Editor’s Column #1
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Welcome to the first edition of the Journal of Medical Optometry! JoMO is the official journal of the American Board of Certification in Medical Optometry and we are so proud to bring this publication to you. The genesis of this journal is the attempted solution to a problem: the dearth of journals designed for clinical optometrists. As an optometrist in a teaching hospital, each year I see colleagues and trainees come up with ideas for publication. And all too often I see them discouraged by the submission process. They see amazing cases which could be seen by eyecare providers everywhere and which could develop all of our knowledge; but this knowledge often goes unshared. This journal exists to be a platform where we can all come to learn and to share. Its audience is anyone who would like to learn about the medical-based problems that any eyecare provider might encounter on any given day.
Most of the articles we’ll publish will be case-reports with literature reviews, but we’ll offer more than that in each edition. We’ll have photo essays, guest editorials, textbook reviews, research summaries, technology/imaging guides, theme editions and recurring columns. This edition’s columns feature two outstanding optometrists. Kyle Klute is an optometrist in Omaha who will pen a series of columns entitled “Follow the Science”. Here Dr. Klute will explain how evidence-based medicine can be used in daily patient care. Joey Kane is an optometrist in Boston and writes “Neuro Nuggets,” a recurring column about making neuro-ophthalmic cases more approachable for clinicians. This edition’s photo essay is a giant retinal tear seen by Dr. Leslie Wilderson – an optometrist in Ohio – who also includes a nice review of different types of surgical management for retinal detachments.
This first edition (and the journal itself) could not have come about if not for the tremendous work of its Editorial Board. Take a moment and click on the link to see our board. We come from all over the country, each with experience in medical-based optometry but each with a specific interest and focus. JoMO will publish online-only and in complete editions rather than on a rolling basis. We are accepting articles for future editions, so find the link at the top to submit your abstract for publishing consideration. As this is our first edition, JoMO is not yet listed on Medline or other indexing services, but we are starting the indexing process.
Like many of you reading this, the editorial board is proud of the training and experience we’ve gathered practicing optometry in a medical setting. We believe medical optometry is the future of the profession and a specialty that demands its providers to keep up with the literature. Daily, weekly, monthly. We hope that by having a resource like this journal, eyecare providers will not just have a place where they can contribute to the collective knowledge but also have a place that they can use to improve their patient’s care. For “knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.”
Doug Rett OD
Editor-in-Chief; Journal of Medical Optometry
Secretary; American Board of Certification in Medical Optometry
Chief; Boston VA Optometry
Dr. Rett is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Medical Optometry and the secretary for the American Board of Certification in Medical Optometry. He is the Chief of Optometry at VA Boston and sits on the national Field Advisory Board for Tele Eyecare at the VA. He is adjunct clinical faculty at several optometry schools, lectures nationally and enjoys writing about eyecare whenever and wherever.
