Continuing education programs about Vision and Eye Health are sponsored by the Vision Institute, covering a broad spectrum of information including diagnostic techniques, therapeutic procedures and preventive care. The programs are designed to increase awareness and skills of optometrists in order to serve their patients better. Co-operative programs with other health professions (eg. medicine, nursing, pharmacy) are provided in an effort to improve dialogue and understanding and to increase their knowledge with respect to vision, visual aids and services. 

Looking Back...

Continuing Education Programs for 2019:

Our 2019 Annual Fall Conference and Trade Show was held on November 8-10, 2019 at the Markham Hilton Suites Hotel and Conference Centre and was a 20 hour "Category A" TPA Refresher Course. Special guest faculty included Nathan Lighthizer, OD, FAAO, Blair Lonsberry, MS, OD, MEd, FAAO, and Paul Karpecki, OD, FAAO. There was also a Keynote Presentation on Friday, November 8, 2019 by Rick Green on ADHD and Vision.

Our Annual Fall Conference also featured a 6 hour CE program for Optometric Assistants, a Book Fair and Silent Auction, plus the Annual General Meeting of the College of Optometrists of Ontario. 

We would like to thank all our guest speakers and those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute.

Continuing Education Programs for 2018:

Our 2018 Annual Fall Conference and Trade Show was held on November 2 - 4, 2018 at the Markham Hilton Suites Hotel and Conference Centre. Our speakers included our Keynote presenter Professor William Ayliffe FRCS PhD from London, England, and Special Guest Speaker Dr. Cindy Blackstock, PhD. Other speakers included Brad Sutton, OD, Sheldon Herzig, MD, Lisa Prokopich, OD, MSc, Sarah MacIver, OD, John Tassinari OD, Valerie Kattouf, OD, and Leonard Messner, OD. 

Our Annual Fall Conference also featured a 6 hour CE program for Optometric Assistants, a Book Fair and Silent Auction, plus the Annual General Meeting of the College of Optometrists of Ontario. 

We would like to thank all our guest speakers and those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute.

Continuing Education Programs for 2017:

Our 2017 Annual Fall Conference and Trade Show was held on November 3rd, 4th and 5th, 2017 in Markham, Ontario at the Markham Hilton Suites Hotel and Conference Centre. Our speakers included a Special Keynote Presentation by Canadian Astronaut Dr. Roberta Bondar on The Effects of Spaceflight on Vision. Other speakers included Ron Melton, OD, Randall Thomas, OD, MPH, Richard Madonna, OD, Edward Brown, MD, Raymond Stein, MD, Bruce Onofrey, OD, RPh, Stuart Richer, OD, PhD, and B. Ralph Chou, OD, MSc.

Our Annual Fall Conference also featured a 6 hour CE program for Optometric Assistants, a Book Fair and Silent Auction, plus the Annual General Meeting of the College of Optometrists of Ontario. 

We would like to thank all our guest speakers and all those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute.

Continuing Education Programs for 2016:

The Vision Institute hosted a Northern Conference and Trade Show in Sudbury, Ontario at theRadisson Hotel and Conference Centre on May 28th and 29th, 2016. Speakers for this two-day 12 hour CE event included Sarah MacIver, OD, Victor Spear, OD, Kathy Cao, MD, Bernard Hurley, MD, and Derek MacDonald, OD. 

We would like to thank our guests speakers and all who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute. 

Our 2016 Annual Fall Conference and Trade Show was held on November 4th, 5th and 6th, 2016 in Markham, Ontario at the Markham Hilton Suites Hotel and Conference Centre. Speakers included Stephen Kraft, MD, Kelly Malloy, OD, Patricia Modica, OD, Leonid Skorin, OD, Agnes Wong, MD, PhD, and Keynote Speakers:Tara Alvarez, PhD, Michael Dan, MD, PhD, and Lisa Renzi, PhD.

Our Annual Fall Conference also featured a 6 hour CE program for Optometric Assistants, a Book Fair and Silent Auction, plus the Annual General Meeting and Town Hall Meeting of the College of Optometrists of Ontario. 

