OT  to launch CET survival pack in September

Can you tell us about the CET survival pack?

The General Optical Council’s (GOC) three-year CET cycle finishes at the end of 2021. With the hard deadline looming, it's time for members to check their dashboards on MyGOC and plan their learning, to ensure they are on target to meet all competencies and gain the points needed to keep on the register. With so many competencies to cover, it’s far too easy for one or two to have slipped through the net. This is where the OT survival pack comes in handy. The OT survival pack is a suite of non-interactive CET articles and videos, covering every single competency for every type of registrant: optometrists, dispensing opticians, therapeutic prescribers and contact lens opticians. It is available to all AOP members and OT subscribers

What will the pack include?

For the survival pack, OT is republishing recent CET material – seven articles and two videos – with brand new multiple-choice exams. The pack provides a total of nine non-interactive CET points and covers all 31 competencies.

What do members and subscribers need to do to access the survival pack?

The survival pack will launch in September. AOP members and OT subscribers can access the pack in the same way they usually take OT CET, by logging in to their account and browsing the Active CET page under the CET and skills guides tab.

How do you hope this will support members and subcribers?

AOP members and OT subscribers will be able to mop up any missing competencies with high-quality learning exercises. It’s also an opportunity to hit the goals members have set themselves in their personal development plan at the beginning of the cycle. After all, the GOC sets a minimum points requirement, but there is no maximum.

If members are short on points, I strongly recommend starting to plan now

Do you have any key message for members and subscribers about the end of the CET cycle?

If AOP members or OT subscribers are short on points, I strongly recommend starting to plan now and not rushing for CET points at the last minute. If lacking interactive CET, members can look out for webinars and peer discussions, or apply to lead their own peer review. The OT survival pack will be available until 28 December 2021, but members need to leave some time to action any queries and accept points on MyGOC. The GOC is usually closed over the Christmas and New Year period, making it difficult to iron out any problems at the eleventh hour.

OT’s CET can be found through the website here.