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American Board of Certification in Medical Optometry

Filed Under: Medical Optometry

VA Residency Supervision Requirements

The great majority of medical optometry residencies are funded and operated within U.S. Veterans Administration medical facilities which are accredited by the Joint Commission with their optometry residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education via their academic affiliations.

The standard joint agreements between VA medical facilities and their affiliated schools of optometry specify VA medical facilities retain responsibility for the administration and supervision of its residency programs and the patient care rendered by optometry residents.

All Joint Commission accredited medical facilities with residency training programs in medicine, dentistry, optometry and/or podiatry, whether at VA or other sites, are required to meet Joint Commission regulations on residency supervision. In addition, medical facilities billing Medicare must meet Medicare requirements on the supervision of residents and the type of care they may independently provide.

These regulations, as they apply to VA residents, are ably summarized by the Veterans Health Administration Office of Academic Affiliations in the “Pocket Card” linked below.

ABCMO requires medical optometry residents based at Joint Commission accredited medical facilities be supervised per these regulations as they represent current “best practices”.

Resident Supervision – Attending Practitioner Responsibilities for Physician, Dental, Optometry, & Podiatry Residents – Pocket Card (PDF)

January 5, 2016

ABCMO News, Updates & Editorials


ABCMO News & Updates

  • Advanced Competence in Medical Optometry Exam – June 11, 2021
  • Background Information – Article 19 – Maintenance of Certification (MOC)
  • Accept No Substitutes
  • Who Knows You Are Board Certified?

Reflections

Articles of Interest, Editorials and Comments

  • Eight Steps to Ensure the Professional Standing of Optometry
  • Dying in a Leadership Vacuum
  • So You Want to be a Doctor?
  • Delivering Health Care at a Retail Clinic

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…

Veterans/Military

  • Optometry Careers at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
  • Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) and Financial Assistance Program (FAP)
  • Uniformed Services University
  • Other Resources

  • Review of Opthalmology
  • Optometric Retina Society
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