100% Optical education booking opens for AOP members

Early-bird booking for the 100% Optical education programme is now exclusively open to AOP members ahead of general release on 5 October.

Taking place on 12–14 January at ExCeL London, the 100% Optical continuing education and training (CET) programme of lectures, seminars and workshops is designed and delivered by the AOP.

Head of education at the AOP, Dr Ian Beasley, said: “Our programme brings together the leading lights in optics, with academics, optometrists, dispensing opticians and ophthalmologists coming together to offer CET for the whole optical industry.”

“The vast range of sessions are targeted at all practitioner types who are looking to develop their skills and earn CET points at the start of a new cycle. It also supports the whole practice team, whether it’s new optical assistants looking to expand knowledge, right through to senior optical assistants and practice managers looking for professional development,” Dr Beasley added.

The AOP has partnered with the British Academy of Audiology in order to enhance the audiology hub with an expanded CET programme at the 2019 show.

In order to provide dedicated support to orthoptists, the AOP has also gained support from the British and Irish Orthoptic Society.

Event director of 100% Optical, Nathan Garnett, said: “We’re really proud of the seminar programme we have to offer at 100% Optical 2019 and believe it gives access to world class education for all, with something for everyone.

“With more than 100 different CET and continued professional development sessions available for free, it’s definitely a must-attend event for the industry.”

Sharing insight

In the AOP Lounge on Saturday (13 January), a session for newly-qualified AOP members will take place at 11:30 and at 16:30. Entitled, Newly qualified? Top tips for staying out of trouble, the session will look at real life examples of complaints and near misses.

It will focus on practical tips in order to recognise and avoid common pitfalls, avoid NHS voucher reclaims and being confident in when it is appropriate to refer patients.

Other session highlights include Big data in glaucoma, which will be presented by professor of statistics and vision research at City, University of London’s school of health, Professor David Crabb.

Professor Crabb will detail how his lab analysed data from 50,000 patients that attended NHS glaucoma clinics and share insight into trends relating to socioeconomic disparities.

Consultant ophthalmologist at Royal London Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital, Vasilios Papastefanou, will speak about features of diabetic eye disease with the swept-source optical coherence tomography (OCT) and swept-source-OCT-A platforms and identify when to refer to an ophthalmologist.

A modern practical approach to retinal function testing will be presented by Professor Peter Good. The consultant neurophysiologist will tell delegates about current practises in retinal electrodiagnostic testing and how to evaluate retinal and macular function without having prior electrophysiological expertise or training.

For further information on the education programme and to book, visit the 100% Optical website.