By Perry Thakrar
perry.thakrar@rbi.co.uk
The issue of whether there should be a cap on the number of CET points earned through modalities such as journal-based assessments will be addressed by the GOC in an open consultation later this year.
As reported in Optician, (September 21), industry insiders have expressed concerns about low attendance at CET events and the greater reliance on journal-based mechanisms to earn points.
A GOC spokeswoman told Optician this week that a consultation on the whole CET process will begin next month and will include a question on how CET is delivered and whether there should be a limit on the points which can be earned by distance learning.
'The paper will go in front of members at a Council meeting in mid-November. The document will outline proposals for CET post 2010,' she said. 'Once the paper has been approved by the Council and the advisory bodies there will be an open consultation which will run from the end of November to January 2008.'
The AOP's chief executive Bob Hughes who has expressed concerns over attendance, told Optician that the Association supported 'the current mode of delivery'. At the ABDO conference in Harrogate (News, September 21) Hughes, had told Optician that delegate numbers had dwindled since the imposition of the 36-point total for CET. He said there had been no fall-off in the demand for journal CET, but a rethink was needed on the delivery of CET to help bolster attendances at meetings.
Meanwhile, Frank Munro, chairman of Optometry Scotland, told Optician that the only way to improve attendance figures was to introduce some form of compulsion.
'One way of improving attendance figures is to introduce a requirement for delegates to earn some points by attending a CET event.'
ABDO's head of professional services, Elaine Grisdale, said the Association would use the consultation to highlight the unjust treatment of DOs when it came to CET funding.