AOP insight: events and education in 2022

Education: Dr Ian Beasley, head of education and OT clinical editor

Following the introduction of CPD, how is the AOP supporting members in the new scheme?

From the very beginning of the new year, the AOP has been supporting our members in meeting their educational requirements by offering Continuing Professional Development (CPD) aligned to the General Optical Council’s (GOC) new scheme. The December/January edition of OT kickstarted our CPD offering with articles and exams covering all domains for each practitioner type. This next edition saw a continuation of OT’s education provision, with new exams live from 12 February.

What is on the agenda for the year ahead?

Our programme of activity for 2022 will look to support practitioners in consolidating their core skills, as well as providing updates on advances in contemporary clinical practice, while also recognising the expanding role that community optometrists are playing in delivering patient care.

Planning ahead is key and a fundamental component of the GOC’s new scheme

What will your focus be for the months ahead?

Through our extensive education offering, we will continue to work with key strategic partners, such as Johnson and Johnson Vision, to fulfil the needs of specific target groups, including locums, independent practitioners and hospital optometrists, as well as ensuring we offer different modes of delivery to suit individual learning preferences. Our members should also expect to see some innovative changes to the way they can earn points, which harnesses the flexibility offered by the GOC’s new CPD scheme.

Would you have one piece of advice for starting off the new education cycle well?

Planning ahead is key and a fundamental component of the GOC’s new scheme, which will require practitioners to take a forward-thinking approach to their professional development as they embark on the new cycle.

Our events always prove to be very popular and bookings go fast, so I would advise members to keep an eye on our webpage for when new events are being promoted

AOP events

What will be your focus for the year ahead?

The AOP will continue to deliver high-quality educational events for our members both online and face-to-face in 2022. We are also introducing new one-day online events covering specialist topics such as myopia management, which we are very excited about.

What will the AOP’s events plans look like in the year ahead?

From the first lockdown in the UK, we have adapted to run all of our events online. This has proven to work very well with most of our events fully booked, so we will continue running a lot of activity online. However, we are also introducing some face-to-face events around the country throughout the year, which we are really looking forward to. We held two face-to-face events in 2021, one in London and one in Manchester, and it was so nice to meet our members again. We will have the 100% Optical event in April at ExCeL London. As the education partner, the AOP will be delivering a programme of exciting sessions, providing an opportunity for our members to come and meet us, and take part in some great education.

What will the introduction of CPD mean for AOP events?

The most significant change is that members will now be responsible for uploading their own evidence of CPD completion on the GOC portal rather than this being done for them by the provider. The AOP will provide a certificate after each event which can be used as evidence of attendance.

What advice would you have for members keen to attend the AOP’s events?

Our events always prove to be very popular and bookings go fast, so I would advise members to keep an eye on our webpage for when new events are being promoted, so they can secure a space. However, we run a series of the same events throughout the year so if they miss one it is likely it will be running again at a later date.