Professional Development Toolbox
There are many resources that can support your professional development. It may be that you looking to organise your CPD to ensure you are on track or you may be looking to plan to develop your clinical practice.
In this area we will provide access to resources that may be helpful when considering continuing professional development and education and training.
Available resources in this tool box will be developed and added-to, so please ensure to check back regularly for new additions.
The GOC publication: A guide for registrants in the 2025-2027 CPD cycle. Available to download below.
Coming soon
ABDO CPD reflection statement
This can now be completed on any device although you may be required to save it first
ABDO Case reflection statement
2019 CPD Articles:
CPD: Taking Time to Reflect (Dispensing Optics Article April 2024)
CPD Reflective statement guidance 2024
CPD : Time to Reflect (Dispensing Optics Article July/August 2024)
It is possible to complete self-directed learning in your own time. Further information on this from the GOC can be read here.
Below are two articles written by Alexandra Webster regarding self-directed learning which may be of interest to you.
Registrant led peer review. Dispensing Optics, September 2025
How study can count towards CPD. Dispensing Optics, January 2026
CET articles – 2000-2019
Click HERE to access the Archived CET articles
CET articles 2020
Bioptic Basics for Beginners – Part 2
Contact Lenses and myopia management; A specialism or a responsibility?
Triaging: Reassurance, CLO, Optometrist or Ophthalmologist?
Dispensing and Binocular Vision Anomalies
A Specialised Skill – Low Vision, the Psychology Behind a Patient’s Diagnosis
Paediatric Care: Dispensing and Management VRT
Getting Started in Low Vision is as Easy as A, B, See
Dry Eye Recent Evidence Surrounding the Lack of Correlation between signs and symptoms
A Specialised Skill – Signposting Patients with Visual Impairment to Increase Their Health Outcomes
Customer Service – Not Just for Shops
CET articles 2021
Getting to Grips with OCT – Part 1
Getting to Grips with OCT – Part 2
Brain Tumours in your Practice
Myopia Progression and Management
Bifocal Dispensing: A Forgotten Skill
Optical Practice and the Deaf Community
COVID-19 and Optical Practice: Where are we Now?
Eye Spy with my Little Eyes. A Practical Guide to Paediatric Dispensing
Are People with Low Vision Effectively Identified for Support by Dispensing Opticians?
Can Plant-Based Sources of Omega-3 Benefit Patients with Dry Eye?
CPD articles 2022
January 2022
Professionalism in Optics
by Lorcan Butler
February 2022
Myopia Management and Research Resources
by Alexandra Webster
March 2022
Public Awareness of Diabetes and Understanding its Effects on Ocular Health
by Amna Wajid
April 2022
Exploring Light Perception
by Mark Hickton
May 2022
Pathology Induced Refractions and Vision Changes
by Andrew Watson
June 2022
Modern Management of Presbyopia – Part 1 – Communicating Spectacle Considerations
by Michelle Derbyshire
July 2022
Modern Management of Presbyopia – Part 2 – Contact Lenses
by Robin Rohu
August 2022
Prism: A Help and a Hindrance
by Andrew Cripps
September 2022
Modern Management of Presbyopia – Part 3 – Surgical Methods
by Jay Dermott
October 2022
Focused on the Road Ahead
by Pauline Bradford
November 2022
Managing Patients Presenting in Practice with Conjunctivitis
by Max Halford
December 2022
Fitting the Irregular Cornea
by Martin Conway
CPD articles 2023
January 2023
Continuing Professional Development and The Standards of Practice
by Alexandra Webster
February 2023
Autism and Eyecare Accessibility
by Dr Ketan Parmar
March 2023
Using Evidence Based Practice to Communicate Myopia Management
by Keith Tempany
April 2023
Myopia Management Update
by Tina Arbon Black
May 2023
Vision Beyond the Eye
by Mark Hickton
June 2023
Dementia Things: The Impact of Language used About People with Dementia
by Elaine Grisdale
July 2023
Record Keeping
by Fiona Anderson
August 2023
The Management of Ptosis
by Cheryl Hill
September 2023
Your Wellbeing Matters
by Sheena Tanna-Shah
October 2023
British Standards and Eyecare Practitioners
by Amy Seaman
November 2023
What’s in the Bottle?
