CEwire2015

AdminWolf

Site Administrator & Tech Lead
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http://www.cewire2015.com

I'm happy to announce the launch of CEwire2015, ODwire.org's Virtual CE conference!

We've gone all-out to give you A-list speakers (including a few ODwire.org regulars!) and 30+ COPE CE credits at a very low price.

The show will also have a virtual exhibit hall, with many vendors showing off their latest products (with some show specials!)

In addition to making it inexpensive to attend, profits from the event are going to charity.

Read up on why we're doing this at the official conference wiki, and ask questions in this thread.

Registration is open now,

We're looking forward to a fun show!

Thanks,
Adam, Paul & the all the folks at ODwire.org who volunteered & helped assemble the event!
 
And for those who are wondering, you can check your state's CE requirements here.

The table also shows you how much Internet CE you can do.

Enjoy!
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For the states that pulled a blank, check with your state board to determine if not responding was an oversight and on line credits are available.

Share that information with us.

A new era for Optometric Continuing Education begins.
 
Looking forward to signing up!

Hi David,

Look over the variety of speakers and topics.

You may decide to take advantage of the discount feature to allow your OD associates as well as staff to participate for an additional $100.

This should be the best value in optometric C/E. Best of all there are no vendor sponsored speakers. All speakers are being compensated by CEwire.

I hope our efforts can begin a trend in optometric CE.
 
Hi David,

Look over the variety of speakers and topics.

You may decide to take advantage of the discount feature to allow your OD associates as well as staff to participate for an additional $100.

This should be the best value in optometric C/E. Best of all there are no vendor sponsored speakers. All speakers are being compensated by CEwire.

I hope our efforts can begin a trend in optometric CE.
I'm there too!
 
View attachment 6453
http://www.cewire2015.com

I'm happy to announce the launch of CEwire2015, ODwire.org's Virtual CE conference!

We've gone all-out to give you A-list speakers (including a few ODwire.org regulars!) and 30+ COPE CE credits at a very low price.

The show will also have a virtual exhibit hall, with many vendors showing off their latest products (with some show specials!)

In addition to making it inexpensive to attend, profits from the event are going to charity.

Read up on why we're doing this at the official conference wiki, and ask questions in this thread.

Registration is open now, and early-bird pricing is in effect.

We're looking forward to a fun show!

Thanks,
Adam, Paul & the all the folks at ODwire.org who volunteered & helped assemble the event!
Genius! I signed up.
I think you're on to something.
 
The sign up process should be so simple that even I can manage it without breaking into a sweat.:oops:

There are literally thousands of moving pieces. Adam is a perfectionist and tested the system multiple times. you never can be certain he did not overlook something technical or our wording describing CEwire might be confusing.

Let us know if you run into a problem.it will be addressed immediately.

What do you think of the charities we selected?
 
The sign up process should be so simple that even I can manage it without breaking into a sweat.:oops:

There are literally thousands of moving pieces. Adam is a perfectionist and tested the system multiple times. you never can be certain he did not overlook something technical or our wording describing CEwire might be confusing.

Let us know if you run into a problem.it will be addressed immediately.

What do you think of the charities we selected?
It was pretty simple to negotiate. I do hate giving out the 3 digit security code though.

Not sure about the charities. What does the American Optometry Foundation do? I signed up for all three.

Editor's note: More about the American Optometric foundation (AOF)...
http://www.aaopt.org/aof
 
Holy ****! This looks amazing! I can't believe the speakers that will be there! I can't wait to see ninja suit man!
 
Holy ****! This looks amazing! I can't believe the speakers that will be there! I can't wait to see ninja suit man!

Thanks, Charlie! We hope everyone has a great time at the show.

Just a quick note on why we're doing this:

When we put the event together, we thought deeply about what we liked and hated about CE. I've taken a lot of online CE over the years, so for better or worse my experiences shaped the way CEwire evolved.

The most important thing is that we didn't just want to do a 'me too' show; that seemed pointless and boring.

Our goals were to make an interesting show that also provided a great deal of value for attendees. Since CE is mandatory for everyone, we wanted to give people an event that would make the experience fun, and that people could feel good about attending.

