FitAcademy Retreat for Cornea and Contact Lens Residents

Retreat will be held at New England College of Optometry

Needham, Mass. –September 13, 2022 – BostonSight^®, a nonprofit eye healthcare organization that advances the treatment of diseased and damaged corneas and dry eyes announced they will host their fourth annual FitAcademy^™ Retreat for Residents at New England College of Optometry (NECO) in Boston, September 16-17, 2022.

FitAcademy for Residents is available to cornea and contact lens residents and fellows at schools and colleges of optometry and accredited fellowship sites throughout the United States and Canada.

FitAcademy will be held at NECO’s Clinical Training Center, where residents will learn about scleral lens fitting and assessment, how to manage and co-manage a range of corneal and ocular surface disorders, including dry eye disease and keratoconus, and scleral lens application and removal techniques. In addition to the educational component, FitAcademy’s intimate setting provides residents a unique opportunity to collaborate with fellow residents, strengthening their professional connections as they begin their careers.

This year, 23 cornea and contact lens residents will attend in person for the full curriculum, which includes a hands-on wet lab training, with invited primary care and additional residents participating virtually during the didactic sessions. Thanks to sponsorship, students attend FitAcademy for free.

“We are incredibly grateful for our sponsors, the John W. Henry Family Foundation, NECO, Glaukos Corporation, and Contamac,” said Dr. Karen G. Carrasquillo, OD, PhD, FAAO, FSLS, FBCLA, BostonSight’s Senior VP of Clinical and Professional Affairs and chief architect of the program. “Their support allows us to continue to provide scleral lens and ocular surface disease management education to emerging clinicians and future key opinion leaders at no cost to them.”

“As a Program Coordinator for NECO’s Cornea/Contact lens Residency Program, I’ve come to rely on FitAcademy to provide my residents with an immersive learning experience on scleral lenses. The residents leave FitAcademy with not only an increased depth of knowledge but an enhanced understanding of the importance of networking and building life-long relationships with the leaders in the field and each other,” said Dr. Anita Gulmiri, OD, FAAO, Assistant Professor of Clinical Optometry at The New England College of Optometry. Dr. Gulmiri added, “I often find myself wishing I had the opportunity to attend FitAcademy as a Cornea/Contact Lens Resident.”

FitAcademy is led by Dr. Carrasquillo and taught by BostonSight staff Dr. Bita Asghari, OD, FAAO, FSLS, Associate Director of Clinical Education; Dr. Chirag Patel, OD, FAAO, Associate Director of Innovative Technologies; Dr. Alan Kwok, OD, FAAO, FSLS, Director of PROSE^® Network Clinical Relationships; and Dr. Daniel Brocks, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Cornea Specialist. In addition, each year FitAcademy invites notable guest faculty. This year, guest faculty are Dr. Clark Chang, OD, MSA, MSC, FAAO, Wills Eye Hospital; Dr. Stephanie Pisano, OD, FAAO, FSLS, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, The Ohio State University; Dr. Brittany Yelle, OD, Precision Cornea Centre; and Dr. Kellen Riccobono, OD, FAAO, Central Texas Eye Centre. In addition, NECO faculty will also present: Dr. Jennifer Liao, OD, FAAO, Assistant Professor of Optometry and Dr. Anita Gulmiri, OD, FAAO, Assistant Professor of Clinical Optometry.

Learn more about FitAcademy at https://www.bostonsight.org/practitioners/education/fitacademy/

About NECO

New England College of Optometry is a nationally recognized, top-tier optometry school that prepares the next generation of eye care providers, educators, and innovators through a rigorous curriculum and extensive clinical experiences. NECO graduates compassionate and skilled optometrists prepared to practice in diverse settings. Learn more at www.neco.edu.

About BostonSight^®
BostonSight is a nonprofit healthcare organization that advances the treatment of diseased or damaged corneas and dry eye. Our ongoing commitment to research and achieving optimal patient outcomes through innovative scleral lens design, education, and technology have saved the sight of thousands of people around the world. PROSE^® is our medical treatment for the most severe or challenging ocular surface disease cases, delivered via specially trained eye care professionals at top tertiary eye centers. BostonSight SCLERAL^® is our commercially available scleral lens used by optometrists worldwide. BostonSight SCLERAL has partnerships with Spectrum International in Latin America, L.V. Prasad Eye Institute in the Middle East and India, and Conóptica in Spain. Learn more at www.bostonsight.org.