European College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (...continued)

ECVO Objectives ( from the Constitution article 3):

The primary objectives of the college are to advance veterinary ophthalmology in Europe and increase the competency of those who practice in this field.

This is achieved by:

1. establishing guidelines for both post-graduate education and for the experience required to become a specialist in veterinary ophthalmology

2. examining and authenticating veterinarians as specialists in veterinary ophthalmology to serve the veterinary patient, its owner and the public in general, by providing expert care for animals with ophthalmic disease;

3. encouraging research and other contributions to knowledge relating to the pathogenesis, diagnosis, therapy, prevention, and the control of diseases directly or indirectly affecting the eye of all animals, and promoting communication and dissemination of this knowledge.

The College is a non profit organisation and does not pursue commercial interests.

History

The Advisory Board of the European Union (EU) and the European Board of Veterinary Specialization (EBVS) were instrumental in the foundation of several European Colleges. The initiative to found a European College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists was taken in Vienna, Austria in 1990. A first informal meeting with interested parties was held in Luxembourg in April 1991. By November of the same year Dr. Frans Stades had drafted the constitution and bylaws of the ECVO. The College was founded and officially registered on November 27, 1992,
in Giessen (DE).
Founder members of the College were Drs Bedford (GB), Clerc (FR), Narfström (SE), Neumann (DE), Peruccio (IT), Roze (FR), Solarino (IT) and Stades (NL). In the first years, additional twenty recognised veterinary ophthalmologists were invited as members of the College. From 1996, new members are admitted only by passing a certification procedure. After a three to four-year residency programme and the acceptance of scientific publications, a written, oral and practical examination is taken in various European countries. Today (November 2003), the college has 48 Diplomates, of which six are also Diplomates of the ACVO (American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists).
In April 2002, a re-evaluation programme was accepted at the Annual General Meeting. This programme has started in January 2003. Diplomates will be re-evaluated every five years based on a point system. The aim of this programme is to keep the members at the highest possible professional level.

Executive Committee

After Frans Stades, Bernard Spiess and Kristina Narfström, Bernard Clerc is currently serving as the fourth President of the ECVO. In June 2004 Ellen Bjerkås will start her three-year term as President.
The present Executive Committee: Prof. Clerc (President), Prof. Narfström (Past-President), Prof. Bjerkås (Vice-President), Dr. Allgoewer (Treasurer), Dr. Heijn (Secretary), Prof. Stades (member), Dr. Heider (member).

Annual meeting

Annual ECVO scientific meetings are organised together with the European Society of Veterinary Ophthalmology (ESVO) and national specialty groups. The ECVO meeting has evolved from a single-day event in Giessen (DE) in 1993 to a four-day programme in Barcelona (ES) and Cambridge (GB) in 2002 and 2003 respectively. Attendance by members of the organising groupshas been good and the scientific level of the programme and individual presentations has been increasing over the years. ECVO has welcomed a growing attendance and participation of ACVO Diplomates at the last meetings.

Future meetings will be in Munich (DE) in June 2004, Porto (PT) in June 2005, and Brugge (BE) in June 2006.

Education

To grow, the College needs to train and certify young veterinarians willing to specialize in this field. While there is no shortage of individuals eager to specialize in ophthalmology, there are only a few residency programmes available in Europe. Programmes are active in England (Universities of Bristol and London), France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Austria. With a three-year residency programme, there will be only approximately two to three individuals for the board examinations every year. For the future, the aim is to have many residency programmes throughout the European Community.

Reciprocity with ACVO is, of course, also a long-term goal of ECVO. With more and better programmes running in Europe a joined credentialing and examination process of ACVO and ECVO could be envisioned.