This section covers general principles of supervision. If you supervise pre-registration optometrists you should follow the relevant guidance on the College website.

If you are in a practice where colleagues need supervising, you must ensure that a named practitioner is responsible for supervising them each day and that everyone is clear who the supervising practitioner is.

If you supervise colleagues, you should:

1. ensure that you have the necessary skills to supervise them
2. observe their work
3. give them regular constructive feedback on their performance.

You remain responsible for the patients under the care of anyone you supervise.

You must be in a position to give advice and support or delegate supervision to someone who can do so.

You must supervise dispensing to patients under the age of 16 or to those who are registered sight impaired, unless this is done by another optometrist, dispensing optician or doctor.

You must supervise a trainee optometrist, student dispensing optician, medical student, or a dispensing optician training to be a contact lens optician when they are performing restricted functions, unless they are being supervised by another optometrist, dispensing optician, doctor or a contact lens optician, as appropriate. You must make a judgement about their capability and how closely they need to be supervised. At the very least you must be on the premises when the restricted function is taking place so you are in a position to intervene if necessary.

If you supervise a colleague, for example, someone who is returning to work or is undergoing additional training, you must assess their capability so that you can tailor their supervision to their level of competence.