Optometry degree in the UK, practicing in Canada

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Just to make it clear, my complain is not with UK trained ODs completing the bridging program, but with the IOBP itself.

You've got to ask yourself, if the majority of the applicants are failing, than the program is not adequate enough to begin with.

66% fail rate? I mean, I know my Calculus II final was hard, but the majority of the class passed.

Whats worse is that people who fail the IOBP, are allowed to repeat the part that they only failed! That is a big WTF. I mean, this makes no sense whatsoever.

Its like hey, give us $30,000 and we'll give you license to practice Optometry!

I don't understand why the IOBP has not been shut down yet.


Edit: I think it costs $30,000 for the IOBP. You can imagine how much money waterloo makes off of this.

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I suppose you don't have any evidence to support your suggestion that UK grads who have gone through the IOBP provide inferior quality of care. Otherwise I'm sure you would've stated it.

I suppose you don't have any evidence to support your suggestion that UK grads who have gone through the IOBP provide equal quality of care. Otherwise I'm sure you would've stated it.

And look again. I haven't said anywhere that UK grads provide inferior quality of care. I just don't think it's fair to recognize the UK education as equal to UW OD just based on anecdotes and assumptions. Prove it. And again - the burden of proof is on you since you choose to present foreign qualifications.
 
I don't think theres anything to prove once you passed the boards and are licensed.

The IOBP is obviously profiting Waterloo and since they are the only English speaking optometry school in all of Canada, they have monopoly over a business like this. I don't really see it changing too much in the future just because of this business situation.

You can complain that people who do the IOBP are inferior but in the end, they are still getting licensed and making the same amount of money as you, getting to call themselves "doctors" without even having a doctorate.

Is this fair? Maybe not, but I think there are a lot of politics in play here. Most Canadians opt to go to the UK or US for optometry school and return. I have not heard of anyone going to Ethiopia or India or the Caribbean for optometry school. Maybe there should be some communication of licensure to UK schools in order to make it a more "legit" route. I don't think Waterloo is going to care because this would make more difficult for them to obtain money. Once they start doing this, the number of applicants would decrease, more qualified applicants would apply and they would make a lot less money.

The facts are that the IOBP is here. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but your opinion doesn't really change anything. UW grad, UK grad who did IOBP and passed boards = optometrists. If you would like to lobby for change, go ahead. It's helpful to be more open minded and see both sides of the story.
 
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New Registration Policies

The College has submitted a proposed Registration Regulation to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC). The draft includes a provision that allows internationally educated optometrists who have completed a bridging program in Ontario to be eligible for registration. College recognition of optometrists who have been educated in another jurisdiction and whose knowledge, training, skill and judgment are equivalent to a graduate of the University of Waterloo School of Optometry, is in the best interest of the public of Ontario. Unfortunately, until the proposed Registration Regulation takes effect, the College cannot recognize the academic qualifications of internationally educated optometrists who require bridging in Ontario. Related to this, the Council believes that in order to meet the educational requirement for registration, an applicant must have a degree in optometry.​

The Council has decided that an applicant who does not have a degree in optometry will still be eligible for registration in Ontario upon successful completion of the IOBP Bridging One or IOBP Bridging Two as long as their application was completed, submitted and accepted by the IOBP prior to June 15, 2011. An internationally educated applicant who does have a degree in optometry will still be eligible for registration in Ontario upon successful completion of the IOBP Bridging One or IOBP Bridging Two as long as their application was completed, submitted and accepted by the IOBP prior to September 1, 2011.​
 
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what do they mean by degree in optometry? as in opthalmologists are no longer eligible for the IOBP? or the IOBP is going to be completely eradicated after sept 1, 2011.

The draft includes a provision that allows internationally educated optometrists who have completed a bridging program in Ontario to be eligible for registration.

Isnt that already the case? IOBP grads are registered?

I'm so confused with what this even means...
 
OAO Executive Summary on IOBP (released July 22, 2011; Dr. Freddo, director of UWSO resigned June 23 due to internal discord within UWSO)

The OAO has always supported the integration of International Optometric Graduates (IOGs) into the profession. We believe that this is best done through a program that ensures that all IOGs have the knowledge, skill, and judgment equivalent to current graduates of North American optometry schools in a manner which is transparent, objective, impartial, and fair.
The OAO does not support the continuation of the International Optometric Bridging Program

(IOBP) at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry (UWSO) in its current format.

