This month we feature two important topics from our webinars of last weekend. Dr. Matt Lampa, Professor at the Pacific University College of Optometry, provided his usual very contemporary overview of custom soft lens applications based upon clinical research in his “Custom Soft Lens Update” webinar for eye care professionals on October 18^th. Dr. John Mark Jackson, Professor and Director of Instructional Enhancement at the Southern College of Optometry, gave an exceptional clinical presentation entitled: “Contact Lens Options for Slowing Myopia Progression” for students and residents on October 20^th. The latter webinar is archived under the “Residents & Students” tab on www.gpli.info but would be a valuable resource for anyone interested in making myopia management a practice priority. Finally, we are unveiling the first of several exciting programs for 2023, our Eye Care Professional Membership Program. For a nominal annual fee, members of the GPLI will receive no less than 14 benefits including free COPE continuing educational webinars, access to several education programs and modules, printed resources, podcasts, CLMA laboratory discounts, a themed educational newsletter, and several others.

The GPLI is excited to introduce the GPLI Eye Care Professional Membership! This membership is open for enrollment now and will take effect January 1st, 2023. You will get access to premier resources to help you advance your specialty contact lens practice. Your membership also supports the ongoing efforts of the GP Lens Institute. Benefits include: Free Printed Materials, Coding and Billing Module, Staff Module, Building Your Practice with GP Multifocals, Archived Webinars, Free Quarterly COPE Approved Webinars, Bi-Monthly Member Newsletter, CLMA Discounts, Access to Recent Cornea and Contact Lens Residents Symposium Presentations, Quarterly GPLI Podcast (“GPLI Radio”), Member Directory, and more!

Regular Member: $89/yr

Fellow in a contact lens organization: $75/yr

Educators, Students, and Residents: Free*

*Email beth@gpli.info to claim your free membership

As mentioned above, the GPLI has embarked on a very ambitious project to significantly increase the number of specialty contact lens clinical externship sites for fourth year optometry students. Any eye care professional entertaining the idea of becoming an externship site should go to our web page for more information. There is an educational webinar from August 23^rd entitled “Expanding Your practice through Education: Becoming a Specialty Contact Lens Externship Site” where four experts discuss the benefits of having externs rotate through their respective practices as well as an application to become a site.

This program is sponsored by the Society of Eye Care Specialists (SECS). Members of the SECS include Drs. Rob Davis, Jeffery Sonsino, Jordan Kassalow, Amy Nau, Douglas Inns, Aaron McNulty, Moshe Schwartz, Lamar Zigler, Barry Eiden, Todd Bowman, Jeff Cooper, Randall Fuerst, David Seibel, Selina McGee, and Shalu Pal.

As mentioned last month, via a generous grant from Woo University, this award has been established. For future funding of this award, Art’s wife and professional partner, Shannon Steinhäuser OD, has listed the GPLI as a donation site in Art’s memory. This can be accessed here. Dr. Steinhäuser is an editor of the Optometric Physician e-journal, and former President of the Arizona Optometric Association (AzOA) where she has been awarded both their “Young OD of the Year” and “OD of the Year” honors. She will be accepting the 2023 award at the Rising Stars reception at the Global Specialty Lens Symposium as it was deemed only appropriate that the initial award should honor Dr. Epstein himself.

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