With COVID-19 leaving students unable to see patients in person, the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) is establishing an unprecedented virtual clinical training program to help the nation’s 1,800 fourth-year prospective Doctors of Optometry accumulate the 350 clinical observation hours they need to graduate.

The Academy and its board members are working with the Associations of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) and the deans and faculty of optometric schools, to develop an online experience that will continue students’ clinical education.

As part of their clinical curriculum, optometry students typically shadow doctors and work with patients in a hospital or clinic to gain first-hand patient experience, but in the current environment, many are unable to satisfy this requirement. The new program entitled, the Student Online Clinical Case Education Program (SOCCEP) will immediately provide several weeks of live-streamed and/or recorded experiences, each approximately 30-minutes in length. During each session, a faculty or industry presenter will deliver a specific case study. Students will then have an opportunity to ask questions before the session concludes with the lecturer delivering a patient outcome.