The big thing in a lot of your minds will be the International Orthoptic Congress in Liverpool in June. Don’t forget the Early Bird Registration closing date is 26th February. There were a large number of excellent abstract submissions and the programme should be really exciting. An IOC is a great place to network and learn; and it won’t be back in the UK again for many years. There were 99 British submissions – by far the largest national group, and many were really high quality. As it is an “International” conference, the Scientific Committee are sorry a few people who wanted to give a talk may have been disappointed by being offered a poster, but we have tried hard to keep the international balance strong. There were only a limited number of oral presentation slots -and they couldn’t all be British!
There could be a bit of uncertainty about the Coronavirus and travel restrictions for people coming from abroad, so although the programme has been decided, a few things may have to change as the situation evolves. Keep an eye on the website over the next few weeks http://www.ioacongress.org/
There may still be some BIOS funding available to help with travel to the conference https://www.orthoptics.org.uk/funding-for-ioc-2020/ so if you have had a talk accepted, it’s still worth applying before end of February.
The Council for AHP Research (CAHPR) is going from strength to strength. AHPs punch well above our weight in research matters, and this is being recognised by decision-makers such as Health Education England (HEE) and the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR). CAHPR is planning a major Strategic Review funded by £20K from HEE, while at the grass roots the local hubs are continuing to organise local research skills events. There are some new Top Ten Tips leaflets on basic research skills available for everyone to download https://cahpr.csp.org.uk/content/cahpr-top-ten-tips
Last week I went to a launch meeting of the UK-Wide Ophthalmology Research Strategy Executive Board, supported by the NIHR. This looks as if it might help raise the profile and provide support for research across ophthalmology, with six Clinical Studies Groups, including one for Paediatrics and Neuro-ophthalmology. Cancer, reproductive medicine and other medical specialities have really benefited from similar co-ordination, so this could be an opportunity for more eye-related research. BIOS will be involved as things develop.
Research is part of all our jobs – and the CQC is going to expect research to be embedded in every department – so get involved, get (or keep up) some research skills and start asking and answering some questions!
Anna Horwood
BIOS Research Director, IOA Scientific Committee Member
