers that be that are at fault here. The most popular courses are those at the very basic of levels and are used by many as their "education". That is all the theory they ever get. Ergo my continuing quest to institute mandatory education standards. It would raise us all to a higher level. Then moving to strengthen the board exams to an appropriate level of rigor to make them mean more. As to the Nursing and IT degrees, if they could be related to Opticianry in some manner, they should be approved. Teachers in the public schools must get a certain number of CE hours annually or semi-annually depending on their location. The subject is not important; a chemistry teacher can take courses on physics or even english lit and as long as their is learning it is accepted. We are too specific, I suspect, due to small minds wanting to control thier jusisdictions and keep their "power". I have espoused for years that our CE system is little more than a fund raiser. Folks can come and sleep if they wish as long as they are in the room. We need some outcome analysis...are they learning....to be a valid system, with a reduction in the number of hours available. One cannot successfully learn in an 8-hour marathon, and it is, again, little more than a money raiser for the folks putting it on. Some tesing mechanism should be instituted to see what has been gained through the seminar. The ABO/NCLE is rich and actually set the standards for the profesion based on their income potential. That must stop. The education system must be a fair and accurate measure of an individual's ability and professional competence to be of any real value. Currently that is not the case, but it can improve if we want it to.......I wonder if we are serious about improving.

[Spexvet]

Long ago, in New Jersey, we had some pretty lame classes. But they've gotten better. Recently, I attended a very good day-long set of classes, taught by Laurie Pearce and Rene (Skip) can't recall his last name, hosted by Quantum Opical. The information was useful, and the classes were interesting. They beat the heck out of the "fashion tints" classes from years ago.

[PAkev]

It doesn't surprise me CE has taken direction of the American way....Cheap, Fast, and Easy because many optical retailers already have embraced this philosophy with one hour service, BOGO's, and unskilled labor.

Do you think retailers that once paid to send employees for independant non biased training will step back and give up what they see as a good thing? Do you think folks responsible for the cost of their own CE and once paid $25+ per credit hour at formal educational programs won't be compelled to take the FREE vendor sponsored course in a major trade magazine? Do you think it will ever become likely state licensing boards and ABO will turn down the money they get for each CE course and speaker approval.

Im not in support of the direction CE has taken either but don't see potential of change until those serious about maintaining the integrity of opticianry step up to the plate. The problem is that this usually means going against the grain of everyone elses established comfort level and doing the right thing instead of the easy thing.