Moneo writes

Back to basics

I received my congratulatory letter from the GOC the other day telling me I had got enough points to stay registered for another three years. I didn’t go wild and throw a party but I did decide that a series I was going to run for local optometrists (all of whom have got their necessary points) could now wait until next year as it seemed pointless wasting good CET points in this year.

What I did find myself doing was considering whether I felt any more ‘fit for purpose’ than before this compulsory system came into being. I have certainly read a lot more and watched a lot more lectures and been to some conferences, but at the same time I have been barraged by a lot of what I consider to be meaningless material that has little or no use in everyday practising life.

I believe that we need to decide whether we are requiring optometrists and dispensing opticians to achieve points for continuing education or for continuing professional development. These are entirely different things and have become very muddled.

It is absolutely right that all professionals should strive to improve on their basic knowledge and that is what CPD is all about, but I do wonder how many people embarking on therapeutics courses, if challenged, could name the extraocular muscle that was at fault in any given failed motility test! Maybe everyone could, but the point I am making is that as we strive forward and slap each other on the back for achieving a massive 36 points over 36 months we must never lose sight of the basics that drive our everyday practising lives and that the patients place their total trust in us to know and understand.

It is these basics that CET should be for. Talking to local optometrists about triaging optometry referrals I am alarmed at just how few seem to have any confidence in their basic skills such as Goldmann tonometry. Many basic techniques taught to me at university and required as basic skills to get through my PQEs are now a distant memory. I have been told they should be regarded as higher skills requiring further training. These are not higher skills but basic skills that we have left behind.

As compulsory training moves into a new era, it is vital that as a profession we understand what we are really trying to achieve, and whether it benefits the everyday patient coming into our practices for a routine eye examination. CET is about getting the basics right and practised as near perfectly as possible. CPD is not.

The GOC scheme is about CET and therefore matters around CPD should not be allocated CET points. The basics are what form the foundations to move forward into new areas of expertise.

It is right that we move into these new areas but there are many who will not wish to and they need to continue to keep their basic but quite essential skills up to scratch. To do this needs an excellent system of CET with lectures and workshops constantly demonstrating good practice in the basic skills. Those planning CET for the coming three years must be mindful of this.

If you have your necessary points, well done. If you are still short of the required number, you need to get a move on. If you don’t know what I am talking about you are in serious trouble.