Education or Marketing?

You take your seat in the classroom and pick up the presentation handout. You flip through it and think you might learn something new. Ten minutes into the class and you realize that:

1. There’s nothing new here.

2. It’s an hour long advertisement held together with witty anecdotes.

3. You’ll never get that hour of your life back again.

4. You can take a 40 minute nap.

OR

You take your seat in the classroom and pick up the presentation handout. You flip through it and think you might learn something new. Ten minutes into the class and you realize:

1. It’s 40 minutes later. The presenter is saying thank you and asking for questions.

2. You have notes written all over the handout.

3. You are ready for the second part.

4. You can’t wait to share the information with co-workers.

To be fair, the nap could have been the product of a poorly presented class, or a late night or too much lunch. In the second scenario, you could have been caught up in the bells, whistles and excitement of the presenter and the “gee-whiz” graphics and completely missed the fact that it contained very little new information.

The ABO-NCLE (American Board of Opticianry-National Contact Lens Examiners) has pretty clear guidelines covering how those all-important Continuing Education courses are to be written and presented. If the CE covers or introduces a new product or new technology, it will expire in 2 years. If the content does not cover new products or technology, but covers other professional information, it will expire in 5 years. The wisdom here is that new products and technology may be discontinued or substantially changed over a 2 year period and providing education on a non-existent or out-dated product or technology will not advance the profession. Additionally, if the CE is written by a manufacturer, it must not become de-facto advertising. The company name and logo may appear on the front cover or 1st slide and on the last slide or back page, but nowhere in the actual content, nor may the product be compared with another similar product, i.e. “ours is better than theirs.”

So what’s an ECP to do? How do you tell the difference between education and marketing?

Evaluate a course the way that the ABO-NCLE does.

1. What are the stated learning objectives? Regardless of subject matter, be it polarized lenses or coding, capture rates or specialized lens designs, what knowledge or skills do you expect to acquire by taking the class? Is the information relevant to your profession and will it enhance your work performance? Course developers are asked to conduct a needs assessment or consult the ABO-NCLE Task Analyses (www.abo-ncle.org/basiccertificationexam) to determine what objectives would be helpful. Courses are categorized as either “general knowledge” or “technical knowledge” depending on their application in the profession. General knowledge courses are designed to enhance the abilities of ophthalmic professionals to fulfill their duties. Technical courses relate directly to skills or knowledge outlined in the ABO- NCLE Task Analysis.
   

2. Who is the intended audience? This requirement is in response to complaints received via the evaluation forms you’re supposed to complete at the end of each ABO-NCLE approved course. Often heard in the corridors as “If I have to learn how to fit a progressive one more time, I’ll kill myself!” Additionally, courses are assigned levels according to the knowledge and skill level of the audience. 
   Level I assumes the audience has little or no prior knowledge of the material.
   Level II assumes the audience has some prior knowledge of the material.
   Level III assumes the audience is well versed in many aspects of the material and can meet the pre-requisites determined by the presenter.
   Ask yourself, do I want to maintain my status quo and take every level I or II course I can find, or do I want to challenge myself and take the level III courses?
   

3. Is the information generic or vendor-specific? This is the real test for the “education or marketing” problem. According to the ABO-NCLE guidelines, “Educational courses designed to solely promote one company’s products or services are not acceptable for re-certification. Specific product brands may be mentioned and described within a course, but such presentations should always be as balanced as possible with respect to competing companies or products.” 

Now we’re getting somewhere!

Sure, your practice may use only one family of lens products, but your patients are bombarded with information on many different lenses and lens treatments and that means you should have a working understanding of other options. 

The ABO-NCLE may monitor courses and presenters to ensure that these requirements are being met, but the attendees, YOU, have a significant role to play as well. If a course is presented in a way that blurs the line between education and marketing, you need to note it on the evaluation portion of the credit certificate. 

4. Is the speaker qualified to present the information? Should you care? Yes you should! Every presenter isn’t an expert on every subject. Not every subject is easy to present. These are some of the qualifications that are required of an ABO-NCLE approved speaker:

• Education and training

• Work experience

• Recognition by peers

• Previous speaking performance
  Publications

• Professional credentials

• ABO/NCLE or other appropriate certification

• MD’s/OD’s automatically meet the approval criteria, but must be approved for each specific course they are presenting

This is another opportunity for you to play a critical role in determining if the course is education or marketing. Speakers are evaluated solely on the input from the evaluation portion of your CE certificate as well as any other form of communication with the ABO-NCLE offices. When you’re registering for a course, check the credentials of your speaker to be sure you get what you paid for.

Continuing education courses available in trade publications or on-line have additional requirements. They must be peer-reviewed for content and completion time as well as include at least 15 multiple choice questions for each credit hour. The course should have a professional appearance with no advertising in or around the article. A passing grade is 80% or higher and you must have 2 opportunities to pass.

Not all continuing education classes are presented in a classroom setting. They can be highly interactive, such as “hands on” workshops or take the form of popular game shows or sporting events. The underlying goal is to enhance your skills and abilities in your profession in an appropriate setting and without bias. Again, according to the ABO/NCLE guidelines, education sponsors are required to involve the attendees (YOU) in the evaluation process in the following way:

• Were the printed learning outcomes of the course met?

• Will your job performance improve as a result of this course?

• Was the instructor (presenter) organized and knowledgeable?

• Was the course a worthwhile investment of time and money?

• Should this course continue to be approved for CE credit?

Your obligation as an attendee is to show up and pay attention for the required 50 minutes of the course, then complete the evaluation honestly and hand it in.

The ophthalmic industry is constantly evolving and changing. New products come to the marketplace at an almost incredible rate. However, money is tight and our time is valuable, so choosing the most beneficial use of both is crucial. Choose courses and presenters who can help you maximize both. You, your co-workers and staff and, most importantly, your patients will appreciate the time you spent evaluating and absorbing the best educational opportunities being offered.

Judy Canty
ABO/NCLE