The World Council of Optometry (WCO) is a membership organization for the development of optometry (eye care) internationally. [1] The WCO is the first and only optometric organization to have official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO) [1] which represents 250,000 optometrists from 75 member organizations in over 40 countries. [2] The WCO organizes the World Congress of Optometry. [3]
In 2015, the WCO relocated to the American Optometric Association (AOA) headquarters in St Louis, Missouri, United States. [4]
In 2024, the WCO meeting held in Melbourne, Australia. [5]
Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive eye care.
The British Optical Association (BOA) was founded in February 1895 as the first professional body for ophthalmic opticians (optometrists) in the world. The British Optical Association Museum and Library was founded in 1901; it retains the BOA name but is now part of the College of Optometrists, located in Craven Street, Charing Cross, central London.
Midwestern University (MWU) is a private medical and professional school with campuses in Downers Grove, Illinois and Glendale, Arizona. As of the 2022–23 academic year, a total of 2,758 students were enrolled at the Downers Grove campus and 3,782 were enrolled at the Glendale campus.
Saint Louis University Hospital is a 356-bed non-profit, research and academic medical center located in St. Louis, Missouri, providing tertiary care for the east Missouri region. The medical center is a part of the SSM Health System and is affiliated with the Saint Louis University School of Medicine. SLUH features an ACS designated adult Level 1 Trauma Center and has a helipad to handle medevac patients.
Vision therapy (VT), or behavioral optometry, is an umbrella term for alternative medicine treatments using eye exercises, based around the pseudoscientific claim that vision problems are the true underlying cause of learning difficulties, particularly in children. Vision therapy has not been shown to be effective using scientific studies, except for helping with convergence insufficiency. Most claims—for example that the therapy can address neurological, educational, and spatial difficulties—lack supporting evidence. Neither the American Academy of Pediatrics nor the American Academy of Ophthalmology support the use of vision therapy.
The College of Optometrists is the professional, scientific and examining body for optometry in the United Kingdom, working for the public benefit. Their headquarters is at 41-42 Craven Street, London WC2, of which no 41 is a Grade II listed building.
The American Optometric Association (AOA), founded in 1898, represents approximately 37,000 doctors of optometry, optometry students and para-optometric assistants and technicians in the United States.
The American Academy of Optometry (AAO) is an organization of optometrists based in Orlando, Florida. Its goal is to maintain and enhance excellence in optometric practice, by both promoting research and the dissemination of knowledge.
The School of Optometry and Vision Science is one of the professional schools at the University of Waterloo. It is a school within the university's Faculty of Science and is the larger of the two optometry schools in Canada. The School is the only English speaking Optometry School in the country; the Francophone Université de Montréal program operates in Quebec.
Marshall B. Ketchum University is a private university focused on graduate programs in healthcare and located in Fullerton, California. MBKU expanded from the Southern California College of Optometry which was founded in 1904. The university was officially established as a multidisciplinary university with the addition of School of PA Studies in 2011 and College of Pharmacy in 2013. Along with Hope International University, the campus bookends the north and south sides of the Cal State Fullerton campus respectively.
The Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science at the University of California, Berkeley is an optometry school at the University of California, Berkeley. It offers a graduate-level, four-year professional program leading to the Doctor of Optometry degree (OD), and a one-year, ACOE-accredited residency program in clinical optometry specialties. It is also the home department for the multidisciplinary Vision Science Group at UC Berkeley, whose graduate students earn either MS or PhD degrees.
The University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) is a public research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Established in 1963, it is the newest of the four universities in the University of Missouri System. Located on the former grounds of Bellerive Country Club, the university's campus stretches into the municipalities of Bellerive, Bel-Nor and Normandy. Additional facilities are located at the former site of Marillac College and at Grand Center, both in St. Louis city.
The eye care system in Ghana can be said to be one in its infant or growing stages. Today there are less than 300 eye care professionals taking care of the eye needs of over 23 million Ghanaians.
William Patterson MacCracken Jr. was the first U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics. His department was awarded the Collier Trophy of 1928 for its contribution to the "development of airways and air navigation facilities". Later he was convicted of contempt of congress in the Air Mail scandal in 1934.
Norman Rex Ghormley was an American optometrist who held leadership roles with the American Academy of Optometry and served as an optometrist for collegiate and professional sports teams.
Konrad Pesudovs is an Australian optometrist and outcomes researcher in ophthalmology; recognised as the leading optometrist researcher worldwide in terms of H-Index and total citations. He is SHARP Professor of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of New South Wales (2020-). He was the Foundation Chair of Optometry and Vision Science at Flinders University from 2009 to 2017.
Henry W. Hofstetter was an American optometrist and the author of two books and 500 research papers. He is a past president of the American Optometric Association and a member of the National Optometry Hall of Fame.
The Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI) is an Australian nonprofit non-governmental organization with an international focus on eye care research and vision care delivery. Formerly the Institute for Eye Research, in 2010, it was renamed in recognition of co-founder and optometrist Professor Brien Holden OAM, a 1997 recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia for his contributions to eye care research.
The Association of Optometrists (AOP) is the leading representative membership organisation for optometrists in the United Kingdom.
Irvin M. Borish was an American optometrist who is widely considered "The Father of Modern Optometry". Even though he entered the field of optometry because his family could only afford to pay for two years of college, he left a lasting impression in the field. He wrote one of the most renowned textbooks of optometry, Clinical Refraction. He worked to create several educational and research institutions for optometry. He also lobbied tirelessly to establish optometry as a mainstream medical practice. His contribution to optometry has been recognized through prestigious awards and recognition from his peers.
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