|
|
At this year's Optrafair we will be delivering a live seminar in the same subject area. The event will be open exclusively to Optician subscribers and will serve to clarify the subject area further, while also offering an interactive low vision point to those attending. I also hope this will be the first of many live tie-ins with published articles available in the coming years.
Optician meets a need
I had some productive discussions with both the GOC and some key figures in the CET approval arena last week. The main aim was to ensure that a model of interactive CET that we have proposed in Optician meets the needs of the new process. Several exercises have been approved, but I was really interested in how the process might evolve in the coming months. The main point of any interactive distance learning exercise is that it must involve an element whereby the registrant (that is you, dear reader) has to use any information or learning from the published exercise in such a way that they interact with other professionals and peers. The way this is done is to ask for a submission to us of some information regarding the subject matter that can only be gained from interaction at your practice.
You may have noticed there is a new interactive CET exercise in this week's issue on frame measurements (see page 14). This is running parallel with the advanced imaging cases on the website over the coming months. This new one has a VRICS (visual recognition and interpretation) exercise online, where you complete some questions relating to the short article and, upon successful completion, you get an email asking you to complete a simple exercise in practice. When you send us this information, the task is complete and you have earned your point.
Advanced imaging
For the advanced imaging course, it is a bit more involved. Each CET point relates to some questions which will appear once all four cases have been published. The aim here is to give adequate time for all four cases to be read through and thought about.
So the dispensing exercise in this issue asks for some information about default measurements your glazing house might assume if those measurements outlined in the article are not submitted in any order. The online advanced imaging sessions currently online will, as each four cases are published, ask for information about referral pathways in your area. Both these require some sort of interaction or validation locally and therefore meet the 'interactive' requirement. We will also be running 'model answer' feedback as each exercise ends, but this alone would not, we felt, constitute interactivity. In response to some of your queries about the online imaging exercise, the reason you have been unable to submit any answers so far is that the questions we need you to answer will not appear until the issue of February 22. And over the three years of the new cycle, our overall aim is to offer a range of interactive distance learning points - some linked to VRICS, some to online exercises and some to articles, but all with a requirement for you to complete an interactive task where you work.
Also, CET will be more specific to competency subjects and to different target groups so always check the logos carefully to ensure the material is suitable for your CET requirement. ?
? Email comments and queries to william.harvey@rbi.co.uk