Announcements
Announcements including deadline changes, recently approved residency programs, new diplomates, policy changes, updated documents, and calls for board/committee nominations will be posted on this page of the site.
April 9, 2024
ABVO
The ABVO is seeking input from our stakeholders regarding the Target Material for the ABVO Certification Examination proposal. A survey was sent out to all ACVO Members today, April 9th, and will be open for three (3) months.
Prior to submitting your response to the survey, please review the following announcements regarding these materials.
This survey is coming from Survey Monkey. Please check your spam/junk folder if you do not see it in your inbox. If you are still not able to find the link to the survey in your email, please email the ABVO office.
Thank you for your valuable input!
ABVO
April 1, 2024
ABVO
Dear ACVO Diplomates,
Nominations are sought for one position on the American Board of Veterinary Ophthalmology (ABVO) that will become open upon the completion of ABVO Chairperson, Dr. Ralph Hamor's term, fall 2024. Continuing ABVO members (and their term completion dates) include, Incoming Chairperson - Dr. Brad Nadelstein (2025), Dr. Jane Cho (2026), Dr. Mary Lassaline (2027), and Mr. Kyle Denomme (Public Member, 2026). ABVO Member terms are for four years, and persons may serve no more than two consecutive terms.
Any ACVO Diplomate may nominate an ACVO Diplomate to serve on the ABVO; diplomates may also self-nominate. To review updated qualification requirements to serve on the ABVO, review section 2.03 of the ABVO Policies & procedures document.
Although the term of office does not officially begin until immediately after the fall 2024 meeting, the individual elected is requested to attend the fall 2024 ABVO Meeting (held in conjunction with the ACVO annual conference) in a non-voting “observer” capacity. This individual would be permitted to attend the meeting via teleconference if they prefer. Currently, all other board members are planning to attend on-site.
If you are seeking to make a nomination of another ACVO Diplomate please contact that individual first to be certain they are willing to serve. If they accept, forward the name(s) and acceptance to the ABVO office via email. Staff will reach out to the nominee to explain the obligation and/or to help answer any questions. At that time the below information will be requested.
Nominees are required to provide a photograph, concise (bullet-point) biography emphasizing their past ACVO/ABVO experience, and a brief statement (200 words or less) indicating their reasons for seeking to serve on the Board. Complete nominations must be received electronically by the ABVO office no later than midnight (Mountain Time), May 15, 2024 (please submit bio/photograph materials by May 25th to allow adequate time to post and format). The election will take place electronically during the month of June, 2024, and results will be posted on the ABVO website by early July, 2024.
The ABVO encourages all qualified ACVO Diplomates to take part in the election process. If you have questions about the nomination or election process you are encouraged to contact either the ABVO/ACVO office or any of the current ABVO Members.
Sincerely,
The American Board of Veterinary Ophthalmology
Dr. Ralph Hamor (Chair)
Dr. Brad Nadelstein
Dr. Jane Cho
Dr. Mary Lassaline
Mr. Kyle Denomme (Public Member)
January 30, 2024
Residency Committee
This is a reminder that if you have not already and are planning on submitting a RTP application for the 2023 calendar year, the application is due prior to the Wednesday, February 15, 2024 deadline.
Please download a current residency training program application, (https://www.abvo.us/supervising-diplomates), as the most current version of the application is required for submittal.
If you have any questions, please contact the ABVO Residency Committee (ABVOResidency@acvo.org).
Kind regards,
Drs. Seth Eaton & Bianca Martins
ABVO Residency Committee Chair & Vice-Chair
January 26, 2024
ABVO
As a follow up to an announcement prematurely made on 1/15/24, the ABVO Board would like to provide an update on our process moving forward regarding future changes in Target Materials for the ABVO Examination. A request from the Examination Committee, originally brought to the ABVO Board in 2022, recommended changes to reading materials covered by the Multiple Choice (Written) portion of the ABVO Examination. This request was supported by the ABVO Board, resulting in the formation of a Task Force (the Examination Target Material Subcommittee). This subcommittee has formulated recommendations which are currently being considered. The ABVO Board would like to thank the hard-working and dedicated volunteers of both the Examination Committee and the ABVO Examination Target Material Subcommittee for their considerable and diligent efforts.
As part of the ABVO Policies and Procedures, 2.04 b states “ABVO Board or committee proposals that impose major change(s) in the processes of the ABVO will be posted on the ABVO website and subject to a period of non-binding stakeholder comment of up to 3 months.” The ABVO Board is working to finalize a document that will explain these recommendations from the Examination Committee and the Examination Target Material Subcommittee. This document will be placed on our website and the ABVO Board will also provide a mechanism for stakeholder comment at that time.
