GPLI Announces New Educational Resources
Lincoln, Nebraska, February 17, 2017 - The GP Lens Institute (GPLI), the educational wing of the Contact Lens Manufacturers Association (CLMA), has added two new resources to their website. A Staff Training Module for educating eye care practice staff on custom contact lenses, and a Scleral Lens Troubleshooting FAQ that provides practical information on scleral lens fitting and problem-solving, can now be found on www.GPLI.info.
Staff Training Module
The new Staff Training Module includes an 84-page document that provides a comprehensive overview on lens care as it pertains to corneal and scleral GP lenses, hybrids, and custom soft lenses. In addition, “how-to” videos on lensometry and the radiuscope are provided. A five-video staff training module from GPLI Advisory Board member Dr. Roxanna Potter is also included in the module. The video covers areas such as contact lens care instruction, front desk reception training for contact lenses, pre-testing and checkout and follow-up training.
“I'm excited that the GPLI has added these new resources for eye care practitioners and their staff,” said Dr. Edward S. Bennett, Executive Director of the GPLI. “This module is a comprehensive resource that will help train staff on how to educate patients on lenses and lens care while also serving as an educational resource on optimizing the performance of their contact lens practice”.
Links to 23 archived webinars on GP and custom soft lens design and care that would be helpful in educating staff members have also been provided. The GPLI Staff Training Module can be found at www.gpli.info/staff-training.
Scleral Lens Troubleshooting
In conjunction with the Scleral Lens Education Society (www.sclerallens.org), the GPLI has also launched the Scleral Lens Troubleshooting FAQs module. Accessible from www.gpli.info, this module consists of commonly asked practitioner questions about scleral lenses and answers from experts from the Scleral Lens Education Society as well as GPLI advisory board members.
Illustrated with 113 images, the information in this module serves as a resource for all practitioners currently fitting and troubleshooting scleral lenses, as well as those who are interested in learning how to do so.
“The scleral lens module will be a wonderful online resource that can be accessed while managing a challenging scleral lens fit,” said Dr. Bennett. “It will also provide a better understanding as to which patients benefit the most from scleral lenses, how to design and fit these lenses, patient education and lens care, and valuable resources available on scleral lenses and scleral lens fitting”.
The Scleral Lens Troubleshooting FAQs module can be found at www.gpli.info/scleral-lenses.
About the CLMA
The Contact Lens Manufacturers Association (CLMA) is the professional association of specialty lens laboratories, materials, solution and equipment manufacturers in the United States and abroad. Organized in 1961, the CLMA expanded its mission in 1985 to include the GPLI. The mission of the CLMA is to increase awareness and utilization of custom manufactured contact lenses. The association has built a solid record of success in its work to strengthen its members’ impact on the shaping of vital national polices, laws and regulations that affect the contact lens industry. The CLMA draws its strength and effectiveness from the very active direct participation of each of its member companies and from a small but thoroughly professional staff.
About the GPLI
The GP Lens Institute (GPLI) is the educational division of the Contact Lens Manufacturers Association (CLMA). The GPLI is dedicated to providing practitioners with educational and practice-building resources that enable them to fully benefit from the many advantages of GP (oxygen permeable) and custom specialty soft contact lenses. Founded in the fall of 1985, the GPLI was originally a small, independent group of practitioners and industry representatives who met to discuss the need for GP education. Initially, the Institute sponsored GP seminars at several professional meetings. From this modest beginning, the work of the GPLI has grown to include an extensive school workshop program, monthly online webinars, an array of educational and practice-building materials for practitioners, and a bimonthly newsletter. GPLI’s efforts are led by its Executive Director, Dr. Edward S. Bennett, Assistant Dean and Professor at the University of Missouri at St. Louis College of Optometry.