EBO Diploma ad eundem

Diploma ad eundem : The Grandfather Clause

Under the Grandfather Clause of the European Board of Ophthalmology, the Diploma with its associated Fellowship of the Board can be granted to ophthalmologists ad eundem under the special circumstance that they fulfill all of the following requirements:

1. Fulfill the general requirements of the Diploma, i.e. are certified Specialists in Ophthalmology from any country of the European Union, Norway, or Switzerland ;
   
   
2. Have practiced ophthalmology for at least 10 years;
   
   
3. Submit a curriculum vitae;
   
   
4. Provide evidence of honorable and distinguished service to ophthalmology;
   
   
5. Are recommended by their own National Ophthalmological Society or the National Ophthalmological Society of the Country of their training and specialisation; and
   
   
6. Their application is accepted by the Education Committee.

The Grandfather Clause is applicable in each Member Country of the European Union for ten years only.

• The clause is closed as of December 31, 2003, ten years from its inception, for Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

• The clause is open from May 1, 2004, the date when they joined the European union, until April 30, 2014, for Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia.

The process of applying for the Diploma ad eundem is as follows:

1. Prepare your curriculum vitae and a covering letter in which you apply for the Diploma ad eundem, addressed to the Chairman of the Education Committee. Please, do not pay the processing fee at this stage.
   
   
2. Send the application documents to the appropriate National Delegates. They will seek endorsement from the appropriate National Ophthalmological Society and will then forward all your application documents to the Education Committee. If your country has an Associated Member in the Board, he or she can act as your National Delegate.
   
   
3. The Education Committee will verify the documents and the endorsement and, if these are acceptable, will forward your application to the General Secretary.
   
   
4. The General Secretary will inform you and the Treasurer of acceptance. You will then be asked to pay the processing fee.
   
   
5. Once the processing fee has been received, the Treasurer will inform the General Secretary, who will order a Diploma to be printed.
   
   
6. The Diploma will be signed by members of the Executive Committee at the time of the Diploma Examination, where after the General Secretary will mail the Diploma to your address.

The processing fee of the ad eundem Diploma is 500 euro, which must be paid in full to the Treasurer after acceptance by the Education Committee and before the Diploma is sent by the General Secretary.

The Diplomas are printed once a year and will be sent out annually in early July. They are similar to the Diplomas awarded for passing the Diploma Examination, with appropriate wording to differentiate them from those that are obtained by taking the examination.

If you have been notified of acceptance, have paid the processing fee, and have not received your Diploma before the end of July, this usually means that there is a problem with your address.

In that case, please, send your FULL NAME and COMPLETE CURRENT ADDRESS to the Treasurer.