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When will my CET point appear in my GOC account?
As in the last CET cycle, our distance learning exercises run for four weeks from publication and then we have 10 days to register your points with the GOC. So, for example, the CET exercise published in this issue on page 16 runs until April 11 and if you completed the exercise successfully your point should appear in your account within 10 days of that date. For interactive exercises, we allow an extra four weeks after the deadline of the multiple choice questions to give adequate time for the interactivity and reflective part of the exercise. So, for example, the interactive contact lens exercise published in the issue of 01.03.13 will run for eight weeks - the multiple choice questions until March 29 and the period to submit your interactive statement until April 26.
How do I register my points?
I will now register a point. First, I will go to the GOC website and click on the myGOC tab at the top (Figure 1). I will now need to log in. My username is my GOC number and the first time I log in the password will be my date of birth (including the forward slashes). Having done this once, change your password to something you will remember but no one else will guess (Figure 2).
You are now directed to your own home page (Figure 3). Click on the 'MyCET' button. This takes you to the page where you can track your progress (Figure 4). You should check this regularly. Here you can see how you are managing regarding your newly required targets. I have completed a peer to peer session and have earned three points from interactivity and one from text-based distance learning. I have now got four of the six I need as a minimum for this year. If I click on the competency button it shows I need to cover a number of subject areas before the three years is up.
But I need to know if a new point has appeared for me to accept - so press on the 'dashboard' button. This is the important step that many are omitting to do. This now takes me to a page where details of my points earned can be accessed (middle button), my personal development programme may be worked on (right button) and any new CET points I may have earned can be accepted (left button - Figure 5).
Nearly finished. Clicking on the left-hand button brings up a list of your completed CET with an option for each to accept or reject. To accept you have to fill out a number of fields as follows:
? Summarise the clinical skills and competencies that were discussed during this session? Write down what areas were covered by the exercise. In this week's CET this might include an understanding of the types of patients with impairment, what optical low vision aids are and how they might be used along with some details of solving simple problems
? List the main things you learned from this session
? Describe how you will apply this learning in your practice. For the more practical-based exercises this is straightforward, but have a good think if they are more theoretical. Honesty is always the best option
? Has this session identified any areas where further personal learning is needed? If so briefly describe these below. Some soul searching here
? Describe the interaction which you undertook for this CET, who you spoke to and what about. This obviously will only appear for interactive exercises.
We have had some correspondents concerned about the extra effort in confirming points. Don't shoot the messenger, but the argument is that the more robust nature of the system makes feedback more valid and it is then easier to identify poor quality CET or where providers are clearly in breach of the GOC rules. ?
? Next week: Peer to peer
william.harvey@rbi.co.uk