Referral exam well received

Optometrists from Swindon, Banes and Wiltshire PCT were the first to sit exams for a new course in glaucoma referral refinement. Organised and co-ordinated by Keith Pearce, a LOC representative, the Objective Station Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) were developed by the LOC Support Unit (LOCSU) with the Wales Optometry Postgraduate Education Centre. All material was peer reviewed by NICE guidelines committee members.

With exams at Bath Royal United Hospital, the course also used distance learning lectures and a video with an online assessment and templates for practical assessments.

Pearce said that the LOCSU system had been well designed to work with the new NICE guidelines. 'It has been agreed by all the relevant professional bodies, it is evidence based and has a clear cost benefit for the PCTs. It is a national system which gives the PCTs confidence to engage with it.'