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American Board of Certification in Medical Optometry

Filed Under: Board Certification, Medical Optometry

Presentation to ARBO

When the ABCMO was invited to brief the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry (ARBO) Dr. Ken Myers stressed that “board certification” for general practice optometrists was not required, proposed or contemplated by any health care organization and, specifically, was not part of the recently passed “Health Care Reform Act of 2010”. He explained this was because the Joint Commission On Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations affirmed, in 1986, that while specialists are expected by accredited healthcare facilities to be board certified in their specialty, defined-license, independent prescribing practitioners such as dentists, optometrists, audiologists and psychologists are eligible to be granted those privileges supported by their degrees and state practice acts and need no additional credentials to be granted medical staff membership and general practice clinical privileges.

This reflects the fact board certification is used to denote advanced competence in a specialty of the profession in which a practitioner is licensed and this advanced competence is achieved by additional, accredited, post-graduate clinical residency training, passage of a written examination testing that advanced competence in the specialty followed by certification by a specialty board. Thus there is no need, or precedence, for requiring additional credentials of those engaged in the general practice of a defined-license, independent prescribing profession as they are within the authority of their respective state practice acts.

Read the full presentation to ARBO (PDF)

June 14, 2010

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ABCMO News & Updates

  • Advanced Competence in Medical Optometry Exam – June 11, 2021
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Reflections

Articles of Interest, Editorials and Comments

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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

Advanced Competence in Medical Optometry Exam

The next Advanced Competence in Medical Optometry exam will be administered at over 220 U.S. Pearson VUE Professional Centers on Friday, June 11, 2021.

Click here to learn more…

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