Right from the beginning, we realized that to do the sort of show that we wanted to do, the profit motive had to be removed from the equation.

When you try to maximize profits (which, bluntly, is the aim of many CE providers), your incentive is to limit course offerings and choices (since each additional lecture has costs associated with it), and/or try to get speakers who will work cheap or free.

We didn't want these sorts of perverse incentives limiting our event. So we took a different approach, disregarding the idea of profitability entirely. If the show is a hit and makes mad cash, then great -- more money for the charities we're supporting.

If not -- and we only break-even -- that's OK too! As long as the people who attended thought the conference was great.

The only disaster scenario is if the conference generates a big loss (ie, when my wife takes me out behind the house and shoots me...)

I'm confident that won't happen, but we are taking a gamble, offering 30+ hours with some of the best known and/or most interesting speakers we could find. And we're charging only $99 per registrant (or $199 for an entire office of docs.) By comparison, most events charge between $10 and $15 per credit hour.

We don't expect anyone to take all 30+ credits, but we're offering that many so that people will have a choice as to what they do take.

Because one of the most annoying aspects of online CE in my experience is being forced to take courses you didn't want, simply because so few were being offered at an event!
 
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I do hate giving out the 3 digit security code though.

Your credit card info is as safe as if you were shopping at - say- amazon. It is stored centrally on authorize.net's secure servers. It isn't even kept on our servers, or the servers running the event. So in other words, nothing to get nervous about.
 
Great job Adam and Paul. In NJ we need tons of credits and a lot are allowed and Thank you for including me in your speaker list.................Quite an honor!!!!!
 
I think with technology going the way it is this paradigm may be the template of the future in which state boards allow more CE online especially with a test at the end, the ability to interact with the speakers live and an exhibit hall that I'm sure will have "Show discounts" much like VEE VEW SECO etc.
 
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Great job Adam and Paul. In NJ we need tons of credits and a lot are allowed and Thank you for including me in your speaker list.................Quite an honor!!!!!

Thanks Steve, your talks are going to be great!

I will note that when we went out soliciting speakers, the folks we picked are ones that either had done an ODwire Webinar or Radio Show in the past (and didn't put us to sleep), or who were frequent contributors that we thought might want to share some tips or give us insight into what they do.

Even if they sometimes give me ulcers (Nelson, looking right at you! I'll be the first in line for your talk though, i'm curious to learn about how you do what you do...)
 
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Brilliant and the start of something big...very big!

lets hope! Or else i'm going to be sleeping on the couch for the next several years, lol..
 
Thanks Steve, your talks are going to be great!

I will note that when we went out soliciting speakers, the folks we picked are ones that either had done an ODwire Webinar or Radio Show in the past (and didn't put us to sleep), or who were frequent contributors that we thought might want to share some tips or give us insight into what they do.

Even if they sometimes give me ulcers (Nelson, looking right at you! I'll be the first in line for your talk though, i'm curious to learn about how you do what you do...)

They're ulcers of love. I only put that kind of effort into people that matter.
 
Holy balls, you can do all your CE in Indiana via correspondence? Sounds like heaven. I didn't realize there was such a huge variance between the states on that. I get "up to four hours". Woohoo.
 
Holy balls, you can do all your CE in Indiana via correspondence? Sounds like heaven. I didn't realize there was such a huge variance between the states on that. I get "up to four hours". Woohoo.

I'd suggest if you want to increase your # of allowed internet hours that you contact your state association, perhaps they can persuade the state board.
 
e and an exhibit hall that I'm sure will have "Show discounts" much like VEE VEW SECO etc.

We are egging on the vendors to offer show discounts, where appropriate.

You can see we only have 3-4 sponsors listed on the site so far, there are about a half-dozen more in the hopper that should be coming up this week (just waiting for them to send materials, etc..) Pharma of course can't offer discounts, but instrument manufacturers routinely do at shows.

If you are planning tp purchase equipment and can take advantage of a show discount, your cost of admission is effectively wiped out (heck, you may turn a profit just by registering for the event :) )
 
Not sure about the charities. What does the American Optometry Foundation do? I signed up for all three.
This is a good question, should add it to the FAQ.

