Course summary

There is growing demand for optometrists, highly skilled healthcare professionals, trained to examine the eyes to detect defects in vision, signs of injury, ocular diseases or abnormalities. Through this innovative, interactive degree, you’ll develop the knowledge and skills you need to work as an optometrist and, importantly, continually adapt to the challenges faced in delivering eye-care provision in today’s health care environment. Our progressive programme challenges the way optometry has been traditionally taught in the UK by following a proven, problem-based and team-based approach to your learning and teaching. Through this method, you will gain in-depth theoretical knowledge, practical experience and develop required skills, including critical thinking, problem solving and patient management, from an early stage. As well as practical experience within clinical workshops, delivered in modern, purpose-built facilities in Inverness, you will also be immersed in genuine clinical situations, which allow you to work with employers and gain valuable experience in a safe and supported environment. From year one, you will undertake a combination of placements in community practice and hospital eye clinics, alongside clinical skills training. Over the duration of the course you will be out on placements for 19 weeks in total culminating in an extended placement in your fourth year. You will be seeing real-life patients in real-life settings, which will be vital for your future practice. On successful completion of this degree programme you will be equipped with both the academic and practical skills needed to enter the College of Optometrists Scheme for Registration1 as a pre-registration optometrist. This programme is a direct response to the needs of our communities, with workforce plans suggesting an additional 800 optometrists are likely to be needed across the UK to meet the demands of an ageing population and the associated prevalence of visual impairment and visual health disorders.2 This need is felt most acutely in remote and rural areas, and with pressures on the NHS, increased focus on extended roles and shared care with ophthalmology, this will further heighten demand for skilled optometry professionals. Our programme – one of only two in Scotland - is aligned to the requirements of the General Optical Council (GOC) and currently holds GOC provisional approval. 1 Please note that in order to enter the College of Optometrists scheme for registration you must achieve a degree classification of 2.2. or above and a certificate of clinical competency in the GOC stage 1 competencies. Students who gain sufficient academic credits at level 10 to receive an award but do not meet the professional requirements will gain the award of SCQF Level 10 BSc (Hons) Vision Science. 2 Source: College of Optometrists Optical Workforce Survey 2015 3 This course currently has provisional approval from the General Optical Council (GOC). Under provisional approval, students recruited on to the course are not guaranteed entry to the GOC register and may be required to undertake additional assessments through an alternative GOC-approved education provider in the event that any aspect of the programme when delivered does not satisfy the GOC standards.