Please be assured that no changes will take place without consideration of stakeholder opinions and the required period for comment in accordance with our Policies and Procedures.
Sincerely,
Ralph Hamor, ABVO Chair
December 28, 2023
MOC Committee
Thank you to those that have already submitted the MOC application for 2024. As a reminder: Mandatory applications for the MOC of Diplomates boarded in 2018 must be received through the ABVO/MOC online application form by December 31st, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. MST. All applicants will receive notification of their passage or failure to satisfy their MOC by March 31st, 2024. All mandatory applicants that fail to pass their MOC with an initial application will not lose their diplomate status at that time.
Applicants who initially fail to satisfy their MOC may resubmit their application by June 30th, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. MST. All applicants with resubmissions will receive notice of their passage or failure to satisfy their MOC by September 30th, 2024. Applicants who fail to satisfy their MOC after resubmission, or elect to not resubmit an application for MOC, will lose their diplomate status. These diplomates may reapply for their MOC no earlier than December 31st, 2024. Mandatory reapplication evaluations by the MOC committee will not begin until this next submission deadline date.
If you need to confirm your MOC status, you can find this on the Complete List of Boarded Diplomates page on the ABVO website. More information about the MOC process and the link to the spreadsheet and form can be found on the MOC page of the ABVO site.
The ABVO MOC continues to encourage all Diplomates, even those not required to do so, to voluntarily submit for MOC every five years. This extra step, and the visible ‘seal’ that Diplomates receive, will reflect positively on promotion of your services to the public. Contact the ABVO office if you have questions about this process or what will be provided to assist with your promotion.
*Mandatory MOC applications are due at 11:59pm MST Saturday, December 31, 2023.*
Should you have any questions, please reach out to the MOC Committee at ABVOMOC@acvo.org
Best regards,
Amy Knollinger, DVM, DACVO
Sean Collins, DVM, DACVO
Chair and Vice Chair of ABVO MOC Committee for 2023 – 2024
November 15, 2023
Credentials Committee
The 2024 Credentials Certifying Examination Application opens today, November 15th, to all 2024 finishing residents and previously board eligible candidates. The application deadline is January 15th, 2024 at midnight (MT).
Credentials Exam Application Submission Process
All applications are submitted directly through the ABVO portal. After you have logged into the resident portal through the ABVO website, select the "ABVO Certifying Examination Application Form" link currently located at the top of the on the main page. Please make sure that your email address and all contact information in the ABVO portal is up to date before submitting your application.
Fees are $100 for each application and must be paid through a separate, secure online payment form located on the credentials information page. The payment is also due by the January 15th deadline.
Supervising Diplomate forms must be filled out and submitted by each supervising diplomate through the ABVO portal by the January 15th deadline.
If you have any questions about this process, please contact the ABVO Office for further assistance.
November 2, 2023
MOC Committee
Mandatory MOC Applications
All mandatory MOC (diplomates that were boarded in 2018) are due to the ACVO office by the ABVO/MOC online application submission form, found on the MOC page of the ABVO.us website, by 11:59pm (MST) December 31st, 2023. All of these applications will be reviewed by the MOC committee and graded and reported to the ABVO board by midnight MST, February 28th, 2024.The ABVO has until March 31st, 2024, MST to report either pass or fail of maintenance of certification to all mandatory applicants for the December 31st cycle. Notification will be issued to the email address provided in the application, please check your spam and clutter after this date.
Any failed mandatory applicants may reapply for Maintenance of Certification by 11:59pm (MST) June 30th, 2024. All applications will be reviewed by the MOC committee and graded and reported to the ABVO board by August 31, 2024, by midnight MST. The ABVO has until September 30th, 2024, MST to report either pass or fail of maintenance of certification to all mandatory applications for the June 30th cycle. Notification will be issued to the email address provided in the application
All Mandatory MOC candidates maintain diplomate status unless a letter is issued from the ABVO, stating that the applicant failed to maintain certification of diplomate status. If a letter is needed to affirm good standing, this may be requested from the ABVO office.
A reprieve of 60-90 days may be granted for mandatory applicants due to a for documented emergency that is received and confirmed with a reply within 30 days of the applications deadline. All communications must be made through abvomoc@acvo.org, and may be copied to the office@acvo.org if desired. No other form or routing of communication will be accepted.
Voluntary MOC Applications
Applications for voluntary applications (those boarded prior to 2015) are due via the ABVO/MOC online application submission form, found on the MOC page of the ABVO.us website, by 11:59pm (MST) June 30th, 2024. These may be submitted at any time between November 1st and this date.
