Continuing Education Guidelines for Optometrists (taken directly from the website www.mass.gov)

Board regulations require that an optometrist must complete 18 hours of Board-approved continuing education as a condition of annual license renewal. Credit toward renewal of an Optometrist's License in a particular renewal period shall be given only for Continuing Education Hours which were completed during the 12 months immediately preceding January 1st of the licensure year for which renewal of that License is sought.

For a continuing education program to be acceptable for the purposes of license renewal, the following conditions apply:

"Live" continuing education (CE) programs offered outside of Massachusetts must be approved by the Council on Optometric Continuing Education (C.O.P.E.)
"Live" CE programs offered within Massachusetts and that exceed four (4) hours must be C.O.P.E. approved
"Live" CE courses or programs that are four (4) hours or less, and that are not C.O.P.E. approved may be submitted to the Board for approval (To view approved courses, see the On-Line Lookup System: Continuing Education Courses Approved for (CE) credit in Massachusetts)
1. A written application for Board approval must be submitted at least 60 days prior to the course date
2. The application must include the name of the sponsor; a detailed outline of the course material; the speaker's curriculum vitae; the course time and location; provisions for adequate monitoring of attendance; and satisfactory assurances that the course is generally available to all optometrists
No more than four (4) CE hours for the purposes of license renewal may be taken via distance learning technology
Approved CE courses are listed on the C.O.P.E. web site
To review the Board’s rules and regulations please visit the Statutes and Regulations section of this site.

Submitting Courses:

To submit a course for Massachusetts State CE qualification please complete the following application and include the required information. All applications must be received two weeks prior to the scheduled event.

Massachusetts State CE Application

Special Populations Grand Rounds

Please join us for the Special Populations Grand Rounds Wednesdays from 7:00-8:15am in Conference Room 1, Beacon Street Campus.

These are student presented, faculty guided cases encountered during the Special Populations Rotation.

Schedule:

January 7, 2009 February 4, 2009

January 28, 2009 February 18, 2009

February 25, 2009

CE Offered through the VA Boston Healthcare System

The VA Boston Healthcare System in conjunction with the New England College of Optometry announces the following for Massachusetts Optometric CE Credit (NOT COPE):

The Boston VA Healthcare System, in conjunction with The New England College of Optometry presents:

None at this time

Sessions will be held at the West Roxbury Campus of the VA Boston, 1400 VFW Parkway, West Roxbury, MA

BLDG 3, Second Floor, Room 2B100

It is recommended that you contact Dr. Fanciullo the day of the event either by email or phone at 617-323-7700 ext. 35440

This is a free session. Please contact Lisa Fanciullo, OD at lisa.fanciullo @va.gov, if you plan on attending.

Matty in the Morning:

Date: January 20, 2009

Time: 7:15 am

Speaker: John J. Weiter MD, PhD.

Topic: Basic concepts for understanding macular disease

Please RSVP to continuingeduc@neco.edu or telephone (617) 587-5642 if you plan to attend.

Research Lecture Series:

Under this program, recognized vision scientists are invited to the College to give presentations about their research. These presentations are followed by discussion sessions and informal receptions so the College community has an opportunity to become better acquainted with researchers and their projects in other laboratories. All presentations will start at 5pm at The New England College of Optometry.

The New England College of Optometry 2008 Research Lecture Series Presents:

None at this time

One Hour of MA Continuing Education credits will be given. The lecture will be followed by a wine and cheese reception in the Clausen Room of 424 Beacon Street on the 1^st floor. If you have questions, please contact Dr. Nancy Coletta at colettan@neco.edu.

Any continuing education questions please contact the Continuing Education office at continuingeduc@neco.edu