The former Practice Opportunities Symposium will become part of the new practice management curriculum.
A revitalized practice management curriculum is being introduced at Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) in response to the real-world needs of the profession. Beginning in fall 2016, students in the ICO entering class will experience enhanced programming to best prepare them to handle the business aspects of optometry.
ICO says practice management fundamentals have always been part of the curriculum but have historically been a small component of the overall required hours. The enhancements add workshops, group activities and online assignments that increase the amount of practice management material by 60%. Enterprising students can also opt in to an elective track containing an additional 100 hours of content. The curriculum enhancements will be phased in over four years and fully explore the ethical, legal, administrative, financial and clinical issues involved in practice management.
The new programming, developed as ICO’s Quality Initiative Project for the Higher Learning Commission, comes as a direct result of feedback from practicing alumni and student exit surveys.