Sincerely,
Amy Knollinger and Sean Collins
Chair and Vice Chair of ABVO Maintenance of Certification Committee for 2023 - 2024
October 12, 2023
ABVO
Dear ACVO Diplomates,
Please find the 2023 ABVO Credentialing Report linked below. This document will remain on the ABVO Information page of the ABVO.us website (under the "About" tab) for future reference.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the board members, emails are located on this page.
Review 2023 ABVO Credentialing Report
Thank you,
ABVO
October 10, 2023
Exam Committee
2024 ABVO CERTIFYING EXAMINATION - Updated Resident Reading List/Resources and Clarification of Definition of Publication Date for Journals
2025 ABVO CERTIFYING EXAMINATION - Change in Definition of Publication Date for Journals
2024 ABVO Certifying Examination
The Resident Reading List on the ABVO website serves as a guide for residents preparing to take the ABVO Certifying Examination. The document has been updated for the 2024 ABVO Certifying Examination (ABVO Resident Reading List 2024 Link). As a reminder, journal articles considered target material for the 2024 examination include those published in the seven years prior to the year the exam is given i.e., years 2017-2023.
As stated in the ABVO P&P, the publication date for manuscripts is currently considered the date the manuscript is assigned to a journal issue.
2025 ABVO Certifying Examination
THERE WILL BE A CHANGE TO THE DEFINITION OF PUBLICATION DATE FOR THE 2025 EXAMINATION.
Rationale: Both electronic and printed versions of manuscripts are now available which means there may be two publication dates, one when the manuscript first comes out as ‘ePub’, ahead of print, and one when it is assigned to a specific issue of a journal. The standard accepted use of the term publication date is when a manuscript is assigned a DOI or Digital Object Identifier. The DOI is the date beyond which a publication cannot be revised without an addendum or correction being published, i.e. the ‘ePub’ date.
For the ABVO to come in-line with the rest of the scientific community, the PUBLICATION DATE FOR JOURNAL ARTICLES FOR THE 2025 CERTIFYING EXAMINATION WILL CHANGE FROM THE DATE OF JOURNAL ISSUE TO THE DATE A MANUSCRIPT IS ASSIGNED A DOI.
It is unlikely that the total number of manuscripts in the seven-year exam material window for the 2025 exam (2018-2024) will be very different as a result, although some publications will be included that wouldn’t have been, and others will be removed. We are aware that this change may cause some inconvenience but are hopeful that because of the sufficient notice, there will be minimal disruption to candidates and mentors.
EC Chairs
Caryn Plummer
Erin Scott
October 2, 2023
Exam Committee
The 2024 ABVO Certifying Examination will take place the week of July 29-August 2, 2024.
All parts of the examination, Multiple Choice (MC), Image Recognition (IR) and Practical, will be given in person at the Hyatt Place/Hyatt House, Downtown, Denver.
For those candidates repeating only the MC and/or IR, there will be an option to take the examination remotely. Repeat candidates who still need to take the Practical will need to take all parts of the exam in person in Denver. More details about the exam will be available after January 15th, 2025, when the credentials window closes.
Exam Committee Chairs
Caryn Plummer, Erin Scott
August 28, 2023
ABVO
ABVO is happy to congratulate the following new ACVO Diplomates from the 2023 ABVO Exam!
Listed below are the 23 candidates who have passed all three sections of the 2023 ABVO Examination and were granted ACVO diplomate status in August 2023. They are now officially, 'ophthalmologists', 'specialists', and 'DACVO's' and may use the following ACVO trademarks; 'DACVO' and/or 'Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists' as their credentials. New Diplomates will receive a complimentary membership to the ACVO for the remainder of 2023.
Be sure to read their biographies and thank you notes in the digital ACVO Membership Meeting agenda packet, which are on the DACVO.org website!
Dr. Anna Catherine Bowden
Dr. Pilar Camacho-Luna
Dr. Lauren Charnock
Dr. Megan Cullen
Dr. Crystal Eng
Dr. Hannah Flanders
Dr. Mihal Kaminsky
Dr. Soohyun Kim
Dr. Irini Lamkin
Dr. Jamie Lembo
Dr. Maggie Li Puma
Dr. Anthony Lisankis
Dr. Andrea Minella
Dr. Christian Munevar
Dr. Katelin Quantz
Dr. Roxanne Ratner
Dr. Simone Schechtmann
Dr. Lindsay Seyer
Dr. Staci Spears
Dr. Corbin Telford
Dr. Elodie VerHulst
Dr. Savanna Vig
Dr. Parker Wilcox
Congratulations new Diplomates!! Bios and thank you's for all 2023 New Diplomates are on the Members Only page of the DACVO.org website.
