A guide to Stage Two
Once you have been signed off from Stage One, you can progress to Stage Two. Stage Two visits are normally booked within six weeks of completing Stage One. We will assign you your Stage Two assessment dates and assessors via email. You will be given at least two weeks notice.
The Stage Two direct observation is divided into two parts.
- A direct observation assessment (DO), made up of an eye examination and soft contact lens fitting and aftercare, assessed face-to-face by an assessor. The direct observation takes place in your workplace. If you changed your practice since you started on the Scheme, please make sure it is updated on your portal.
Please follow the guidance to the process.
- An assessment of 13 overarching competencies (OA), assessed remotely.
The two parts of the assessment do not have to take place on the same day, or be assessed by the same assessor.
Booking your Stage Two assessments
Stage Two assessments will only take place during College working hours, from Monday to Friday, except bank holidays. This is to ensure that we can help if unforeseen circumstances, such as illness, occur.
You cannot choose the order or time of your overarching or direct observation assessments. We will aim to book these as close together as possible, but this will depend on assessor availability.
Changing or cancelling a Stage Two visit
Once the assessment dates are booked, these cannot be changed, unless there are exceptional circumstances. In exceptional circumstances:
- email your evidence to education.help@college-optometrists.org, or
- call 020 7839 6000 and press 1 to speak to the education team.
Please do not contact your assessor to change your Stage Two visit.
If you need to cancel a Stage Two visit, you will need to pay a cancellation fee.
Your Stage Two results
When you have completed both parts of the Stage Two assessment, you and your supervisor will receive the outcome of your assessment via email.
To progress to the final assessment (OSCE), you will need to pass all parts of the Stage Two assessment.
If you do not pass all parts of Stage Two assessment we will let you know why, and which sections you’ll need to re-sit.
If you do not pass Stage Two
If you do not pass Stage Two after three attempts, you’ll be contacted by the Lead or Deputy Lead Assessor to review your feedback. The reasons an assessor might judge you to have failed this assessment are:
- failure to detect, recognise or act upon significant symptoms, history or clinical signs
- compromised patient safety by action, inadequate record keeping and/or management
- an important deficiency in technique, which could lead to significantly inappropriate management.
Understanding your results - if you have not passed
Fail – eye examination only
If you fail the eye examination, you will re-sit this part of the direct observation only.
Fail – soft contact lens fitting and aftercare only
If you fail the soft contact lens fitting and aftercare, you will re-sit this part of the direct observation only.
Fail – all sections
If you fail the whole of Stage Two you will re-sit the eye examination and soft contact lens fitting and aftercare face-to-face, and the overarching elements of competence as a remote visit.
Fail – overarching assessment (but pass all direct observation assessments)
If you fail any overarching element of competence you will re-sit ALL the overarching elements of competence.
A different assessor will carry out your Stage Two re-sit.