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Half-price registration for recently qualified practitioners attending for the first time is one of a range of new features for the British Contact Lens Association's 2010 Clinical Conference and Exhibition designed to broaden the event's appeal.
Patron Sponsor - New Delegates is Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, which will be supporting first-time attendees who have qualified in the past 10 years by paying half their full conference delegate fee. Patron Sponsor is CIBA Vision, which will host the official Friday evening party.
A new conference team, with scientific programme consultant Chris Kerr, has taken a fresh look at the programme with the aim of attracting practitioners of all levels of experience.
A 'Primary contact lens practice' session is for those new to and returning to contact lens practice. Chaired by Dr Carole Maldonado-Codina and with speakers including Professor Nathan Efron and Sarah Morgan, this session will discuss the benefits of contact lenses, the latest products, and how to gain confidence in fitting them.
A management and compliance session with a new slant, 'Patient and staff management for optimal clinical care' will bring together experienced clinicians and researchers to provide tips on communicating with patients, and training and motivating staff. Speakers will include optometrists Craig Wilcox and Sarah Morgan, and Professors Bruce Evans and Lyndon Jones.
Specialist interest
For more experienced practitioners and those with a specialist interest, Thursday will be Therapeutics Day at the BCLA as the opening sessions provide teaching in therapeutic optometry. Chairman Professor John Lawrenson of City University will describe the current state of play on therapeutics in the UK and Professor David Evans from the University of Berkeley, California then delivers an overview of pharmacological management of anterior segment disease. The programme will also include a Peer Review Group for therapeutic prescribers.
Other presentations will look behind the cornea, as US retinal expert Professor Cristina Kenny provides an update on nutrition and age-related macular degeneration, and Dr Owen Anderson presents a timely review of current thinking on glaucoma management in light of new guidance on referral.
In the afternoon session, the conference hosts an international workshop on meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), chaired by Dr Eric Papas and introduced by ophthalmologist Professor Tony Bron. Fifty leading experts have conducted a year-long study on MGD, possibly the leading cause of dry eye, and their recommendations will be presented here for the first time.
Rapid-fire delivery of the latest research has been a popular addition to recent conferences. This year will see a new session of short presentations on specialist contact lenses with tips to take back to the consulting room.
Another addition to stimulate debate is a 'Hot topics' session aimed at ensuring the industry's very latest issues are aired, with topics chosen up to a month before the conference opens. Topics might include a revolutionary new instrument or technique, a new fitting strategy or modality.
Infection control
Infection and extended wear are always controversial topics and will be key themes at this year's conference. Keynote speaker Professor Suzi Fleiszig from the University of Berkeley, California has spent many years researching the mechanisms of ocular infection. Her review of bacterial corneal infections will be followed by a presentation by her husband, Professor David Evans, posing the question: 'Will contact lens infections ever be eliminated?'
The session will also cover an issue of particular current interest - infection control. Ophthalmologist Professor Roger Buckley will introduce bacteriologist Professor Sir Hugh Pennington of the University of Aberdeen, best known for chairing public inquiries into E coli outbreaks in Scotland and Wales.
Continuing the theme, The Sunday Debate is a new feature that will give delegates the chance to state their views on one of the most contentious issues in contact lenses. Professor Fleiszig will open the debate with the question: 'If I wore contact lenses, would I sleep in them?' The viability of extended wear with modern silicone hydrogels will then be contested by Professor Brien Holden and Dr Philip Morgan and an opposing team of Professor Lyndon Jones and Professor Mark Willcox.
Another first for the BCLA is a full morning symposium on corneal ectasia, chaired by Australian researcher Professor Charles McMonnies. The symposium will include a round-table discussion on the future management of keratoconus by UK and international experts in this area, including keynote speaker Professor Kenney.
Clinical perspective
Posters are an important element of the conference and often have information relevant to everyday practice. To help delegates identify useful research findings and put them in a clinical perspective, Dr Shehzad Naroo and Professor James Wolffsohn will take delegates on a virtual tour of the conference poster session and recent publications, highlighting contributions of particular significance.
Emerging technologies such as ocular coherence tomography, aberrometry and refractometers are transforming consulting room techniques and metrics. In a special session on these technologies, Dr Michael Twa from the University of Houston, Texas will provide a glimpse of the consulting room of the future. Optometrist Nick Rumney will describe OCT as 'the new topography' and Optician clinical editor Bill Harvey will advise on when and what OCT to buy.
'Anti myopia' is an internationally very significant topic that has implications for all eye care professionals. New studies are now emerging on the potential for controlling myopia. Led by Professor Brien Holden and featuring some of the world's authorities in the field, this session will look at the current state of play and future for myopia control.
Dr Padmaja Sankaridurg from the Institute for Eye Research, Australia and Professor Earl Smith III of the University of Texas will guide delegates through the latest research and Dr Rick Weisbarth will discuss patient management aspects of myopia control. John Philips will describe myopia control technology and contact lens design.
Small-group teaching
There is also a new programme of workshops and presentations compiled by Marcella McParland, who joined the conference team this year. Seven workshops on essential clinical techniques and new products will have a maximum of six delegates to each clinical demonstrator. Five clinical presentations will provide small-group teaching on a broad range of topics, from case studies to practice management.
Completing the line-up, a specially designed Training Day for Medics, held for the first time at the 2009 conference, will feature three ophthalmologists experienced in contact lenses presenting the latest developments in medical contact lens practice.
Away from the lecture halls, social events this year include Friday evening's Patron's Party and Saturday's gala dinner, the Masquerade Ball. Accompanying persons can choose from a tour of Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter and Museum, or, continuing the topical theme, a visit to Cadbury's World!
The 2010 conference will be the first to be organised by the new team, so how will the programme compare with previous years? Chris Kerr says he hopes that, with a fresh approach and broad appeal, this year's event will be even more successful and attract those who are yet to experience a BCLA conference.
'We've worked hard to put together something really different this year. We've brought in many new faces alongside more familiar presenters. And we've made sure that there's a topical element to each day - in fact each session has a "twist" to it, whether it's presenting new information or giving it a different slant. It all adds up to a very lively and enjoyable event.'
? BCLA 2010 runs from May 27-30 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel, NEC, Birmingham. Four days of conference cost from £175. Day delegate and student rates are available. Download a conference brochure at www.bcla.org.uk and book online by March 12 for maximum savings. Last year's programme was approved for more than 40 CL CET points. The free exhibition runs from Friday to Sunday and is open to non-delegates as well as delegates. Optician will preview the exhibition in the May 7 CLM issue