Finding an IP hospital placement

The scenario

“I completed my independent prescribing (IP) course via the College of Optometrists. When starting an IP course, you need to have a hospital placement in place for after you have completed the theory aspect. The hospital placement exists for the practitioner to complete the required case studies. After that, you have a therapeutics final assessment, which takes place online. My challenge was whether I signed up to the course without having my placement arranged, and then risk having the qualification delayed if I could not find a placement. An added risk with the IP qualification is that, if you do the theory and don’t find a placement after two years, you have to do the theory again.”

Mohammed Asghar, locum optometrist

How I navigated it

I planned to undertake my IP qualification at Aston University, but I chose to try and organise a placement before I subscribed to the course.

As a locum optometrist, we are always doing days here and there. Instead of doing all my locum days in primary eye care, at multiples or at independents, I decided to organise some work in the hospital eye service.

I searched the NHS website for hospital optometry jobs, and found a part-time role, two days a week, in a cornea clinic.

I applied for the job, went for the interview, and outlined what my ambitions were. I explained that I had done various courses already, that I was looking to do therapeutics as well, and that I felt experience in the corneal clinic and being under a hospital consultant would be very useful. I then posed the question: if I did come on board, would it be the case that the consultant would be able to supervise me further down the line?

I also asked if I could I do it one day rather than two, because I was locuming and wanted to retain the level of remuneration that I was receiving from those shifts in the community.

They agreed to take me on, and I started working at the hospital one day a week, on Mondays. I signed up to the IP course at Aston, and had the placement covered when I started: I had it verbally agreed from the consultant that the hospital would look after me when it came to the point that I needed to complete the placement.

For the placement, I had to do 24 half-day sessions in the hospital, so when it came to that point, I took on fewer locum shifts in the community and went into the hospital more frequently.

When seeking an IP hospital placement, there are various avenues that optometrists can look for. It’s all about asking the question, and keeping an open mind. Other optometrists have written letters to hospitals, or they have asked their local optical committee for assistance.

There are options, but you can also just look for a hospital job, and while you’re in your interview, you can pose the question. I think as a locum that is doable, because you’re not in a permanent job. You’re not going to be giving up your job to take on that placement – you will maybe give up one or two locum days, but you are going to be getting paid for your time in the hospital anyway.

When seeking an IP hospital placement, there are various avenues that optometrists can look for. It’s all about asking the question, and keeping an open mind

Considering potential risks

One risk with the approach I took is that I could have end up delaying my submission to apply for the course, because I chose to only apply once I had my placement organised, or at least had a verbal agreement. The risk was that I couldn’t find a placement. In that case, I would not have applied, which would have delayed my opportunity to become IP qualified.

Also, because it was only a verbal agreement, further down the line the consultant may have said that they couldn’t actually accommodate me. They have always got resident doctors in secondary care shadowing the consultants, and they take precedence. There was one clinic that it would have been helpful for me to observe, but I was unable to because there was a resident doctor in there already, for example.

If I had to apply again, I would try and make sure the timetable was definitely good enough that they could accommodate me at the variety of clinics needed. That may mean organising the placement with dates beforehand. With that said, there is a window to complete the IP placement, so as long as you have got a placement organised, it shouldn’t take two years before the consultant can give you the time required. As long as you are clear with what you want to do and what window you have in order to do it, providing you pass the theory aspect of the course, everybody’s timeline should work out.

Overall, I was quite happy with the way I conducted my IP placement. It was less stressful than if I had been under time pressure whilst already completing the theory aspect of the course. At that point, I already had the placement organised, and I just had to get through the general hurdles that the IP course required.

I remained working in the hospital for two years after gaining my IP qualification, before I returned to the community full-time. It was a good experience, and it was valuable to gain some extra knowledge, which I have then been able to bring back and use in primary care.