Professional Development

I’m still feeling a little jet lagged after traveling halfway around the world, but what an amazing trip! Along with over seventy other ophthalmic imagers, technicians, and physicians, I was in Singapore to attend the 2017 International Conference on Ophthalmic Photography (ICOP).

ICOP is a joint educational venture between several ophthalmic imaging organizations including the Ophthalmic Photographers’ Society (OPS) from the United States, the Ophthalmic Imaging Association (OIA) from the UK, the Australian Institute of Medical and Biological Illustrations (AIMBI) from Australia, and the Ooghelkundige Fotografie Nederland (OFN) from the Netherlands. Delegates from 15 different countries were in attendance at this conference.

The three day program was held at the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC). The educational program put together by Paula Morris, CRA, FOPS and Sarah Armstrong, CRA, OCT-C, FOPS, included invited lectures, special keynote lectures, and Scientific Paper sessions from dlegates in attendance. Keynote lecturers included Wong Tien Yin, MD, PhD discussing: How a Fundus Photograph Can Save Your Life, Giovanni Staurenghi, MD who presented: Old and New Angiography, Suber Huang, MD who showed amazing images in his lecture: The ASRS Image Bank – a Worldwide Legacy and Gavin Tan Discussing: OCT Angiography – Changing the Way We See.

I was honored to attend ICOP as not only a delegate, but as an invited lecturer. I ended up presenting all three days of the conference and it was a great honor for me to contribute to the program in this way. I chose topics that I felt would appeal to an international audience and I think it worked out okay. I presented a version of Ophthalmic Jeopardy! that I customized for an audience that was unfamiliar with the namesake television quiz show, that while famous in the U.S., isn’t broadcast in Singapore. Talk about performing a high wire act without a net! I made sure I had some content that everyone could relate to including local Singapore trivia and a review of content covered by presenters in many of the earlier lectures.

The imaging staff at SNEC is renowned for the quality of their ophthalmic photography and they were clearly happy to be hosting this event on their home turf. On a tour of the facility, award winning images were displayed prominently on the walls of the imaging department. It was inspiring to see such an amazing collection of work of the highest quality. Photographers Joseph Ho, Kasi Sandhanam and the rest of the SNEC staff are amazing imagers that are able to balance the efficiency needed to handle a high volume of patients with the highest standards in image quality. They are true professionals in our field.

John Leo with his award winning image. Photo by Chris Barry, FOPS.

Speaking of high quality imaging, the conference also included a photo competition and exhibit that showed some incredible clinical and artistic imaging. Award winners included Sarah Armstrong, Lisa Brealey, Angela Chappell and John Leo.

In addition to the educational content during the conference, there were exhibits by a number of sponsoring vendors, some incredible refreshments during the breaks, and a fun evening of food, music, and comradery at the welcome reception.

A highlight of the reception was the photo booth that not only produced mementos of the occasion, but acted as the perfect icebreaker, as spontaneous groups of old friends and new acquaintances would pose together in the spirit of ICOP!

Of course as professional imagers, most attendees had cameras with them and spontaneous selfies were popping up everywhere!

This is the second time that ICOP has been held in this thoroughly modern and spectacular city of Singapore, having previously been hosted here in 1990. And what a great venue for an international conference! Singapore represents an incredible blend of Asian cultures, British influence, modern architecture and great weather.

Like many other delegates I tried to visit as many of the popular sightseeing spots as possible including, Marina Bay, Merlion Park, Super Trees, Sentosa Island, Chinatown, Buddha Tooth Temple, Hawker Markets, the Mt. Faber Cable Car, Henderson Waves, Botanical Gardens and many more. With all these famous sights and numerous museums, there is so much to do and see in this amazing city.

Local residents Paul Chua and Albert Sim took some time to show us some of the local sights in the evenings and recommend the best food stalls in the hawker markets. Joseph Ho hosted an amazing dinner of chili crab at Jumbo Seafood. Alan Wee wrote a great blog post for the OPS/ICOP website with a list and map of places to visit, along with suggestions for some of the best food and coffee shops in the city. It was great having such knowledgeable local guides to help us experience all that Singapore has to offer.

Like many other ICOP delegates, I tried to take in as many of these sights as possible. One of the attractions on my list was the Trick Eye Museum on Sentosa Island which seemed like something an eye imaging professional should check out, at least for a laugh or two. It’s a place where you can take some really cheesy selfies with props and silly scenes in the background! Although I didn’t have time to visit, I walked past and snapped a photo or two. Maybe next time.

