BUCCLE celebrates centennial meeting

The British and Irish University and College Contact Lens Educators (BUCCLE) celebrated its 100^th meeting on 8 September at the University of Western England in Bristol.

Recognising the milestone meeting, the organisation held a day of continued professional development (CPD) for those involved in contact lens education at member institutions.

BUCCLE is sponsored by Alcon, Bausch + Lomb, CooperVision, No. 7 Contact Lenses (CooperVision Specialty Eyecare), Johnson and Johnson, and Menicon.

Just two years after the 40^th anniversary of the establishment of the group, OT asked the chairs and members of BUCCLE for their reflections on the latest milestone.

What does it mean for BUCCLE to be hosting its 100^th meeting?

Byki Huntjens, chair of BUCCLE, (BH): You don’t really appreciate what it means for an association to celebrate their 40^th year or their 100^th meeting, until you discover the minutes of the very first meeting held on 23 October 1980, typed on a (now considered) vintage typewriter. I absolutely love the spelling mistake in the very first word.

We are all so immensely appreciative of the six founding members and our sponsors who support contact lens education. Interestingly, the format hasn’t really changed over the past 40 years; we are a very collaborative group of educators who all have the best interest of our students at heart.

Dean Dunning, vice chair of BUCCLE (DD): It is a real milestone for us. We had to cancel our 40^th year anniversary celebration due to COVID-19 restrictions, so it is really significant to us to be able to acknowledge and celebrate this milestone.

Robin Rohu, BUCCLE member (RR): As one of the newest members of BUCCLE, I feel very privileged to be part of such a significant event for the committee. It is an opportunity to reflect, share best practice, and collaborate on projects to ultimately support a student’s professional development.

Interestingly, the format hasn’t really changed over the past 40 years; we are a very collaborative group of educators who all have the best interest of our students at heart

How have meetings changed over time?

Claire McDonnell, BUCCLE member (CM): The original BUCCLE membership was very small and meetings were very informal. There were no Irish members in the very beginning. They joined later and were very grateful for membership, being the only optometry programme in the Republic of Ireland. With the increase in the number of Higher Education institutions, membership has now swelled to have representation from institutions within the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland training both optometrists and contact lens opticians. The larger group is a mixture of optometrists and dispensing opticians of hugely varying levels of experience. It makes for longer and sometimes noisier meetings, but that mixture produces excellent ideas and guidance.

DD: We have certainly grown in members over this time. We have also, in recent years, developed our subcommittees in education, research, and governance – allowing us to break into smaller teams to concentrate on specific projects.

What was the focus of the meeting?

DD: The focus of the 100^th meeting was the past, present, and future. We want to be able to look back at where we have come from, how our member institutions are developing their contact lens education, and what the future is likely to hold in terms of contact lens teaching.

BH: The meeting started with a wonderful trip down memory lane. As a group we achieved so many milestones over the years. This includes visiting our sponsors and contact lens manufacturing plants, train-the-trainer events, presentations and workshops at national and international conferences, scientific publications on evidence-based contact lens practice, and let’s not forget the numerous networking opportunities during our regular meetings.

What did discussions touch on? How does this support the members of BUCCLE?

DD: Discussions looked at some of the likely developments in the area of contact lenses in the coming years, and how this is likely to affect our teaching and learning. However, the key focus of the day was on our sponsors, who were presenting their latest updates at the meeting. The contact lens manufacturers have been instrumental in allowing BUCCLE to develop and grow over the years. The support they have shown the teaching institutions has been immense, and it is important that this event recognises the impact that this support has given BUCCLE.

CM: The meeting focused on extending training in contact lens teaching out to all clinicians in BUCCLE member institutions, in order to share ideas and expertise across a much wider group. The training was delivered through peer discussions and the topics for these discussions were designed around problems that we all face when teaching contact lenses. It is hoped that, in discussing possible solutions, we all take back useful ideas that we can use in our own institutions.

RR: I gave a presentation on the use of technology within contact lens training. The talk focused on how emergency remote teaching forced academics to embrace technology on a scale that has never been seen before. Despite the challenges that it presented initially, it highlighted that there are opportunities to leverage technology to support the student’s professional development and simultaneously help to manage the workload of academic staff.

The support that members were able to offer each other was invaluable

How has BUCCLE adapted in the time following COVID-19 restrictions?

BH: The pandemic meant that we had to move our regular meetings online. Although it wasn’t always easy to attend three to four hour meetings online, it provided a lifeline for contact lens educators. Whereas most of higher education moved fully online, we needed to adapt our teaching fast to provide (clinically) safe, in-person, small group sessions. We worked together, discussing options for teaching invasive procedures like contact lens fittings in a safe environment for students and staff. BUCCLE became a sounding board for many of us; having a group to share options, ideas, logistics. I really felt confident we were making the right decisions.

CM: The meetings held in 2020 and 2021 were particularly important for members as we all navigated our way through trying to continue our students’ education through lockdowns and new personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements. The support that members were able to offer each other was invaluable. We finally met in person again for the first time after the lifting of restrictions in June 2022. It was fantastic to actually see people in person and we all acknowledged that while in-person meetings may take a little longer than those held online, the dynamic is much better.

DD: What became really apparent during these online meetings was that we were able to share best practice for teaching while the restrictions were in place – allowing us to create a knowledge hub that benefitted all of our students from each institution. I must admit, though, it has been great to return to face-to-face meetings again.

What is ahead for BUCCLE going forwards?

DD: We know that there are going to be a lot of changes, both in contact lens development, as well as in how we educate the next generation of optometrists and contact lens opticians. We are already researching in areas such as lissamine green grading and will certainly be looking at themes such as sustainability in the future.

RR: Regulatory changes such as the General Optical Council’s Education Strategic Review (ESR) will alter the way in which many of the member institutes deliver contact lens education. BUCCLE’s collaborative approach to sharing best practice amongst members will be extremely valuable to help navigate through the implementation of these changes.

BH: The future plans of BUCCLE will surely involve more evidence-based practice and teaching of contact lenses and ocular surface health. There is a need to understand why we are teaching in a certain way, to consider: what is the evidence? But to also expand our educational provision by including dry eye diagnostics and management as part of contact lens education.

Simultaneously, we need to keep up with the new developments in myopia management, specialty lenses, and even smart lenses. I cannot wait to see what is in store for UK contact lens education.