When Optician broke the story that the University of Portsmouth was planning to launch an optometry programme, some quarters of the working optometric profession greeted the news with cynicism, concerned with issues of oversupply and potential knock-on salary contraction.
Even course clinical advisor and practising optometrist Andrew Matheson admits he was sceptical when he was initially approached by course project leader and associate head of education Dr Isobel Ryder. He, like others, questioned the need for another course, but was also keen to find out how the university intended to deliver on its aims.
After listening to Dr Ryder’s plans for the course and how it would fulfil an under-serviced part of the country, Matheson was convinced that it would be of significant benefit to optometry in the south of England.
In the following months, university staff have been working hard on developing the course alongside the General Optical Council, the College, local independents and the multiples. Dr Ryder adds that local independent practices have, in particular, been very supportive of the new course – a factor which underlines the need for a new school in the south of England. It has also begun work on building a brand new 154sqm teaching laboratory ahead of a GOC inspection in the autumn.
The university is very inclusive in its admission policy, says Dr Ryder, and this will be reflected in the new optometry programme when it launches. Entry grade requirements are yet to be finalised, but are expected to have more flexibility than some other institutions. Each candidate will be interviewed before places are offered to ensure that they have the communication skills required to interact with patients.
One of the key recent developments has been the university’s decision to remain independent from any single optometric business or equipment manufacturer. Dr Ryder says the university has chosen to remain independent because it wants to set its own syllabus agenda. Some of the newer courses have struggled with a slightly negative perception from within the profession after establishing courses with multiples – something Dr Ryder wanted to avoid.
‘When I originally wrote the business plan for the course, I didn’t want it labelled in any way. We are very much open in terms of whom we want to work with. We would like to work with independent optometrists on practice placements, but we would also like to work with multiples too,’ she says.
Matheson adds that this desire for independence extends into the specification of its clinical teaching laboratory, which allows the best individual pieces of equipment to be chosen. It also underscores the university’s aim to be a ‘centre of clinical excellence.’
Latest technology
[CaptionComponent="1712"]Although the lab is in the early days of construction, the 13 teaching bays are clearly defined. Each 2.6m wide bay will mimic a consulting room and feature a digital slit lamp which can broadcast images to a central screen for students to view and discuss findings. Carl Zeiss will provide Humphrey visual fields analysers and an OCT – which will integrate together using Forum software for advanced integrated analysis. The key learning on the interpretation of OCT imagery will feature early on in the course, which reflects the changing nature of optometric practice.
It is hoped that between six and eight lecturers will facilitate the course and a recruitment process is currently underway. The staff will be supported by lecturers from other departments, such as physiology and neurology, who can bring their expertise to any crossover elements within the course syllabus, say Dr Ryder and Matheson.
Although the full course syllabus is yet to be finalised, students will get very ‘hands-on’ early in the first year, as well as learning physiology elements and the importance of evidence and understanding research methods. The growing area of therapeutics will not feature in the course, but the university says it could be added as the practice grows.
The four-year integrated undergraduate Masters has been designed to incorporate the pre-reg placement between years three and four. The placements will see the practice, the student and the university working together in a collaborative manner. Matheson believes that traditionally, practitioners taking on pre-reg students are faced with having to spend extra time teaching a student in areas where their skills fall short, or aborting the placement. The pre-reg system the university is going to adopt will look to avoid that by allowing students to be recalled for additional training if required.
Concerns over a surplus of optometrists are addressed with details of its initial student intake. Dr Ryder expects the first intake to be around 26 students is a pilot year and that future numbers are subject to approval from the GOC. However, it is expected that intake numbers in future years will not exceed 40. Both Matheson and Dr Ryder are confident that the number of graduates the university will produce will not damage the sector, but service a part of the country where they say quality pre-reg optometrists are hard to find and there is a severe shortage of qualified optometrists. Matheson also points out that many students tend to settle near to their universities, and hopes that the university’s location on the coast will attract many to stay in the area in the future.