by Michelle Mehta
December 2023
Understanding Extended Depth of Focus (EDOF) Contact Lenses
by Philip Thompson
CPD articles 2024
January 2024
Young Adult Myopia
by Kathryn Webber and Dr Matthew Cufflin
February 2024
Exploring Colour Perception
by Mark Hickton
March 2024
The Effect of Uncorrected Refractive Error and Refractive Correction in Binocular Vision Issues
by Niall Hynes
April 2024
The Potential Future of Contact Lenses in the Low Vision Clinic
by Mia Shergill and Dr Elizabeth Bartlam
May 2024
Shedding Light on Cataracts, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention
by Lisa Farrell
June 2024
Discussing Nutrition: The Role of the Dispensing Optician
by Iain Johnson
July / August 2024
A review of spectacle lens dispensing measurements
by Cheryl Hill
September 2024
Digital eye strain
by Dr Patrick A Moore
October 2024
Common medications and their ocular effects
by Amy Green
November / December 2024
Age-related macular degeneration
by Kishan Gadhia
CPD articles 2025
January 2025
Scope of practice
by Alexandra Webster
February 2025
Multilayered anti-reflection (MAR) coatings
by Lisa Whittaker
March 2025
Cosmetics and the eye
by Tina Arbon Black
April 2025
Exploring visual field perception
by Mark Hickton
May 2025
Silicone hydrogel lenses: An evidence based update
by Claire McDonnell
June 2025
Managing the low vision patient in practice
by Dr Elizabeth Bartlam
July 2025
Dispensing considerations for patients with common ocular disease
by Amy Green
September 2025
Seeing green: Clinical applications of fluorescein in optical practice
by Ailsa Lane
October 2025
When contact lenses are the best option
by Nasima Hinglotwala
Below you will find further information relating to our Webinars:
Webinar resources 2020
| June 2020 | Person Centred Dementia Care | Further Learning Reference & Support Question & Answer Responses |
| July 2020 | Diabetic Retinal Screening Programmes & Analysis of Common Conditions seen during Retinal Imaging | Further Learning Reference & Support Question & Answer Responses |
| August 2020 | Eye Drops User Review | Question & Answer Responses |
| September 2020 | Driving & Spectacle Lenses | Question & Answer Responses Paper-Erickson,2018-filters Government Statistics – Reported Road Casualties |
| October 2020 | Aiding Vision, Making the Most of Optical Aids | Question & Answer Responses References, Links and Further Reading |
| November 2020 | The Long & Short of Myopia Management | Questions & Answer Responses References, Links & Further Reading Clinical Guidelines-Supplement |
| December 2020 | Providing Optimal Eye Care for Children with a Learning Disability | VIDEO – Overview of the Services Delivered in Special Schools Resources, References and Further Reading Question & Answer Responses |
Webinar resources 2021
| January 2021 | Effective Communication – Breaking Bad News and Managing Difficult Conversations | VIDEO – How to Break Bad News to Patients – American Optometric Association – Jay Lyttle VIDEO – Clip of John Cleese & Robert Buckman VIDEO – 50/50 Doctor Scene Question & Answer Responses |
| February 2021 | All you ever wanted to know about BV | Questions & Answer Responses References, Advice and Guidance |
| March 2021 | Evidence Based Practice in Ophthalmic Dispensing | Question & Answer Responses References, Advice and Guidance |
| April 2021 | Overview of Glaucoma | Question & Answer Responses References, Advice and Guidance |
| May 2021 | Dry Eye Disease and the Role of the Dispensing Optician | Question & Answer Response References, Advice and Guidance Mask Associated Dry Eye Leaflethttps://www.tfosdewsreport.org/ |
| Links for Questionnaire Resources A Google search of Ocular Surface Disease Index and/or DEQ5 will provide a range of sites that feature the questionnaires. Copyright should be investigated. The OSDI is also available as an app for both Android and Apple and can be found in the related app stores. |