Our intent with the charities was that if the conference managed to make any excess profits, we could put them straight back into organizations that either directly impacted patients OR advanced the science & practice of eye care. So you'd feel at least like your CE dollars weren't just being sucked into a black hole.

The three not-for-profits are very different, each has a different thrust, it took us a while to choose them.

* Prevent Blindness has been around for about 100 years; they set up screening exams for kids (amblyopia, etc), low-income and at-risk folks.

They also produce educational material that ~ 100 million people see each year. And they lobby the government on issues of importance to ECPs.


* The Lighthouse Guild (aka Lighthouse Int'l) you may be more familiar with, as it seems like most ODs have at one point or another had contact with a local chapter. They've also been around for about 100 years.

They focus on providing services for people with low vision, as well as funding and supporting vision research.

One of the coolest things they do (and the reason they were my top pick when we were putting this together) is that they operate a preschool for blind kids/kids with low vision.
It is an integrated school, so normally-sighted kids attend as well! I haven't heard of anything else like it.


* The American Optometric Foundation (AOF) -- is an affiliate of the AAO.
As they say, they are focused on "fostering, promoting and aiding of optometric education; the profession of optometry and its practitioners."

They support all sorts of educational initiatives, and have funds for fellowships, scholarships, and grants and awards.

More than a few ODwire.org members have been helped by the AOF over the years, so funds to the organization are literally going right back into helping advance eye care.


Hope it helps!

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I'd suggest if you want to increase your # of allowed internet hours that you contact your state association, perhaps they can persuade the state board.

I'd guess that is exactly backward. State associations are often beneficiaries of CE conferences and might be resistant to increasing the number of online hours allowed.
 
Holy balls, you can do all your CE in Indiana via correspondence? Sounds like heaven. I didn't realize there was such a huge variance between the states on that. I get "up to four hours". Woohoo.

I can get 8 of my 16. What's interesting is that you actually learn MORE via virtual conferences in my experience because you have no idea what material is going to be on the post lecture quiz, so you have to be more engaged PLUS you can take it a couple of hours at a time so your attention isn't fried.

I think that "live lecture" requirement is just the state board trying like hell to help the Universities maintain a revenue stream.
 
You are quite correct.

I know you guys are right, but to me the situation sounds backwards.

CE exists in order to protect the public, which is why the state boards decide how much, when, and where. I can see where they might resist, since by nature they need to be conservative.

But shouldn't your state associations represent the will of the membership? What members don't want to be able to take more CE online?
 
I know you guys are right, but to me the situation sounds backwards.

CE exists in order to protect the public, which is why the state boards decide how much, when, and where. I can see where they might resist, since by nature they need to be conservative.

But shouldn't your state associations represent the will of the membership? What members don't want to be able to take more CE online?

My point is that by not creating an undue burden on the doctors, making a wide palette of topic available like a menu and allowing them to do the CE in small bites according to their attention span AND in a format in which they're accountable for that attention span via quizzes, you ARE protecting the public by a few mechanisms dealing with retention of RELEVANT material.

For example, I deal with a ton of corneal disease. Do you realize how much unnecessary contact lens bs I have to listen to that means literally NOTHING to me simply because that's how the courses are bundled?

So, in essence, I take 8 hrs online of top quality, relevant material and then go to a live CE where I listen to 2 hrs and F off for another 6 because I couldn't care less about contact lens solution induced keratitis. Prior to doing that 8rs of online, it was listening to 2 hrs of relevant materials with 14hrs of stuff I couldn't care less about.

ALL optometric CE is like that unless you go to one of a few large, expensive meetings where you hope there aren't scheduling conflicts with the classes you want.

I think this has a very DIRECT effect on protecting the public. Mike Ohlson and I cry on the phone a lot and beat our heads against the wall on a regular basis because 99 times out of a hundred, the things that are better for optometry ARE better for the public and vice versa.
 
The good of the public is the good of optometry.

That may or may not be popular with ODs, optometric special interests, or the public. Depends on the subject, doesn't it?

Overall, protecting our patients and doing the best thing seems to be the reasonable path IMO. People disagree. I know.
 
Couple more parallel thoughts on effective CE.

Identifying knowledge gaps and addressing them to affect the public health is the ideal. Ideals seem to be slipping away. Maybe I'm wrong.

