Vision Expo West: Win big in Vegas

Key Points

Las Vegas-Those attending the International Vision Expo West (VEW) will have the chance to win big with a meeting that promises a plethora of continuing education (CE), couture designers, and exclusive courses including topics on health-care reform and the economy. Right in the entertainment capital of the world, VEW takes place from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

CE programs

One of the new and timely courses, "Obama's health-care plan: Making sense of new reforms," is where you can listen to policy insiders explain how America will be entering a new era of health care.

A new series of management courses called Visionomics will take place from Sept. 30 to Oct 3. The courses provide tips for surviving during these economic downtimes; studies in understanding profitability; enhancement of service outcomes to patients and customers; review-based staff compensation; and a free management course featuring a well-known business consultant discussing the current financial predicaments.

"We had 9 hours [of Visionomics courses] at Vision Expo East and now at [VEW] we're going to have 25 hours," Loughran said.

The Lunch with the Experts Roundtable will be held Oct. 2 from 12 to 1 p.m., when eye-care professionals can have lunch and casual conversation on various table topics with members of VEW's Conference Advisory Board. Topics and experts include:

Another new offering is allied health personnel education, which includes 9 hours of CE and has been submitted to the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology for accreditation. It will take place from Oct. 2 to 3.

A glaucoma symposium will take place Oct. 1 and 2 where attendees can earn up to 9 hours of courses.

VEW and the Ocular Surface Society of Optometry, newly formed partners, present Current concepts in ocular surface disease: The dry eye, corneal dystrophy, and lid disease, which will make its debut on Oct. 2, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. If technology is your foe, then attend another new course "Cracking the social networking code to generate new business," where you can learn how to harness emerging social networking technologies like Linkedin and Facebook to build business and solidify customer relationships.

Exhibit hall

The exhibit hall will be open Oct. 1 and 2, from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Oct. 3, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. As you enter the exhibit hall, you will notice that everything this year is color-coded for easier navigation. Burnt orange carpeting will indicate you are near the fashion booths; the medical and scientific pavilion will be chartreuse; the lenses and processing technology pavilion will be teal; and The Galleria will be pink.

Also going glitzier this year are the Suites, which are home to the high-end fashion pavilion. The suites have been moved from the Venetian to the Palazzo.

"We decided to change the location of the suites from the Venetian to the Palazzo because we feel like it's a newer location, has a little bit more of a sophisticated look and feel, and more of a luxury environment that's equivalent to the type of products that they sell," Loughran said.

The exhibit hall's new look and easy navigation, however, create a lot of waste when setting up and taking down, which is why VEW tries to recycle as often as possible. CE courses are paperless, but attendees can print out their course materials with computers on site.