Attending an eye care conference or group discussion from your laptop would have been uncommon just 18 months ago. Then along came COVID-19, which turned virtual learning into reality – and normality – overnight. 

Take peer review and peer discussion. Both are key components of the General Optical Council’s (GOC’s) CET for registrants with the aim of raising standards and awareness of best practice. Before March 2020, the majority of interactive learning experiences entailed face-to-face sessions with peers. However, Barbara Mason, the College’s Head of Continuing Professional Development, says demand was already growing for online participation from those who were based remotely or on a career break or had other barriers to attending events in person. The College, she adds, was one provider meeting this need with a range of optometrist and therapeutics peer discussion sessions online. Webinars for lectures and Q&A sessions were already gaining popularity and the College already had an annual programme of live-streamed events.