A total of 300 optometry undergraduates from eight UK universities and representing half of all pre-registration students enrolled in J&J’s Success Through Education Program (STEP) last year.
The second year of the programme would take on students from Ulster University and the University of Bradford’s BSc Career Progression course for dispensing opticians for the first time, a company statement confirmed.
A group of participants from the current programme had also been recruited to help shape future development.
Launched in January 2015, STEP vowed to provide ‘continuous support for the next generation of eye care professionals, from their penultimate year at university through to qualified practice’.
‘The ultimate outcome is patient-focused and highly motivated optometrists who help patients, employers and their profession,’ said Vision Care Institute manager Sheetal Patel.
At each stage – undergraduate, pre-reg and newly qualified – participants were invited to attend a dedicated course at J&J’s Pinewood Campus in Berkshire. Its final-year undergraduate course, OSCE preparation course and two-day newly qualified course were among the most popular elements of STEP, the statement added.