We would like to thank our guest speakers and all those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute. 

Continuing Education Programs for 2015: 

Our 2015 Annual Fall Conference and Trade Show was held on November 6th, 7th, and 8th, 2015 in Markham, Ontario at the Hilton Suites Hotel and Conference Centre. Speakers included Alan Berger, MD, Robert Devenyi, MD, Sherif El-Defrawy, MD, Paul Karpecki, OD, Valerie Kattouf, OD, Richard London, OD, Kimberley Reed, OD, Carol Schwartz, MD, and our Keynote Speaker, Ben Szirth, PhD.

This was a 20 hour continuing education program. There was also a College of Optometrists of Ontario Town Hall Meeting and Reception, an Assistant's Program, Book Fair, Silent Auction and the  Annual General Meeting of the College of Optometrists of Ontario..

We would like to thank our guest speakers and all those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute.

Continuing Education Programs for 2014:

The Vision Institute hosted a Northern Conference and Trade Show in Sudbury, Ontario at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Centre on May 24th and 25th, 2014. Speakers for this two day 12 hour continuing education program included Dr. C. Lisa Prokopich, Dr. Langis Michaud and Dr. Vanessa Bachir.

We would like to thank our guest speakers and all those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute.

Our 2014 Annual Fall Conference and Trade Show was held on November 7th, 8th, and 9th, 2014 in Markham, Ontario at the Hilton Suites Hotel and Conference Centre. Speakers included Dr. Diana Shechtman, Dr. Jeff Gerson, Dr. Stuart Richer, Dr. Mark Bloomenstein, Dr. Ben Gaddie and Dr. Langis Michaud.

There was a 6 hour CE program for Optometric Assistants, a Book Store, and Silent Auction.

We would like to thank our guest speakers and all those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute.

Continuing Education Programs in 2013:

Our 2013 Annual Fall Conference and Trade Show was held on November 15th, 16th, 17th, 2013 in Markham, Ontario at the Hilton Suites Hotel and Conference Centre. This was a 20 hour TPA Refresher Course.

There was a special Advanced Glaucoma Lecture Series with Dr. Richard Madonna, Dr. Mitchell Dul, Dr. John Flanagan and Dr. Lisa Prokopich. There was also an Anterior Segment Disease Management Course with Dr. Paul Karpecki. Other special guests included Dr. Raymond Stein, MD.

There was a 6 hour CE program for Optometric Assistants, a Book Store, Silent Auction and a Scientific and Research Poster Display Program. 

We would like to thank our guest speakers and all those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute.

Continuing Education Programs in 2012:

The Vision Institute hosted a Northern Conference and Trade Show in Sudbury, Ontario at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Centre on May 26th and 27th, 2012. We had a special 8 hour Advanced Glaucoma Lecture Series with Dr. Michael Chaglasian, OD and Dr. Richard Madonna, OD, MA. There was also a 4 hour lecture series on Ocular Infections presented by Dr. Lisa Prokopich, OD, MSc. 

We would like to thank our guest speakers and all those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute.

Our Annual Fall Conference and Trade Show was held November 9 - 11, 2012 in Markham, Ontario at the Hilton Suites Hotel and Conference Centre. This was a three day 20 hour ACOE Accredited TPA Refresher Course with Dr. Ron Melton, OD and Dr. Randall Thomas, OD, MPH.  

We would like to thank our guest speakers and all those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute. 

Continuing Education Programs in 2011:

Our Annual Fall Conference and Trade Show was held on November 4th, 5th, 6th, 2011 in Markham, Ontario at the Hilton Suites Hotel and Conference Centre. This was a 22 hour continuing education program with 18 hours of TPA related lectures for optometrists. Guest speakers for this 2011 program included Dr. Paul Karpecki, OD, Dr. C. Lisa Prokopich, OD, MSc, Dr. Diana Shechtman, OD, Dr. A. Paul Chous, OD, Dr. Jeff Gerson, OD, Dr. Michael Chaglasian, OD, Dr. Raymond Stein, MD and Dr. Langis Michaud, OD, MSc.

