ERIC Number: ED198300
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1980
Pages: 607
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Plans for the Development of a Regional Program of Optometric Education in the Western United States. Final Report, September 20, 1978-June 30, 1980. The Comprehensive Report.
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Boulder, CO.
This final report summarizes work performed by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) to develop a plan to regionalize optometric education in the western states. WICHE worked closely with a project advisory committee and the region's three schools of optometry to develop a regional plan. Personnel supply and demand in the western states were surveyed, and other regional educational plans were examined for their applicability to optometry in the West. It was found that the existing 3 schools of optometry can meet the needs of the 13 western states for educational opportunity and for labor supply; and that although supply is favorable, some maldistribution of practitioners exists among the states. The plan developed by WICHE includes the following program components: (1) access and admission based on the needs of each state; (2) a cooperative network of off-campus clinical training sites; (3) a manpower program to encourage distribution; (4) resource sharing among the three schools of optometry; and (5) a financial plan. Coordination of the plan would occur at three levels: among schools, within each state, and at the regional level. A phased implementation schedule and budget are included. Although the region could support the plan's operation, further funding would be required to develop the new program components. (Author/KC)
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Health Resources Administration (DHHS/PHS), Hyattsville, MD. Div. of Allied Health Professions.
Authoring Institution: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Boulder, CO.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A