“Join me and make an early dent into meeting your requirements in the new cycle”

It always surprises (terrifies) me how many people fly by the seat of their pants and leave it to the very the last day out of 1096 in the cycle to sit down and do their CPD admin, “Ah, I understand Sir, so you’ve still got to meet two of your domains, earn 15 interactive points, complete a Peer review and do your Reflective exercise.”

Eek. Insert ‘peeking eye’ emoji.

And, while the less panic-stricken souls among us can exhale a little after ticking all of the boxes in the 2022–2024 cycle, we go again.

To me, meeting the CPD requirements always feels a bit like the never-ending laundry basket – no sooner have I cleared the last load, there’s a fresh pile of ‘domains’ lying in wait: lights, darks, delicates, handwashed woollens. Not quite sure where peer review fits into this already overstretched analogy – dry clean only perhaps? Anyway, moving on…

To me, meeting the CPD requirements always feels a bit like the never-ending laundry basket

Get off to a good start

As we enter the second iteration of the CPD scheme, with good old-fashioned continuing education and training (CET) being all but a distant memory, we have a bit of a head start this time around. Indeed, we should all be familiar with the nuances of the not-so-new-requirements – curating a personal development plan (PDP) at the outset, and understanding(ish) the scope and remit of the Reflective exercise at the back end of the cycle.

In fact, completion of the Reflective exercise during the last few months, weeks, days, (minutes) of 2024 should act as a springboard into the new cycle. If you cast your mind back, then you will recall that one of the key points during this task was to consider ‘…your aspirations towards building your PDP within the next cycle.’ And if, like me, you can’t quite remember what you scribbled down for this, helpfully, the General Optical Council (GOC) will ensure a copy is made available for when you tackle completion of your PDP this time around.

Now, let’s face it, that well-used phrase ‘nothing good happens after 2am’ applies equally well to January – unquestionably the grottiest month of the year. So, why not join me and make an early dent into meeting your requirements in the new cycle, and segway into the warmer months with a certain sense of smugness?

And maybe, just maybe, the AOP’s CPD hotline will remain silent on 31 December 2027.