ICOP 2017 was an amazing success. Kudos to the international ICOP planning team of Paula Morris, Sarah Armstrong, Chris Barry, Ethan Priel, Becky MacPhee, Angela Chappell and Gerard de Graaf.

The SNEC staff and organizing committee were incredible hosts from Gemmy Cheung, MD, Wong Tien Yin, MD, Gavin Tan, MD, Dr Thiyagarajan Jayabaskar and Lim Hui San, to Joseph Ho, Kasi Sandhanam, and the rest of the imaging and AV teams. They really know how to put on a professional conference.

It was great seeing old friends from around the globe as well as make several new ones.

ICOP promotes networking with colleagues and seems to make the world just a little smaller. I believe that each of us found that we all have so much in common no matter how far apart we live. I look forward to the next ICOP which will take place in 2020 at a location yet to be determined.

*ICOP group photo by Govindarjan Jayaraman.

Along with holidays and festive celebrations, the end of the calendar year often marks the deadline to complete any recertification requirements in order to maintain your professional credentials. I recently completed my OCT-C (Optical Coherence Tomographer-Certified) recertification in December, and just received my updated certificate in the mail. That will hold me for another three years. At the end of 2017, my other professional credential, the Certified Retinal Angiographer, will be up for recertification. It will mark my 30^th year of proudly holding the CRA.

I’m not alone when it comes to maintaining these voluntary certifications. Johnny Justice Jr. continues to set an example by maintaining the CRA credential that he originally obtained in 1979 (the first time it was offered). That’s amazing to me. Several others from that inaugural group of CRA recipients, including Peter Hay, Phil Chin, Tom Egnatz, and Chuck Etienne, also maintain their CRA after all these years. None of them have anything to prove at this point in their careers, especially Johnny. He is a pioneer in the profession and was the driving force and founding member of the Ophthalmic Photographers’ Society. He is a well-known author and lecturer, and is universally considered the “Father” of our profession. He certainly doesn’t need the CRA to gain employment, or practice in his chosen profession. He proudly maintains his CRA out of respect for the credential, and what it means to the profession that he helped to create. It clearly has value to him after all these years and all his accomplishments.

In a highly technical field such as ophthalmic imaging it may seem surprising there are no licensure or certification requirements. Certification is strictly voluntary to perform in these roles. It is estimated that less than half the people working as ophthalmic photographers, assistants, or technicians are certified. It’s not easy to obtain certification, and it shouldn’t be. After all it’s meant to identify individuals who have demonstrated a designated level of competence in their field. It takes knowledge, skill, and experience to successfully complete the examination process for certification. Anyone who has completed this process knows the significant effort that is required.

So why get certified if it isn’t required, universally recognized, and takes significant effort? It’s about value. The benefits of certification are often tangible: increased job satisfaction, enhanced job mobility, increased earning power, and a competitive advantage for advancement or the best employment opportunities. But the benefits don’t stop with the certified individual. They also extend to the employer, ophthalmologists, insurers, and most importantly, our patients and their families. All of these groups benefit from knowing they are dealing with a recognized professional.

Certification also helps establish a professional identity and recognition by your peers. It certainly did that for me. In fact, I worked in the field for nearly ten years before initially pursuing certification. I decided it was time to move on in my career and needed certification to gain access to the best jobs. It worked, as my next employer required the CRA as a condition of employment. But I was pleasantly surprised by the additional benefits that certification provided. Although I was very skilled in the technical aspects of photography and had worked at one of the most prestigious institutions in the world, no one outside my place of employment knew my name. That all changed when I obtained my CRA. I suddenly had the respect of my peers and began receiving invitations to play a role in professional activities in the OPS and beyond. Certification seemed to be “the price of admission” to important networking opportunities that lead to leadership roles in the OPS and JCAHPO. From there came many opportunities to share my knowledge through lectures and publication. And it all started with certification.

But the process doesn’t end when you first receive your credentials. Certification is much more than a one-time achievement. It is a dynamic, career-long commitment to continued education, assessment, and professional development. There is incredible value in attaining, and also maintaining, your certification.

EYE-PIX

Category Archives: Professional Development

ICOP – Singapore

The Value of Maintaining Certification

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