CPC-Approved Continuing Education
Continuing education (CE) allows paraoptometrics to stay current and study various topics ranging from direct patient care to office competency.
CPC-approved education listing
CPC Approved Education Listing
2024 Education Review Guidelines
Application for CE Review and Approval
Contact the CPC at cpc@aoa.org for CE forms for any of the approved courses and a listing of acceptable online education sponsors or courses.
Continuing Education and Professional Development for Paraoptometrics
The AOA Education Center provides a variety of continuing education resources.
Not all educational opportunities are for certification requirements but serve as resources for those optometric staff new to the field or for those experienced staff interested in keeping up with changes in optometry.
Opportunities for complementary continuing education are offered each year to members. To receive credit, those interested must successfully complete each course. Some courses may require passing a quiz in order to receive credit.
Another way to earn continuing education (CE) credits is by writing new items (questions) that may be used on the paraoptometric examinations. Who should participate? Any certified paraoptometric looking for a way to earn CE toward renewal of their certification or who may be interested in joining the CPC Item Review or Test Development Committee. Contact cpc@aoa.org for more information before completing the CPC Item-Writing Training course.
CPC Item-Writing Training Course
If you cannot access our online CE opportunities, please contact the Education Center.
Volunteer services
The CPC will award CE credit to paraoptometrics for volunteering. This can be done in a variety of ways.
Volunteering eye care related services within your community, or in underserved or overseas communities, are some examples of services that may be considered for continuing education credit.
If you are a AOA member and enjoy sharing your knowledge and expertise you can volunteer to help in the development of educational content. Simply reach out to the AOA Education Center at educationcenter@aoa.org.
For more information on committee involvement, contact cpc@aoa.org or educationcenter@aoa.org
Continuing Education Review Application and Forms
The CPC CE approval requirement is 18 hours for paraoptometrics renewing their current certification. Paraoptometrics are required to submit a minimum of nine hours of education that has been approved by CPC; the remaining nine credits may be a combination of credits that have been approved by CPC/AOA, ABO, NCLE, JCAHPO or COPE.
To begin the review process, a single form that provides event details, contact information, speaker qualifications and course information is to be completed and submitted electronically. Up to 10 attachments may be submitted on a single form.
Speaker qualifications: A current resumé or CV for each speaker is required.
Course information: A detailed and timed outline is required. Outlines must include the course title, speaker name, total length of the presentation, level (beginner, intermediate, advanced), domain or topic area, course description, course objectives and a detailed account of what will be presented.
Submissions lacking documentation will be rejected.
Hints: To avoid having to complete multiple forms for your meeting, you may combine documents for speakers presenting multiple courses into one document for each speaker. On -time submissions will be received by the CPC at least eight weeks in advance of the event/presentation.
See the education review guidelines for the fee schedule.
Reviews are completed within 2–3 weeks of receipt of the complete submission. Once education is approved, CPC will email the contact listed on the application with an approval letter, invoice for the review and a formatted CE template for each approved course.
Requesting Continuing Education Forms for Pre-Approved Courses
Education sponsors can request CE form templates for courses that have already received CPC approval by contacting the CPC. Providers may utilize the list of CPC-approved courses , available (above) , to aid them in the selection of pre-approved courses.
Provide the course name, speaker name and length of the course (number of credits approved) along with the CPC course ID number, if known, when submitting additional courses to CPC for review and approval. All CE form templates will be emailed to the contact listed on the application cover sheet once the review has been completed.
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