There was also a special presentation on 3D Technology in the World of Entertainment and Education: 3D Vision Syndrome with Dr. Dominick Maino, OD, MEd.

Our keynote speaker was Dr. Charlotte Reading, PhD, Associate Professor at the School of Public Health and Social Policy at the University of Victoria. Dr. Reading spoke on the Social Determinants of Aboriginal People's Vision Health as part of our 2011 Aboriginal Vision Health Awareness Year initiative.

There was a special two hour presentation from the College of Optometrists of Ontario on writing drug prescriptions in the treatment of ocular disease. There was also a Trade Show and an Optometric Assistants Program on the Saturday.

We would like to thank our speakers and all those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute.

Continuing Education Programs in 2010:

Our Annual Fall Conference and Trade Show was held on October 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 2010 in Markham, Ontario at the Hilton Suites Hotel and Conference Centre. This was a three day 20 Hour Continuing Education Program for optometrists and included a presentation of a two day Aboriginal Vision Health Conference for Aboriginal health care workers and diabetes educators.

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM FORMER PRIME MINISTER
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE PAUL MARTIN

On Friday, October 22nd, we presented a unique Aboriginal Vision Health Lecture Series, co-sponsored by the Canadian Association of Optometrists and the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health. Our special guest lecturer was Dr. Jay Wortman, MD, a Metis physician from British Columbia featured in the documentary: My Big Fat Diet. We also had, as a special guest speaker, Gary Taubes, award winning science journalist and author of the recent best selling book Good Calories, Bad Calories who will present a keynote lecture. These two speakers delivered a unique presentation of the Western dietary and nutritional influences affecting Aboriginal people.

We were also very pleased to have Dr. Ann C. Macaulay, CM MD FCFP give the opening keynote presentation on Aboriginal health. Dr. Macaulay is a professor in the Department of Family Medicine and the Director of Participatory Research at McGill University in Montreal. She also holds the Order of Canada for her work in Aboriginal health and family medicine research.

Dr. Alan F. Cruess, MD, professor and head of the Dalhousie University Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, made a special presentation based on his extensive work with remote native communities. Dr. Chris Hudson, PhD, professor at the University of Waterloo, School of Optometry, and the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, University of Toronto, lectured on diabetic retinopathy, with a special focus on its impact on the Aboriginal community. 

Dr. Graham Strong, OD, MSc, a professor at the University of Waterloo, School of Optometry, presented a lecture on his research on Culturally Relevant Visual Acuity Charts for Aboriginal Canadians. Dr. Barbara Robinson, OD, MPH, PhD, a professor and epidemiologist at the Waterloo School of Optometry, gave a presentation on the epidemiology of refractive and ocular disorders in Aboriginal communities.

We also had a unique presentation to close the lecture series on Friday from Dr. Jeffrey Reading, PhD, Professor and Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Health Research at the University of Victoria, on the Social Determinants of Aboriginal Diabetes.

Mr. Angus Toulouse, Ontario Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations was our special lunch time guest speaker on Friday, October 22nd.

On Saturday, October 23rd we hosted a special Vision Health Lecture Series for nurse practitioners, diabetes educators and other health care providers who work with Aboriginal communities across Canada. This 6 hour lecture series focused on the management of common vision and eye health disorders. It included the lectures: 

1) Management of the Red Eye with Dr. Timothy Tsang, OD, FAAO, 
2) Understanding Glaucoma with Dr. Larry Alexander, OD, FAAO, 
3) Children's Vision with Dr. Catherine Chiarelli, OD, FAAO, and 
4) The Aging Eye with Dr. Lois Calder, OD. 

The lectures for optometrists on Saturday, October 23rd and Sunday, October 24th were all related to TPAs: The Diagnosis and Treatment of Ocular Disease. 

