SPOKE undertakes projects to produce resources that support the academic community in their design and development of qualifications and to support practices and sector businesses in their role as placement providers within the new qualifications.
The new Indicative Guidance is designed to support qualification providers with the roll-out of the GOC's new education and training requirements. It provides more detail on the content that is expected to be in the new pre-registration qualifications, and gives examples of the types of assessment that could be used for the new GOC outcomes.
The focus for Project Two was best practice approaches to teaching and learning for student optometrists and dispensing opticians, including case studies and examples of good practice from individuals and course teams from across the UK and internationally.
Examples that addressed the newer aspects of optical education outlined in the GOC outcomes 4-7, and methods to develop clinical competence through Miller’s pyramid were particularly welcomed. The case studies can be found in the resources section of these SPOKE pages.
We will be adding to these case studies over the coming months. If you would like to share, or recommend someone who might share, a case study or example of good practice in these areas, please complete and return the case study submission form
This project titled ‘Admissions and Recruitment: State of the Art and Plans for the Future’ considers current admissions processes, attracting the right calibre of candidates and how interest in optical careers can be increased. Data was collected through desk-based research and from university representatives coupled with sector stakeholder discussions and an online survey.
Project Four was launched at the SPOKE event in January 2023 and focusses on workplace supervision. The guidance was developed in consultation with a wide range of sector stakeholders and aims to describe the current consensus on the characteristics of good practice in supervision of clinical and experiential learning.
This project considers how students can best be encouraged and supported to become fully independent practitioners, and what kinds of mentorship and preceptorship might continue to support that journey into roles undertaken as a new registrant.
Project Six was launched at the SPOKE networking and collaborative writing event in January 2024 and looks at ‘Fitness to train’, reasonable adjustments and suspension of studies (in education settings) and the equivalent processes in employment settings.
A report on the findings of this project have been submitted to the GOC.