SPOKE releases Indicative Guidance for Contact Lens Opticians and Independent Prescribers

The Sector Partnership for Optical Knowledge and Education (SPOKE), a cross-sector collaboration funded by the General Optical Council (GOC), and led and managed by The College of Optometrists, supported by the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO) and the Optometry Schools Council (OSC), has published two new Indicative Guidance documents. 

These are designed to support providers in developing qualifications to meet the GOC’s Education and Training Requirements for therapeutic prescribing contact lens specialisms.

The new Indicative Guidance documents represent the first two project outputs from the specialist qualifications hub, which is being delivered by SPOKE. 

They were developed with input from a wide range of sector stakeholders, provide more detail on the content that is expected to be in the new qualifications and give examples of the types of assessment that could be used to address the new GOC outcomes.

Now that the guidance has been published, SPOKE is working on its next project for the specialist qualifications, examining the conditions setting and support required to enhance the scope of practice in optical professionals. This was launched at the SPOKE collaborative writing and networking event on 23rd January and considers the challenges and opportunities arising from the increased flexibility in supervision, setting and timing for the specialist qualifications.