College lowers waiting period for supervisors

Anyone interested in becoming a supervisor should contact Gregory Pain on 020 7766 4363 or by email to gpaincollege-optometrists.orgThe College of Optometrists has announced it is to shorten the amount of time an optometrist needs to be registered before being able to supervise a pre-registration trainee.
It means, for a trial period, those who have been qualified three years rather than three years and nine months can apply.
The move comes after calls from the profession to solve the pre-reg crisis (News, July 20).
The CollegeÕs academic committee advised that there was no hard evidence showing that three years would be insufficient time to have gained enough experience to be an effective supervisor. A two-year study into the decision is to be introduced for this yearÕs entry.
Deputy secretary Nicholas de Brunner said it would have a ÔminimalÕ effect on the number of optometrists willing to supervise but it would enable those more recently qualified members of the profession to take on a trainee and thereby contribute to their own career development.
ÔThe GOC recently introduced a core-curriculum for pre-registration training,Õ he continued, Ôand progress will be reviewed at both the three and six-month stages to ensure that the trainee is achieving the appropriate experience. After two years we will review the experience gained and subsequent performance in the Professional Qualifying Examinations to see if it warrants a permanent change in the qualifying period to be a supervisor.Õ
u Anyone interested in becoming a supervisor should contact Gregory Pain on 020 7766 4363 or by email to gpaincollege-optometrists.org