Pre-Reg Explained
During your time at university you will learn all the key skills required to in order to practice as an Optometrist. The scheme for Registration, or Pre-Reg as it is often referred to, is where you will place all these skills into practice. To qualify for the Pre-Reg year you must have a minimum of a 2:2 (Lower Second Class Honours) in Optometry at one of the 9 accredited universities.
During the Pre-Reg year you will be supervised by a qualified optometrist who will help to improve and develop your skills as you pass through the various stages of assessments as set out by The College of Optometrists. These stages are explained below.
During the Pre-Reg year you will be supervised by a qualified optometrist who will help to improve and develop your skills as you pass through the various stages of assessments as set out by The College of Optometrists. These stages are explained below.
During Stage 1, you will be visited by an assessor from The College of Optometrists. Throughout Stage 1 this assessor will be the same. They will have a list of competencies which you will have to achieve. For any you do not achieve in a particular visit, they will be rolled over to your next visit. There are four visits during Stage 1 during which you will have to achieve 75 competencies.
In Stage 2, you will be assessed on the competencies achieved earlier in stage 1. This will be done by a new assessor from the College. They will also bring in two mystery patients and will test your ability to conduct both an eye examination and a contact lens fit. This stage is thought by many pre-reg students to be the hardest.
Stage 3 is the OSCE. It stands for Objective Structured Clinical Examination. You will travel to an assessment centre during which you will have 17 different stations including 1 Rest Station and 2 pilot stations which will not be assessed. Each one contains a set of instructions and a task. You must therefore pass 14 of the stations in order to pass the OSCE.
Throughout your pre-reg, you will also be expected to gain a certain quota of eye examinations and dispenses. For more information on the Scheme for Registration click here.
In Stage 2, you will be assessed on the competencies achieved earlier in stage 1. This will be done by a new assessor from the College. They will also bring in two mystery patients and will test your ability to conduct both an eye examination and a contact lens fit. This stage is thought by many pre-reg students to be the hardest.
Stage 3 is the OSCE. It stands for Objective Structured Clinical Examination. You will travel to an assessment centre during which you will have 17 different stations including 1 Rest Station and 2 pilot stations which will not be assessed. Each one contains a set of instructions and a task. You must therefore pass 14 of the stations in order to pass the OSCE.
Throughout your pre-reg, you will also be expected to gain a certain quota of eye examinations and dispenses. For more information on the Scheme for Registration click here.