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| June 2021 | Cataract Surgery in Patients with Cognitive Impairment | Question & Answer Responses |
| July 2021 | Can Dispensing Opticians and Optometrists help prevent falls? | Question & Answer Responses including References |
| August 2021 | Modern & Future Eye Examination Techniques | Question & Answer Responses References |
| September 2021 | CLEAR; Evidence Based Practice Report | Question & Answer Responses Link for CLEAR Clinical Guidelines Summary |
| October 2021 | Considering Consent: Pandering to Patients or Protection Practitioners | N/A |
| November 2021 | Integrating Sustainable Materials into Spectacle Frames Dispensing | Question & Answer Responses References, Advice & Guidelines |
| December 2021 | Acute Eye Condition Triage: Part 1 – The Key Conditions and their Red Flags | Link for Optometry Evolution Use this link to find the resource packs from the webinar |
Webinar resources 2022
| January 2022 | Acute Eye Condition Triage: Part 2 – Best Triage Strategy and Interactive Cases | Link to Optometry Evolution to access the following resources
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| March 2022 | Call of Duty, A Dispensing Optician’s Responsibility to Refer | References, Links and Further Reading Questions & Answer Responses |
| May 2022 | Cataract Post-Operative Scheme | Handouts Exclusion Criteria Service Promotions Team – Contact List SpaMedica – To Dilate or not to Dilate Cataract Surgery – Video Question & Answer responses |
| June 2022 | What’s Your Perspective? | Link to GOC Standards of Practice Question & Answer Responses |
| July 2022 | Initial Steps to Becoming a Sustainable Practice | Question & Answer Responses References, Links and Further Reading |
| December 2022 | Does Personal Development Self-Audit Impact Professional Performance? | References, Links and Further Reading |
Webinar resources 2023
| February 2023 | NES Webinar – Inclusive Paediatric Dispensing | References, Links and Further Reading Question & Answer Responses |
| April 2023 | Understanding the genetic factors of Myopia : Can we utilize out knowledge of Myopia genetics? | Question & Answer Responses |
| May 2023 | Children and Eye Examinations: What’s happening out there and how can we help? | Question & Answer Responses References, Links and Further Reading |
| July 2023 | Sports Vision in Practice | Question & Answer Responses |
| October 2023 | Young Myopia Management | Question and Answer Responses References and Further Reading |
| November 2023 | Orthokeratology | Question and Answer Responses Four and Five Zone Lens Designs Fluorescein Patterns Corneal Staining |
| November 2023 | Infection Control in Optical Practice | Question and Answer Responses References and Further Reading |
Webinar resources 2024
| February 2024 | NES Webinar – Accessible eyecare for Deaf patients and those who are hard of hearing | Question and Answer Responses References and Further Reading BSL Finger Spelling (British Deaf Association) |
| June 2024 | Making Eyecare Accessible | Examples in Sign Language References and resources Making Eyecare Accessible Q&A |
| July 2024 | Profilometry and Speciality Lens Fitting (CLO Practitioners) | References and Resources Question and Answer responses |
| September 2024 | Acute eyecare for DOs | References and resources Question and Answer responses |
| September 2024 | Seeing Dispensing Through a Child and Family’s eyes | References and resources Question and Answer responses |
| November 2024 | Healthy Lids: Managing Blepharitis | Question and answer responses |
Webinar resources 2025
| April 2025 | GP lenses without tears | Question and answer responses References and further reading |
| May 2025 | Confidence in contact lens complications | Question and answer responses |
| June 2025 | Dispensing for Children | Question and answer responses |
| July 2025 | Diagnosing Nystagmus – How, Why and When | References and further reading |