Dry Eye Institute to host immersive education retreat in Dublin

The Dry Eye Institute (DEI) is taking its program abroad this May, kicking off a global retreat in Dublin, Ireland—the first-ever international expansion of its immersive, dry eye-focused education model.

How exciting! Let’s start with a look at DEI.

DEI was founded in 2017 as a premier educational program for optometrists and ophthalmologists specializing in advanced dry eye care, as well as those interested in advancing their knowledge and expertise in ocular surface disease (OSD) treatment.

Its founder: Crystal Brimer, OD, FAAO, a dry eye specialist and owner of Dry Eye Equation in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Talk more about its programming.

Focusing on clinical advancements and practice integration, DEI’s education program was created to assist eyecare providers (ECPs) in improving patient outcomes by implementing effective dry eye treatment programs within their practices.

And most importantly: ECP participants can earn COPE-accredited continuing education (CE).

What distinguishes DEI from other dry eye CE programs?

As Dr. Brimer told us: DEI is designed for implementation, not just education.

“Most CE programs focus on what dry eye is and what treatments exist—DEI focuses on how to actually build and execute a successful dry eye program in a real-world practice,” she said.

Among its areas of focus: Clinical protocols, patient flow, staff training, scheduling, billing, and case selection.

I’m listening …

Also unique to DEI is its attendee size. Dr. Brimer noted the program is intentionally kept small to enable a more interactive, customized, and immediately applicable experience for eyecare providers (ECPs).

“Attendees leave not just with knowledge, but with a clear roadmap and the tools to implement changes as soon as they return to their office,” she said.

So, how is this education delivered?

Multiple formats:

Live retreats (which we’ll get to in a moment)
Team-based office training
- Online, immersive course broken into digestible segments with insights from industry experts in a real-world setting, as well as ongoing resources, vendor relationships, and interactive sessions with Dr. Brimer.
  - CE credit opportunity: up to 17 hours
Online learning via DEI On Demand
- Referred to as “not your typical online course,” with access to professionally recorded (immersive) content, workbook materials, a patient education book, a marketing kit, and various products
  - CE credit opportunity: up to 17 hours
    - Info on provided materials and tuition here
    - See also our prior coverage on this

Circle back to that live retreat component.

While DEI already offers a flagship, in-person program for ECPs in Wilmington (we’ll talk about that later), this is where our focus turns to DEI’s first-ever global retreat.

When and where: The four-day event kicks off May 20-24 at the Radisson Blu St. Helen’s Hotel in Dublin, Ireland, in partnership with SCOPE Health, Inc.
Who should attend: Both beginner and experienced dry eye ECPs, offering content tailored to the specific needs and experience levels of all attendees.
- For those advanced ECPs: This may include those already practicing at a higher level in dry eye care with utilization of intense pulsed light (IPL) and thermal evacuation

I have to ask—why partner with SCOPE on this?

Fun fact: The ophthalmic company is actually based in Dublin.

As DEI noted, SCOPE is “uniquely positioned to guide (attendees) to some of the most memorable locations, dining experiences, and cultural highlights Ireland has to offer."

And as an event partner, the company is also providing financial support to help reduce attendance costs for ECPS.

According to Dr. Brimer: Though the company won’t be involved in the retreat’s CE portions, its purpose also includes supporting logistics and “helping to build relationships and support practice development on the retail and operational side.”

Gotcha. Next up: the CE component.

Beginning on Day 2 of the retreat, 4 hours of CE each day will be paired with curated excursions of Ireland.

In total: Attendees can earn 12 hours of CE.

To note: The event’s first day doesn't kick off until the evening, in which a tour and dinner at Dublin’s Guinness Storehouse will be followed by additional group experiences throughout the city designed to highlight its history, culture, and culinary scene.

And what can we expect on the education front?

The Dublin retreat offers a 100% interactive educational program structured as a dynamic, guided conversation rather than a traditional lecture.

Live demonstration stations will allow attendees not only to observe advanced techniques—including those not yet incorporated into their practice—but also better understand how they’re performed and integrated into practice.

Plus, case studies will focus on conditions often masquerading as dry eye (including those challenging even the most experienced clinicians).

Clinical protocols will encompass evidence-based and those proprietary to DEI, refined through daily clinical application and from DEI participants themselves.

“This allows us to bridge the gap between theory and what actually works in practice,” Dr. Brimer said.

What specific treatments and technologies will be covered?

The curriculum is expected to focus on advanced dry eye treatment protocols, such as:

Treatment sequencing
Combination therapy
Patient selection

Also on the agenda: advanced technologies for:

Allergy testing
Chemical cautery
Comprehensive dry eye evaluations
Conjunctival chalasis repair
Dilation and irrigation

And among the technologies: Tixel (and Tixel 2), CAM 360 (BioTissue), Rinsada, and NuLids Pro.

Very cool! What else?

A significant portion of the program will address the interaction between ocular surface disease (OSD)and periocular aesthetics, as well as how treatments—including energy-based devices like Novolex’s Tixel—can be used to improve both function and outcomes.

“This is an area that is often overlooked in traditional education but has a meaningful impact on patient results and practice growth,” Dr. Brimer said.

What other advantages come with attending this?

In addition to on-site learning, participants will also receive access to an estimated 20 hours of education content via the DEI On Demand program.

This curriculum will be included in DEI’s aforementioned Wilmington Live Retreat offered as an in-person course this spring and later this fall in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Another live retreat?! Sounds perfect for ECPs unable to attend the Dublin event.

Indeed. In fact, the next installment of the Wilmington Live Retreat will be held before the Dublin retreat: April 16-17.

A total of 20 hours of COPE-accredited CE will be available for attendees of this small-group, immersive education learning format.

And for newer dry eye ECPs interested in attending: “This can accelerate growth by literally years and help them sidestep the typical frustrations and growing pains,” Dr. Brimer said.

… and what if I can’t attend that retreat this spring?

Not to worry—the curriculum will be offered as a live course again later this fall (dates are TBD) and accessible online in 2027.