Dr. Larry Alexander, OD, FAAO, joined us on Saturday, October 23rd to present a series of lectures on Glaucoma. Dr. David Chow, MD, presented a lecture series on Diseases of the Retina: From Nutrition to Genetics. We were also very pleased to have Dr. Lou Catania, OD, FAAO, join us on Sunday, October 24th to present a series of lectures on Diseases of the Anterior Segment. 

On the Saturday, October 23rd, the College of Optometrists of Ontario held its Annual General Meeting in conjunction with this Annual Fall Conference and Trade Show. This  Annual General Meeting, which was open to all College members, was a special two hour CE program including a lecture presentation by Dr. Marlee Spafford, OD, PhD from the University of Waterloo, School of Optometry.

There was also a Trade Show and an Optometric Assistants Program on the Saturday.

We would like to thank our speakers and all those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute.

Continuing Education Programs in 2009:

The Vision Institute hosted a Northern Conference and Trade Show in Sudbury, Ontario on May 30th and 31st, 2009 at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Centre.  This was a 12 Hour CE Program with special guest lecturers Dr. Lou Catania, OD, Dr. Ben Gaddie, OD and Dr. Jim Colgain, OD. 

We would like to thank our speakers and all those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute.

Our "2009: A TPA Odyssey - Are We There Yet?"Annual Fall Conference and Trade Show was held on October 23rd, 24th, 25th, 2009 in Markham, Ontario at the Hilton Suites Hotel and Conference Centre. This was a three day ACOE Accredited20 Hour TPA Refresher Course. Special guest speakers included Dr. Randall Thomas, OD, MPH, Dr. Ron Melton,OD, Dr. Stuart Richer, OD, PhD, Dr. Paul Karpecki, OD, Dr. Michael DePaolis, OD, Dr. John A. McGreal Jr, OD, and Dr. Raymond Stein, MD. This 20 Hour TPA Refresher Course was held in affiliation with the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University. The full 20 hour program met the requirements of the College of Optometrists of Ontario for TPA privileges.

The lectures on Friday, October 23rd focused on Therapeutic Pharmaceutical Agents in Contact Lens Practice. Dr. Paul Karpecki and Dr. Michael DePaolis presented this unique lecture series specially created for this conference. 

This conference also included a 6 hour continuing education program for Optometric Assistants and staff on Saturday, October 24th. This program was CAO Approved for Certified Canadian Optometric Assistants. 

We would like to thank our speakers and all those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute.

Continuing Education Programs in 2008:

The Vision Institute hosted a two hour evening workshop at our York Mills Road clinic on Thursday, February 7th, 2008 on Binocular Indirect Ophthalmoscopy. It included a one hour lecture by Dr. Jordan Cheskes, MD, on the peripheral retina followed by a hands on workshop with binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy, pupil dilation, and scleral indentation. We would like to thank our speaker, Dr. Cheskes, and all those who attended and showed their support of the Vision Institute. We would also like to thank Innova Medical for their assistance in the presentation of this workshop.

For information on our 2008 Spring Conference in Calgary on May 31st - June 1st, go back to the section on our Calgary Conference on Nutrition and Vision 2008.

Our 2008 "The Story In Your Eyes" Annual Fall Conference and Trade Show(20 Hours CE)was held at the Hilton Suites Hotel and Conference Centre in Markham, Ontario on November 7th, 8th, and 9th, 2008. Dr. Louis J. Catania, OD, FAAO, presented a 7 hour course on Anterior Segment Care - Diagnosis and Therapeutic Management. Also speaking were Dr. Loren Cordain, PhD, Dr. Steven Pratt, MD, Dr. Stuart Richer, OD, PhD, and Dr. Ben Szirth, PhD, presenting some of their lectures from our Calgary Conference on Nutrition and Vision. Dr. John A. McGreal Jr, OD, from St. Louis, Missouri, also presented a special lecture on New Ideas in Glaucoma Management. 

This year, the Friday, November 7th optometrist's program of 9 CE hours of nutrition related lectures was open to Dietitians and Optometric Assistants who were interested in the topic of Nutrition and Vision. 

