The General Optical Council (GOC) has confirmed changes to the continuing professional development (CPD) scheme which enables contact lens opticians and optometrists with prescribing rights the opportunity to gain self-directed specialty points.
The Association of Optometrists (AOP) welcomes the GOC that registrants with a specialty, such as contact lens opticians and optometrists with prescribing rights, will now be able to obtain points in the specialty domain through self-directed CPD, following a review of the scheme.
The change allows learning relevant to professional practice from sources other than GOC-approved CPD providers, such as reading a relevant article, lecturing, or supervising a colleague, count towards registrants’ total points.
Dr Ian Beasley, Head of Education at the AOP, said: “We are pleased to see the GOC implement this long-awaited change that will give specialty registrants improved flexibility in gaining CPD points from activities that directly apply to their professional practice. This increased scope for qualifying education opportunities will undoubtedly benefit practitioners with a specialty as we approach the final year of this cycle.”
Registrants can claim points for activities completed at any stage of the current CPD cycle on MyCPD as self-directed specialty points.
Each piece of self-directed CPD is worth up to one point, with the exception of registrant-led peer review, which is worth three points.
The GOC also confirmed that, following a review, contact lens opticians will be able to participate in peer review with optometrists, in line with the CPD rules.
Optometry Today offers provider-led CPD for registrants. For more information, visit www.optometry.co.uk/cpd