Adult learning theory has merit.

Millennials are used to and expect a different world.

Accountability and transparency trends won't go away.

Change will get you killed. Not changing will get everyone killed.

CE needs to reflect the needs and the practice of the learner.

However, we usually don't know what we don't know. It's upsetting.
 
Holy balls, you can do all your CE in Indiana via correspondence? Sounds like heaven. I didn't realize there was such a huge variance between the states on that. I get "up to four hours". Woohoo.

You can do 20 OLDPAC pharma in Indiana but you can not do all your IOB hours online. You need 20 of each every 2 years so 40 total.
 
For Missouri I've done all mine online or fax in since 2006 or so.

1/3 of us get audited in any given cycle and I've passed at least two that I can remember so it must be all good.

hi tom, that's encouraging news; if you could pass along our info to your fellow MO docs, it would be great (we could help them get all their credits in one fell swoop, if the chart is to be believed.)
 
hi tom, that's encouraging news; if you could pass along our info to your fellow MO docs, it would be great (we could help them get all their credits in one fell swoop, if the chart is to be believed.)

I'll double check.

One problem is that our reporting periods are 32 hours in two years but IIRC we have to get 16 per year. Is there a way to make the CE available for up to one year or will that take up too much space on the servers? Because otherwise we wouldn't be able to get it all in one swoop.

Then again, I guess the ideas are for people to only take the CE they want, so you wouldn't necessarily take all 32 hours, and also for people to come back and pay next year;)
 
I'll double check.

One problem is that our reporting periods are 32 hours in two years but IIRC we have to get 16 per year. Is there a way to make the CE available for up to one year or will that take up too much space on the servers? Because otherwise we wouldn't be able to get it all in one swoop.

Then again, I guess the ideas are for people to only take the CE they want, so you wouldn't necessarily take all 32 hours, and also for people to come back and pay next year;)

The reason we priced it so rock-bottom low is because we want the conference to be affordable, even if you only take 1/2 of the credits.

As for more lectures in 2016, stay tuned....

if the response is good, this will be a recurring thing. But we need two things -- 1) lots of people to participate and 2) continued allowance of online CE. High attendance will speak louder than we possibly can.
 
The reason we priced it so rock-bottom low is because we want the conference to be affordable, even if you only take 1/2 of the credits.

As for more lectures in 2016, stay tuned....

if the response is good, this will be a recurring thing. But we need two things -- 1) lots of people to participate and 2) continued allowance of online CE. High attendance will speak louder than we possibly can.


Here we go:

Effective with the two- (2-) year continu-
ing education reporting period beginning on
November 1, 2008, every optometrist current-
ly licensed in Missouri shall obtain a mini-
mum of thirty-two (32) hours of approved con-
tinuing education (herein “C.E.” credits)
relevant to the practice of optometry. Any
hours acquired beyond the required number
may be carried forward into the next renewal
period not to exceed sixteen (16)
hours

So there is no 16/year requirement, it looks like it reads 32/2 year cycle. So a MO optometrist can get their whole two years knocked out in one shot.

And I didn't realize that we can carry forward 16 hours into the next cycle. Which means MO ODs could do the ODWire thing this year and next.

And I couldn't find anything in the statutes limiting online courses. Main thing is they either have to be COPE approved or in a major meeting (SECO, Heart of America, AAO, AOA, etc.). If not either of those then it won't count for Missouri unless a copy of the outline of the program is submitted to the Missouri board at least 30 days prior to the meeting and the CE sponsor fee is paid.

So is it all COPE approved? Because I drive by the COPE office in St. Louis twice a day, I can go up there and knock some heads if you need me to :)
 
So is it all COPE approved? Because I drive by the COPE office in St. Louis twice a day, I can go up there and knock some heads if you need me to :)

Yes, we are getting COPE approval for all the talks that are being given -- from A to Z.

This is one way that we are differentiating the conference from others, we aren't playing around with courses that can't be or won't be approved.

It is expensive to do this -- we are footing the bill for re-submitting all the speaker's courses to COPE (a requirement -- you must get re-approved for online usage.)

So.. we're hopeful that everyone will sign up and attend.

thanks!
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