WesternU College of Optometry to host AOSA Western Regional Conference

Western University of Health Sciences' College of Optometry will welcome more than 200 optometry students from across the West for the American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) Western Regional Conference Sept. 20-21, 2024.

WesternU College of Optometry student Tam Pham (pictured) is organizing the 2024 AOSA Western Regional Conference with College of Optometry student Ishani Shelat. They serve as WesternU's AOSA Trustee and Trustee-Elect, respectively.

The conference will be held on WesternU's Pomona, California campus. Third-year College of Optometry student Tam Pham serves as WesternU's AOSA Trustee and is organizing the event with second-year College of Optometry student and AOSA Trustee-Elect Ishani Shelat, in collaboration with the California Optometric Association, the Optometry Private Practice Club, and the InfantSEE Foundation. AOSA is the student branch of the American Optometric Association (AOA).

The conference will feature pop-up lectures, keynote speakers, a Neuro Rehab Panel, an exhibit hall, networking opportunities and more. Students from optometry schools in California, Arizona, Oregon and Utah are invited to attend, along with undergraduate pre-optometry students and local optometrists. Several College of Optometry faculty members will share their expertise in lectures and on panels.

"The goal of this conference is to show students what conferences are and what's available to them," Pham said. "The lectures are geared toward students. We have an exhibit hall with vendors and industry partners who know their audience here are students. The conversations and topics will be geared to what they can do for students."

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Students will learn about advocacy and the tools they need for success, Pham said.

"We hope students will be comfortable knowing what conferences are, and they will attend more conferences in the future," Pham said. "We want them to be more comfortable networking with industry partners and talking with doctors and with their peers. At the end of it, we want students to have fun."

Each year, the Western Regional Conference is hosted in rotation by the AOSA Trustee and Trustee-Elect of each school. WesternU's College of Optometry came up in the rotation this year.

"Gathering students from different optometry schools offers invaluable opportunities for networking, knowledge exchange, collaborative learning, and community building, not just at WesternU, but across various institutions," Pham said. "As members of the AOSA, our mission is to empower students to thrive as future doctors of optometry by providing experience, education, advocacy, and the tools for success through all of our events."

Hosting the conference will position WesternU as a hub for optometric education and leadership and also showcases our state-of-the-art facilities, our dedicated faculty, and the strengths of our academic community, said College of Optometry Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Ida Chung, OD, MSHE, FCOVD, FAAO.

"With the College of Optometry's mission that emphasizes rehabilitation of the visual system and neuro-optometry, it is very fitting that the theme for this year's conference is on neuro-rehabilitation and it is held at WesternU," Chung said. "This event provides a unique opportunity for WesternU to build partnerships and demonstrate our commitment to supporting the next generation of optometrists."

As a legislated profession, optometry requires us to actively engage with legislators to expand our scope of practice and advance patient care, Chung said.

"It's incredibly rewarding to see our future doctors of optometry get involved in advocacy early on, through events like the AOSA Western Regional Conference," she said. "These opportunities allow students to come together with a shared purpose-advancing the profession-while learning the critical tools for legislative success. By interacting with fellow students from other optometry schools, they not only build a network of peers but also gain insights that enrich their academic journey and professional growth."

Visit the AOSA Western Regional Conference website at https://aosaclub.wixsite.com/wrc2024-wuco.

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