October 1 – 4, 2026
Sheraton Flowood The Refuge Hotel & Conference Center
2200 Refuge Blvd, Flowood, MS 39232
To register
Hotel Room Block Reservation
PARA Registration Information
Early Bird Registration (6/24-8/14)
Standard Registration (8/15-9/25)
Special Discounts for Group Registrations
The more you register, the more you save! Here’s how it works:
Registrations 1-3: Regular price
Registrations 4-6: 5% off their registration
Registrations 7 or more: 10% off their registration
Registrations after 9/26 will be considered Late registrations/On-site and will have a additional $50.00 fee.
2026 PARA Fall Conference Agenda
(Schedule subject to change)
Course Descriptions
Premium Customer Service (1 hour)
This course is designed to enhance staff members’ customer service skills. A discussion of customer service techniques using real scenarios and desired customer service techniques will be used. This interactive course will engage the audience in participation.
Basic Optics and Refractive Principles (1 Hour)
Covers basic principles in ophthalmic lenses and characteristics in myopic, hyperopic, astigmatic lenses. Basics in prisms, and the refractive qualities lens characteristics associated with the different refractive conditions that these lenses are used for. The discussion will include conditions and terminology used in ocular optics.
Visual Field Testing And How To Get Good Results (1 Hour)
This course will cover the purpose, need, and proper patient alignment for visual field testing. It will break down the types of visual field tests and when to use them. We will also cover the different measurements used to interpret the standard visual field.
Unfinished Business (1 hour)
This course is designed to highlight the importance of work completion and how unfinished business can derail the entire office and cause major workflow and production issues. This course is designed to assist the individual workers and the supervisor techniques to track work assignments.
How To Be A Better Than Average Employee (1 hour)
This course is designed to teach attendees what it takes to be an outstanding employee. The traits of an employee that has set themselves apart from the rest of the pack to standard out in excellence and performance. Teaches traits of an outstanding employee.
The Magic of Patient Scheduling (1 hour)
This course is designed to assist the attendees in understanding the need for scheduling oversight, schedule training, and proper scheduling reviews. The importance of schedule management will be emphasized, and examples of proper schedule management will be discussed.
Building the Culture you want in the practice (1 hour) new
This course is designed to assist the attendees in understanding the importance of building a culture that can thrive. The course will cover the key and critical elements of a good culture and the negative effects of a toxic culture. The course will cover the value of leadership and followership in culture building, and how everyone on the team has a role in the cultural building process.
Things I learned at conference (1 hour)
This course is designed to assist the attendees in understanding the value of attending a conference and will cover the different areas of education used in clinical practice, new technologies, disease management, new medications, procedures used in an ophthalmic practice, and other areas that improve office efficiencies
Fall Conference FAQ's
Having trouble accessing the online registration?
Existing Members of MOA/AOA
To find your existing account, try retrieving your your username using the email address you have on file. You can also reset your password using the same email address. If you need additional assistance, please contact the MOA office.
Non-Existing Members of MOA/AOA
**If you do not currently have a Account you can also register online, for further assistance contact the MOA Office for assistance setting up an Account.
PARA/Staff working for AOA Member ODs
All Paraoptometrics/Optometric staff of AOA member doctors may become AOA associate members and have access to all current paraoptometric member benefits and services at no extra charge to the staff member or the AOA member doctor. In order to enroll all PARA/STAFF the AOA member OD or their designee should visit the manage staff page.
Check out this page to fill out the form to request membership and a web login. You must use a unique (non-shared) email address when requesting an account.
**This is important so that PARA/Staff receive the discounted member pricing, as well as any discounts associated with members.
PARA/Office Staff should only utilize the PARA registration for themselves and other PARA/Office staff. All ODs should be registered via the OD registration link separately. If you need help correcting any registration items please contact the MOA office.
Para/Staff Working for NON-Member OD
You can still request an account for attending meetings with MOA! Contact the MOA office and we will create an account for you. You must use a unique (non-shared) email address when requesting an account.
What day is CE offered?
Friday October 2 and Saturday October 3.
How many CE hours are available?
4 hours of AOA CPC credit on Friday and 4 hours of AOA CPC credit on Saturday, for a total of 8 hours.
Are the CE hours accredited?
The hours will be accredited through the AOA CPC.
Who is the instructor?
Lynn E. Lawrence, CMSgt, USAF (ret), MSOL, CPOT, ABOC, OSC.
