Ulster University and Cardiff University have been noted by the General Optical Council as the first to deliver the Master of Optometry (MOptom) undergraduate qualifications under the new education and training requirements.
The first cohort of students to undertake the adapted qualifications will start in September 2023 at both universities.
Providers of existing GOC-approved qualifications were required to submit detailed plans of how their adapted qualifications would meet the new education and training requirements with the GOC reviewing and noting these changes.
Samara Morgan, head of education development at the GOC, said: ‘This is an exciting time for us as we begin to see how providers of existing GOC-approved qualifications will adapt to meet the new education and training requirements.
‘The adapted qualifications will ensure that all optical professionals continue to be equipped to deliver eye care services in a rapidly changing landscape and meet the needs of patients in the future.’
Education and training requirements introduced by the GOC in March 2021 replaced handbooks for optometry, ophthalmic dispensing, independent prescribing and contact lenses.
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