History
The academy has its origins in the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology (AAOO), founded in 1896 as a medical association of both ophthalmologists and otolaryngologists. The AAO was founded when the AAOO split in 1979 and divided into separate academies for each specialty. Like most medical associations, the AAO collects dues, provides continuing education and seminars for its members, including its four-day annual meeting. Outside the medical community it promotes public health information. Also, like most other medical associations, the AAO takes public policy stances on issues through lobbying (carried out by its Washington, D.C.-based Governmental Affairs Division).
In 2010, the AAO sponsored the creation of EyeWiki, a wiki-model Internet encyclopedia of ophthalmology that is written and edited by ophthalmologists and "ophthalmologists-in-training".
Read more about this topic: American Academy Of Ophthalmology
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