ACTIONED
Beginning in May 2010, eye care professionals have a new online source for continuing education (CE) and training: ACTIONED®, (Assessment, Certification, Training, an Interactive Ophthalmology Network). ACTIONED delivers accessible and affordable educational resources to learners to improve efficiency, performance, and provide on-demand learning and CE options.
The site, www.actioned.org, is the groundbreaking, collaborative effort of six organizations. Together, the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO®), the American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses (ASORN), the Association of Technical Personnel in Ophthalmology (ATPO), the Canadian Society of Ophthalmic Medical Personnel (CSOMP), the Ophthalmic Photographers’ Society (OPS), and the American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASOA) have teamed to produce a comprehensive online training resource for eye care professionals. The result is an online educational partnership never seen before among ophthalmic organizations.
“The goal is to connect eye care professionals with practical online educational and assessment content,” says JCAHPO President William H. Ehlers, MD. “We have achieved this by uniting in a monumental alliance among leading international eye care organizations toward a shared goal: promoting quality online educational and assessment resources for the entire eye care team. ACTIONED fuses innovations in online learning with emerging technologies from the fast-paced world of eye care.”
ACTIONED’s course catalog contains 60 courses from basic to advanced levels, with new courses being introduced monthly. The site utilizes a variety of new media and features assessments including:
- interactive simulation
- downloadable audio/text
- asynchronous audio/video
“One of ACTIONED’s greatest strengths is the scope of content,” notes ASORN President Annquinetta Dansby-Kelly, RN, CRNO. “Resources from all six partnering organizations are available. This enables eye care professionals to customize their educational and training curriculum based on their specialty as technicians, assistants, nurses, surgical assistants, or images, in any of several eye care specialties.”
The range of available materials makes ACTIONED especially valuable to eye care personnel. JCAHPO CE resources and ATPO articles are available, with accompanying quizzes, assessments, and credit tracking resources. Insight articles from the ASORN Learner Paced Educational Activities are also available in a downloadable text format, supplemented by online assessments to earn Nursing Contact Hours.
ATPO President Aaron V. Shukla, PhD, COMT, regards the exclusive functionality that ACTIONED brings to eye care professionals as a significant advantage.
“Maintaining certification and engaging in captivating educational activities are important parts of career development for professionals. ACTIONED’s design, impressive scope of content, and capabilities support professional development for the eye care team, which increases clinic productivity.”
Users may create a secure personal account to:
- browse course catalogs
- purchase courses and assessments
- engage in coursework
- complete and submit assessments
- receive assessment results
- view current CE courses and manage their CE transcript
- print out certificates, course materials, handouts, and transcripts
Vonda Syler, COE, ASOA President is pleased with the collaboration and potential of ACTIONED.
“ACTIONED is a single venue that enables an entire practice’s staff a wealth of programs through which they can acquire new skills to advance their professional development. Everyone – including technicians, nurses, photographers, and administrators studying for the COE exam – can benefit from this educational resource. This collaborative on-line educational effort brings together the expertise of the major ophthalmic organizations to make education easily accessible, affordable, and customized to the needs of the individual. We at ASOA are proud of our participation in it and see it as a powerful resource for all our members.”
CSOMP President and Chief Executive Marc Lafontaine, COMT, notes that ACTIONED is aggressive and tactical technological progress for the international eye care community.
“ACTIONED bridges significant gaps in the availability of educational, assessment, and training resources to the international eye care community. Utilizing the convenience of the internet alongside interactive and comprehensive training activities, ACTIONED gives opportunities to personnel from around the world. This further increases our ability as professionals to improve the quality of available care in emerging international communities that need it.”
OPS President Paula F. Morris, CRA, FOPS, regards the new site as unique to the allied health field in several capacities.
“ACTIONED is an innovative ophthalmic professional resource that unifies multiple allied health divisions. By partnering with leading organizations in the field, we are able to author an extensive catalog of continuing education resources to increase learning opportunities AND ultimately deliver better patient care.”
Leadership envisions the site to serve as the exclusive online continuing education and assessment center for the entire eye care team. Visit www.actioned.org for more information and start your online training and career development today.
www.jcahpo.org / www.atpo.org / http://www.eyesite.ca / www.asorn.org / www.opsweb.org / www.asoa.org