On Saturday, November 8th, there was a 6 hour program for Optometric Assistants of unique lectures on New Technology in Optometric Practice, TPAs for Optometric Assistants, and Optics and Dispensing for Optometric Assistants.

We would like to thank our speakers and all those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute.

Continuing Education Programs in 2007:

Our 2007 Spring Seminar was held on May 12th and 13th in Sudbury, Ontario at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Centre in downtown Sudbury. Dr. Paul Karpecki, OD, presented a special Ten Hour TPA Course, including eight hours of lectures on Anterior Segment Disease and Treatment on Saturday, May 12th. On Sunday morning, May 13th, Dr. Karpecki presented a two hour TPA lecture on The Cornea in Glaucoma which was followed by a two hour workshop on HRT3 technology.  

We would like to thank our speaker, Dr. Karpecki, and all those who attended and showed their support of the Vision Institute. We would also like to thank Medical Technology Service Providers for their assistance in the HRT workshop.

The Institute held two Summer Workshops on June 23rd and July 7th, 2007 at our clinic on Communication Skills and Personality Types facilitated by Ms. Radha Lion, MBA, MEd. We would like to thank Ms. Lion for these unique and well received Practice Management Workshops, and all those who attended.

Our 2007 Fall Conference and Trade Show (20 Hours CE) took place on November 2 - 4 at the Hilton Suites Hotel and Conference Centre in Markham, Ontario. In affiliation with the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Dr. Ron Melton and Dr. Randall Thomas presented their 20-hour "CURRENT THERAPY IN OCULAR DISEASE COURSE." This 20-hour course was a Certificate Level TPA Refresher Course. This program was sold out with over 450 optometrists from Canada and the United States in attendance.

We would like to thank our speakers, Dr. Ron Melton and Dr. Randall Thomas, and all those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute.

Continuing Education Programs in 2006:

Our 2006 Calgary Conference took place on May 5th, 6th, 2006 and was a great success. The theme of the conference was The Prevention of Blindness and the Role of Optometry. We would like to thank all of those who attended. Special thanks to our speakers, including Dr. Ian MacDonald, MD, Dr. Paul Karpecki, OD, Dr. James Colgain, OD, Dr. Catherine Chiarelli, OD, and our special keynote speaker, Ms. Sally Fallon, MA, founder and President of the Weston A. Price Foundation.

Our 2006 Fall Conference and Trade Show took place on November 10th, 11th, 2006 at the Hilton Suites Hotel and Conference Centre, in Markham, Ontario. Fifteen  hours of continuing education were presented along with a Trade Show, Optometric Assistant's Program, Silent Auction, and Book Fair. The theme of this conference was "Nutrition and Vision." Speakers included Dr. Stuart Richer, OD, PhD, Dr. Alan Cruess, MD, Dr. Graham Trope, MD, PhD, Dr. Raymond Stein, MD, and Dr.Lyndon Jones, PhD. 

We would like to thank our speakers and all those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute. 

Continuing Education Programs in 2005: 

The Vision Institute hosted four 3 hour workshops on Heidelberg Retina Tomography at our Toronto clinic on May 18th, June 15th, June 18th, and September 26th, 2005. These hands-on workshops introduced nearly 100 optometrists to the unique diagnostic technology of the HRT in the early detection of glaucoma. We have subsequently started taking referrals from local practitioners for HRT assessments. We would like to thank all who attended and Medical Technology Service Providers for their assistance.

Our 2005 Fall Conference and Trade Show took place on November 4th, 5th, 2005 at the Hilton Suites Hotel and Conference Centre, in Markham, Ontario. Fifteen  hours of continuing education were presented along with a Trade Show, Silent Auction, and Book Fair. Speakers included Dr. Robert Devenyi, MD, Dr. James Colgain, OD, Dr. Rick Trevino, OD, and Dr. Wayne W. Wood, OD. Our keynote speaker was Bob McDonald, host of CBC Radio's "Quirks and Quarks."

We would like to thank our speakers and all those who attended and showed their support for the Vision Institute. 

Last UPDATED February 3, 2019