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Article Submission Process

The AOA Paraoptometric Section has launched a major campaign to identify authors of articles to be used by the section to provide continuing education for its members. The Section is interested in articles on topics included in the handbooks for the paraoptometric certification examinations. You may view the handbook outlines in detail at www.aoa.org. The following are the major topic headings in these outlines:

Practice Management
Ophthalmic Optics & Dispensing
Pre-testing Procedures (as well as familiarity with the optometric examination)
Clinical Procedures (keratometry, contact lenses, visual fields, tonometry, sphygmomanometry, low vision, first aid, vision therapy, etc.)
Refractive Status of the Eye and Binocularity
Basic Ocular Anatomy and Physiology
Contact Lenses
Low Vision
Sports Vision
Ophthalmic Prescriptions
Frames Sales and Inventory

The Section is soliciting articles that are written for basic, intermediate, and advanced levels of knowledge, so it can serve the varying needs of its membership. AOAPS believes optimal patient care can only be provided when paraoptometrics are well-educated and informed members of the eye care team. That is why the Section must provide continuing education articles for all levels. Authors whose articles are selected for publication in any paraoptometric continuing education opportunity will be able to take part in the incentive program. The Section will provide paraoptometric continuing education credit to authors used for paraoptometric education based on the length of the article written. The specifics of the incentive program include:

A published article worth one continuing education credit to the reader, and will be worth three CE credits to the author.
A published article worth two continuing education credits to the reader, and will be worth six CE credits to the Author.
Articles that are published and exceed these specific guidelines, will be three times the number of CE credits awarded to the reader.

As an incentive for authors who are not paraoptometric professionals, the section will waive the $50.00 application fee to join the Speakers’ Bureau as outlined below, should the author wish to be included in that specific program. Authors who wish to be considered for the Speakers’ Bureau must meet the criteria for the Speakers’ Bureau, and be approved by the review committee. Details about the Speakers’ Bureau can be found at www.aoa.org.

The Section understands it takes many hours to research, write copy, procure illustrations, and develop test questions for any continuing education article*. However, the section does not feel it should grant CE credit based on the actual preparation time, because all authors work at different levels and there is not a process available to track the number of hours it takes to develop an article. Each article will be reviewed by the Education In Writing Committee, and the Committee will determine how many CE credits the article will represent to the reader, then define the credits for the author. The Section reserves the right to reject articles or manuscripts that do not follow the published Guidelines for Authors. Any article that is rejected will be sent back to the author with recommendations for revisions in order for the article to be considered in the future.