Delegates to be scanned for credits

'Europe's favourite one-day clinical conference' is how Specsavers Opticians has billed its PAC event this year.

The event, which will be held on Sunday October 16, last year attracted over 1,200 delegates to the ICC, Birmingham.

It has established itself as one of the foremost conferences in the optometric calendar, both for optometrists and dispensing opticians. It is open to all UK practitioners, not just Specsavers employees, and tickets are £115 for the day.

This year's programme has the theme 'Your route to success' and will offer three parallel tracks - clinical, dispensing and contact lenses.

Delegates can mix and match which presentations they attend, to suit their personal and professional needs.

A full day's attendance is worth eight CET credits. Extra credits can be gained through picture recognition tests, which will also be reproduced in CD-Rom format following the event.  

For the first time, bar codes on conference passes will be scanned at each presentation to ensure delegates receive the necessary credits for their attendance.

A prestigious list of speakers will talk on a wide variety of topics, including acute retinal disorders, paediatric binocular vision disorders, age-related macular degeneration diagnosis and referral, occupational dispensing, low vision, silicone hydrogels, legal issues and toric problem-solving.

The keynote speaker is Dr Jan Bergmanson, Professor of Optometry at the University of Houston College of Optometry. He will discuss differential diagnosis of dry eye and management in practice. 

Specsavers'  Professional Advancement Committee (PAC) was established 11 years ago. It is a steering group run independently by optical practitioners with the support of the high-street multiple. It seeks to develop a culture of excellence in optics, and to promote widespread access to CET.