The College of Optometrists

The College of Optometrists’ annual conference, Optometry Tomorrow 2007 will be held on Sunday 11 and Monday 12 March in Newcastle upon Tyne. Following the success of this year’s event in Bristol, the College has put together a strong lecture and workshop programme, specially designed to address the issues affecting optometrists in day-to-day practice. The programme features an impressive mix of lectures and workshops/seminar sessions delivered by some of the best-known faces in the profession. The Conference will be held at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead Hotel.

Mr Bertil Damato, Director of the Ocular Oncology Service at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, will deliver the George Giles Memorial Lecture; Prospects for change in the treatment of uveal melanoma. Mr Damato will be joined by key figures from the industry who will tackle a wide variety of topics. Highlights from the programme include:

• A visual field debate - Professors Chris Hammond and David Henson will debate whether visual field testing should be performed routinely on everybody over the age of 40
• VEG to VEGF: A revolution in macular degeneration treatment – will enable delegates to understand more about the symptoms and signs of wet AMD, methods for screening, referral and treatment
• Hands on clinical workshops, focusing on the peripheral retina, orthokeratology and Slit Lamp BIO
• Optical Coherence Tomography workshops - Nick Rumney will introduce delegates to the science behind OCT, an entirely new way of examining the eye.  The workshop will demonstrate clinical examples of OCT investigations and will enable delegates to experience the system for themselves 
• Crystal ball gazing, Dr Philip Morgan will be predicting the future for contact lenses 
• An anterior segment management quiz – delegates will improve their ability to diagnose accurately and learn more about treating conditions
• A review of the diagnosis, detection and management of binocular vision anomalies from Professor Bruce Evans
• Essential updates on record keeping and regulatory changes. Delegates will evaluate how their current practice activities comply with regulatory requirements and understand the likely impact of the findings of the GOS review on everyday practice
  

Commenting on the Conference, Kevin Lewis, College President said “Building on the success of this year’s event in Bristol we’ve used delegate feedback to develop a comprehensive two day lecture and workshop programme, offering something for everyone. The broad range of subjects and high calibre speakers will appeal to members from across the profession.”

Members will receive their copy of the programme shortly.  For further information please contact Ellen Barber on 020 7766 4342. 

  Conference brochure (PDF)