Our 2009-2010 business plan reflected the six strategic aims set out in our 2008-2011 strategy:


1. Professional Development Focus on quality, qualifications, increasing scope and expanding routes to Fellowship


2. Research Commission, set direction, facilitate, promote and emphasise evidence-based practice


3. Advocacy and Outreach Educate the public, enhance the status of the profession, represent and promote the profession


4. Member Services Provide support for innovation in practice and increasing scope of practice


5. Standards for Professional Conduct Create, review and maintain standards for professional conduct that support our members in delivering high quality patient care


6. Organisational Robustness Ensure a College that is fit for purpose


developing professionals


Ensuring standards and supporting trainees One of the College’s fundamental roles is the development of future professionals – the optometrists of tomorrow. In 2005, following the introduction of the General Optical Council’s 82 Stage II Core Competencies, underpinning the postgraduate training of optometrists, a new Scheme for Registration was piloted. Since then we have introduced a new assessment programme consisting of quarterly work-based assessments, giving a better measure of trainees’ competence and ensuring a more consistent approach among Assessors. This year a routine eye test and contact lens assessment were carried out using patients supplied by the College. This means that the patients we supply are unknown to the trainee, thus creating a fairer, more reliable assessment. The introduction of the Objective


Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), an assessment widely used in other clinical professions, discriminates well between trainees who have reached the required standard and those who have not. An OSCE samples the whole range of patient conditions that a newly qualified optometrist would manage. In July 2010 we ran the first OSCE; 310 candidates entered for the exam with a pass rate of 78%. This is an exciting time for the


Scheme. These radical changes have ensured trainees now undertake a combination of assessments that will give the regulator, employers and the public reassurance that those who are successful have the knowledge and skills needed to practise safely, and give trainees the assurance of a comprehensive, relevant and fair assessment process.


Encouraging professional development We held the first Therapeutics Common Final Assessment in Independent Prescribing in November 2009. Seventy candidates have now taken the computer-based, key features exam with an overall pass rate of 91%.


Improving standards We founded and chair the Joint Glaucoma Guideline Group, working to reduce the number of unnecessary referrals into secondary care and maximise the service that community optometrists and the hospital eye service can deliver to the public. Together with the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, we published joint Guidance on supervision in relation to glaucoma care and on the referral of glaucoma suspects by community optometrists. Since CPD Online was launched in 2009, we have continued to gather


feedback and comments from users. Plans have been developed for a second phase of work which will enhance and improve CPD Online and its usability. The work is being steered by a content and guidance group, an accreditation panel and an appraisal working group. We are also working closely with a CPD expert and optometrist, who has been identifying areas of improvement. We continue to work with the profession and have been demonstrating the benefits of CPD Online to optometrists through College events. The coming year will see exciting improvements to CPD Online. We are currently reviewing our


Higher Qualifications and plans are under way to work in partnership with universities and other bodies to deliver these. A draft qualifications framework and draft accreditation criteria were sent out for consultation. Moorfields and City University were commissioned to develop learning outcomes and an indicative content and structure for Higher Qualifications in Glaucoma. We continued to promote the


portfolio route to Fellowship. One Fellowship was awarded and a further eight registrations submitted. This year we have significantly reduced the fee (from £500 to £75), to remove a potential barrier to application.


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