ACCREDITATION and CE
Optometrists
SECO makes every effort to secure accreditation for optometrist continuing education courses/workshops as appropriate through:
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- Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE)
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- Florida, South Carolina, and Texas CE Broker
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- Kentucky Board of Optometry Expanded Therapeutic Procedures
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- General Optical Council (GOC)
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- Continuing Education and Training (CET)
SECO does not guarantee that certifying agents will accredit or that licensing authorities will accept accreditation of any course presented during a meeting. Attendees must be familiar with the requirements for any licensing agencies, boards, etc. to which education attendance may be reported.
SECO International will report CE attendance to ARBO for attendees who provide their OE Tracker number when they register to attend within 30 days following the SECO Congress. Florida and South Carolina licensed professionals who provide information exactly as it appears on their license will have attendance information submitted to CE Broker within 30 day after completion. Attendance records are retained for at least five years.
SECO recommends that attendees be familiar with their licensing requirements. Attendees who fail to comply with attendance requirements during a course will not receive continuing education credit for that course. All optometrist continuing education courses provided by SECO International are strictly monitored to comply with licensing board regulations for accreditation and within The Optometric Guidelines for Independent Continuing Education (ICE).
Ophthalmic Professionals
SECO makes every effort to secure accreditation for ophthalmic professional education courses and learning labs based on accreditation regulations from the appropriate boards, such as ABO, NCLE, AOA PARA, NC Opticians Board, and FL/SC CE Broker.
All courses will be listed as pending until final approval is received; it is the attendee's responsibility to guarantee that courses have received final approval before attending courses.
SECO will make the levels and categories of courses available on the course listing when final approval is granted.
SECO will keep all attendance records for at least 5 years.
LICENSED DISPENSING OPTICIANS (LDO)
SECO will only submit continuing education credits for those with licenses in Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina if the proper license number is provided during registration. Attendees are responsible for submitting CE to ABO, NCLE, and the applicable state boards.
SECO will submit for state approval from the following state Licensed Dispensing Optician boards: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The majority of state boards require the courses to first be ABO and/or NCLE approved, therefore, for some, only ABO and/or NCLE courses will be applicable to their state license. The attendee is responsible for verifying all state requirements before attending courses and subsequently reporting of attendance.
SECO will only submit continuing education credits for those with licenses in Florida and South Carolina if the proper license number is provided during registration. Attendees are responsible for submitting CE to ABO, NCLE, and the applicable state boards.
Opticianry State Licensing Boards: Click here for more.
OPTICIANRY AND CONTACT LENSES
The American Board of Opticianry (ABO) and the National Contact Lens Examiners (NCLE) governs the following certifications: American Board of Opticianry Certification (ABOC), ABO Advanced Certification (ABO-AC), ABO Masters Certification (ABOM), National Contact Lens Certification (NCLEC), NCLE Advanced Certification (NCLE-AC), and NCLE Masters Certification (NCLEM).
Courses will be designated either General Knowledge or Technical; if Technical, courses can be Level I (basic), Level II (intermediate) or Level III (advanced).
AOA PARAOPTOMETRICS (CPO, CPOA, CPOT, CPOC)
All ophthalmic professional and team-centered courses presented at SECO will be submitted to the American Optometric Association Paraoptometric (AOA PARA) Section. The AOA PARA Section covers the following certifications: Certified Paraoptometric (CPO), Certified Paraoptometric Assistant (CPOA), Certified Paraoptometric Technician (CPOT), and Paraoptometric Coding Certification (CPOC).
Those who hold a designation of CPO, CPOA or CPOT must earn a minimum of 18 hours in continuing education every three years and provide proof of this CE credit to the CPC by Nov. 1 of their renewal year. All CE credit hours submitted for recertification must have been attained prior to the recertification deadline date and during the current 3-year renewal cycle.
Attendees will be responsible for reporting all CE to AOA PARA.
Find the full listing of certifications and requirements: Click here for more.