To our knowledge, the IOBP has accepted students with substantially less education than North American optometry graduates and has deemed their training to be equivalent, or nearly equivalent. In doing so, we believe that the IOBP cannot, in either 8 weeks (Bridging 1) or in one year (Bridging 2), be effective in graduating IOGs who will consistently be on par with Canadian and
US graduates. Indeed, US optometry schools with international programs require their IOGs to complete between two and four years of a full time program tomeet the academic requirements for registration.

Our position is based on one of the OAO’s key governing principles:
EDUCATION
High educational standards:
a. Provide Ontario optometrists with the foundation to give the best in primary eye
and vision care to the citizens of our province.

b. Are instrumental in building the optometry brand as we continue to integrate
optometry into primary healthcare teams.
c. Are critical for scope expansion. In Ontario, our educational background was reviewed before optometrists were granted the authority to prescribe TPAs, including the independent management of glaucoma. Optometrists’ educational standards will also be important considerations in any future requests for scope expansion and/or other privileges.

The IOBP is not the discontinued two-year program that UWSO alumni may recall whereby IOGs were integrated into the third and fourth years of optometryschool and received a Doctor of Optometry degree upon completion of that
program.

We do not support the admission of non-optometrists into the profession of optometry. The program was intended for optometrists, yet we understand that nearly half of IOGs are ophthalmologists.

Ontario Dentistry has similar professional and educational requirements to optometry. Most internationally-trained dentists require a two year, degree completion program to meet the educational requirements to practice in Canada.

A critical component of determining whether a foreign-trained applicant may access a profession is academic credentialing. This process determines how a foreign-trained applicant’s previous education compares to that of a North
American-trained professional. Publicly available information confirms that the
College of Optometrists of Ontario has been unable to obtain the data required to determine if the IOBP’s credentialing method is impartial and objective.

Without transparency from the IOBP, there is insufficient evidence that IOGs have the
educational requirements necessary to practice optometry in Ontario. This is of greater concern now that Ontario’s optometrists currently have the widest scope of practice in Canada.

The Ontario government has helped fund the IOBP as it did for other programs that successfully applied for government funding. One criterion considered bythe Government to be important when evaluating applications for funding of a
bridging program was the demonstration that such a program would help alleviate
a manpower shortage. Even though a government-funded report in the late 1990s projected an adequate supply of optometrists in Ontario until the year 2020 (prior to UWSO increasing its enrollment by 50%), the IOBP funding proposal
(submitted in 2004) stated:

“Ontario needs optometrists …Ultimately, the proposed program will result in a
higher number of IOGs successfully registering and practicing in Ontario and
ensure that the optometric needs of the public are met.”

The Government of Ontario did not mandate the creation of the IOBP. However,
the Government did legislate, in 2006, that Ontario’s regulatory bodies remove
unnecessary barriers for immigrants seeking registration in their chosen
profession by ensuring that registration processes are transparent, objective, impartial, and fair.
The OAO does not believe that any of those four criteria have been adequately
met. Thus, we do not believe that the IOBP should be permitted to continue in its
current form.

For complete details:
http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1102639587538-46/IOBP_FAQ.pdf
 
Actually, it's quite easy to get a work visa off of the student visa, it doesn't involve the employer - just some tedious paperwork. It's called a Tier 1 post study visa, and it's not the same thing as a regular work visa. (not as scary or hard to get)
 
what this about not being able to register in Ontario? when will this decision be made?what are they going to do :S
 
Hello,
Im sorry to resurrect a 4 year old thread but I am currently in a situation where I need desperate help. I have graduated the University of Waterloo in Honours science but I know my average is not sufficient enough to get into UW Optometry program. I was thinking of applying to the states but the deadlines to apply has passed. Therefore, my only option right now is to apply to UK Optometry schools.

However, I am scared that after going to the UK for my optometry degree I will have a hard time working in Canada and studying for the boards? If someone can clarify the process I would have to endure once I come back from UK having done my Optom degree?
 
Hello,
Im sorry to resurrect a 4 year old thread but I am currently in a situation where I need desperate help. I have graduated the University of Waterloo in Honours science but I know my average is not sufficient enough to get into UW Optometry program. I was thinking of applying to the states but the deadlines to apply has passed. Therefore, my only option right now is to apply to UK Optometry schools.

However, I am scared that after going to the UK for my optometry degree I will have a hard time working in Canada and studying for the boards? If someone can clarify the process I would have to endure once I come back from UK having done my Optom degree?
Your only option is not going to the UK...you could take a year off and reapply. I know that may not seem appealing but think of all the things you could do in 1 year (take more classes, work..etc.). 1 year may seem like a lot at this point but in reality it is not a long time...especially if you are worried about coming back to canada to work.
 
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