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American Board of Certification in Medical Optometry

Director Emeritus Alden Haffner, O.D.

Dr. Haffner served on the ABCMO Board of Directors as Trustee for Public Health 2009-2016. After his death in 2016 Dr. Haffner was honored by being elected Director Emeritus.

Alden HaffnerDr. Haffner received the B.A. degree from Brooklyn College and his O.D. degree from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. After service in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps, he attended the Graduate School of Public Health Administration of New York University from which he was awarded the M.P.A. and Ph.D. degrees.

He founded and then served as Executive Director of the Optometric Center of New York, located in New York City, from 1957 to 1971 prior to being appointed founding President of the State College of Optometry, State University of New York (SUNY) located in Manhattan, where he served from 1971 to 1978 and was then appointed in 1978 to serve in Albany, N.Y. as Vice Chancellor for Research, Graduate Studies and Professional Programs of the SUNY system of universities. In 1988 he resumed his position of President at the State College of Optometry until his retirement a few years ago.

Dr. Haffner was the author of over 250 published scientific papers, editorials and articles and held appointment as a member of the Special Medical Advisory Group to the Under Secretary of Health Affairs at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C., from 1987 through 2012. Earlier in his distinguished career he played a key role in organizing and participating in the famous “LaGuardia Meeting” that led to greatly expanded medical and diagnostic training at schools and colleges of optometry and the subsequent modernization of state optometry licensing laws that continues to this day.

He was a longtime Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, member of the American Optometric Association, and served in leadership positions at both these organizations and as president of the national Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry.

Dr. Haffner lived in Manhattan and sat on the boards of numerous charitable organizations and was a notable patron of the arts. A recipient of numerous awards and citations, he was a strong advocate for the integration of optometry training and practice in medical education and treatment centers and was an advocate of effective and equitable health policy.

Email Updates

ABCMO News

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  • Newsletter – ABCMO News and Updates – May 2022
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  • Newsletter – ABCMO News and Updates – September 2021
  • Newsletter – ABCMO News and Updates – January 2021

Reflections – Articles of Interest and Editorials

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Comments are welcome and can be sent to editor@abcmo.org for publication under the author's name.

Certification Requirements

The following are in addition to an O.D. degree from an accredited North American school or college of optometry and a current state license to practice.

Residency: Completion of a full-time, ACOE (or equivalent) accredited, postgraduate clinical residency training program having major emphasis on medical optometry.

ACMO Exam: Passage of the Advanced Competence in Medical Optometry exam (or equivalent) offered by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry.

Practice: Documented significant practice of medical optometry for a minimum of two years immediately prior to application for certification.

The Practice requirement is waived in the two years immediately following residency training.

Complete Application and Requirements

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