August 9, 2023
Residency Committee
This is a reminder that if you have not already and are planning on submitting a RTP application for the 2024 calendar year, the application is due prior to the Tuesday, August 15, 2023 deadline.
Please download a current residency training program application, (https://www.abvo.us/supervising-diplomates), as the most current version of the application is required for submittal.
If you have any questions, please contact the ABVO Residency Committee (ABVOResidency@acvo.org).
Kind regards,
Drs. Kevin Fritz & Seth Eaton
ABVO Residency Committee Chair & Vice-Chair
July 7, 2023
ABVO
The ABVO extends its appreciation to our 2023 board candidates for agreeing to run for office in support of the ABVO and its goals. All of the nominated Diplomates have demonstrated outstanding service to the ACVO and ABVO over the years. Thank you, Drs. Katie Diehl, Daniel Dorbandt, and Mary Lassaline, for all of your past service and leadership!
Three hundred nineteen Diplomates voted in this election, and by majority vote, Dr. Mary Lassaline was elected as the ABVO's next board member, with her term beginning fall 2023. We appreciate all of you who took the time to vote and would encourage all Diplomates to vote in the future.
The ABVO holds its elections each spring online. A call for nominations will be sent to all Diplomates no later than April 1st, and voting will begin June 1st. If you are interested in being nominated in the future or wish to nominate someone else, please review the board qualifications when promoted online next year and send nomination materials to the ACVO Office. Please note you may nominate yourself.
The board tries to maintain a balance between members in academia and those in private practice to best ensure the public is protected and that the views of all members are represented fairly.
Thank you again for your participation and we thank Dr. Lassaline for her future service.
Sincerely,
ABVO Members
Dr. Steven Hollingsworth
Dr. Ralph Hamor
Dr. Brad Nadelstein
Dr. Jane Cho
Mr. Kyle Denomme (Public Member)
June 1, 2023
ABVO
Dear ACVO Diplomates,
This is a notice to alert you that you will be receiving an ABVO e-ballot today, Wednesday, June 1st, to select a new ABVO Member for 2023. This will be coming from SimplyVoting.com, so if you do not see it, please check your spam/junk folder. ABVO invites you to vote on your preferred representation.
Nominees' brief biographies and qualifications can be found on the Nominations page under the Leadership tab of the ABVO.us website. Please be sure to review these materials before voting.
YOUR INDIVIDUAL BALLOT WILL BE EMAILED SEPARATELY TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS YOU HAVE SAVED IN YOUR MEMBER PORTAL.
Voting will be open June 1st through 11:59pm MST on June 30th.
Thank you,
ABVO
May 15, 2023
MOC Committee
Thank you to those that have already submitted the MOC application for 2023. As a reminder: Voluntary applications for the MOC of Diplomates for 2023 must be received through the ABVO/MOC online application form by June 30th, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. MST. All applicants will receive notification of their passage or failure to satisfy their MOC by September 30th, 2023. All voluntary applicants that do not apply or fail to pass their MOC with an initial application will not lose their diplomate status. As a reminder, the MOC application is voluntary for diplomates who became board certified before 2015.
If you need to confirm your MOC status, you can find this on the Complete List of Boarded Diplomates page on the ABVO website. More information about the MOC process and the link to the spreadsheet and form can be found on the MOC page of the ABVO site.
The ABVO MOC continues to encourage all Diplomates, even those not required to do so, to voluntarily submit for MOC every five years. This extra step, and the visible ‘seal’ that Diplomates receive, will reflect positively on promotion of your services to the public. Contact the ABVO office if you have questions about this process or what will be provided to assist with your promotion.
*Voluntary MOC applications are due at 11:59pm MST Friday, June 30, 2023.*
Should you have any questions, please reach out to the MOC Committee at ABVOMOC@acvo.org
Best regards,
Noelle La Croix, DVM, Dip. ACVO
Amy Knollinger, DVM, Dip. ACVO
Co-Chairs of ABVO MOC Committee for 2022 – 2023
May 4, 2023
Exam Committee
For the attention of Residents and Resident Mentors:
This is to highlight a change to the Image Recognition (IR) part of the ABVO Certifying Examination, beginning with the 2023 Examination in Denver. The change involves the assignment of questions to the different sections of the IR exam, the material itself has not been changed.
In previous years, questions on the IR exam were assigned to one of three sections, with each section relating to a specific anatomic area of the eye i.e., Orbit and Adnexa, Anterior Segment, and Lens and Posterior Segment. This year, questions will be randomized across all three sections of the examination, regardless of the anatomic area to which they pertain.
This change has been approved by the ABVO Board and was posted to the Examination page of the ABVO website in March 2023.
Elaine Holt
Exam Committee Chair
