Wales Optometry Postgraduate Education Centre (WOPEC)
WOPEC is the first Postgraduate Education Centre for Optometry in the world. WOPEC is dedicated to excellence in eye care education through quality and independence. We provide a wide range of postgraduate taught courses as well as short courses for optometrists and eye care professionals in the UK and Internationally.
About WOPEC
WOPEC is accommodated within the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences at Cardiff University and benefits from the involvement of Cardiff's internationally renowned academic staff. We provide a dedicated facility for eye care education and offer a wide range of postgraduate taught courses as well as short courses for eye care professionals where clinical relevance and learner involvement is our goal.
In the News
Birmingham LOC SU Glaucoma Referral Refinement
The Accreditation takes the form of 4 OSCEs.
LOCSU/ WOPEC Training and Accreditation
LOCSU/ WOPEC training courses are available for Glaucoma, Cataract, PEARS and Low Vision to support the implementation of LOCSU enhanced service pathways. LOCSU has funded these training packages for any optometrist in England and Wales whose LOC or ROC contributes the LOCSU levy.
An LOC/ ROC who has optometrists wishing to undertake any of these courses should contact Jacque Hudson (JacqueHudson@locsu.co.uk) to request the access codes.
Practitioners wishing to do a course should contact their LOC/ ROC for the relevant access code. These codes can be entered into the 'PROMO CODE' section of the top right hand corner of the WOPEC website. CDs will then automatically be sent to them. A separate code is needed for each course. If you are unsure about the LOCSU levy or how to contact your LOC or ROC, please contact Jacque Hudson(JacqueHudson@locsu.co.uk) stating the area you work in.
Glaucoma
A training and accreditation programme to support the LOCSU Level 1 a&b (IOP and Visual Field Refinement) and Level 2 (OHT Monitoring) enhanced service pathways. The package consists of distance learning lectures on CD Rom, and a short video. The distance learning lectures and MCQs are worth 8 CET points.
A template for a practical skills assessment has been designed to complement the distance learning. The assessments can be organised locally, and a number of Lead Optometric Assessors from across England and Wales have been trained by WOPEC to facilitate these assessments. For information about organising a practical skills assessment please contact WOPEC.
Cataract
A training programme to support the LOCSU Cataract Services Pathway. The package consists of distance learning lectures and a short video on CD Rom. The distance learning lectures and MCQs are worth 8 CET points.
PEARS
A training programme based on training already provided for optometrists in Wales. The package comprises seven lectures and associated questions on CD Rom and is worth a total of 14 CET points. The lectures concentrate on the common eye conditions that present to optometrists providing PEARS and they use a symptoms, signs and management approach to each eye condition.
LOCSU and WOPEC will work with Local and Regional Optical Committees who have negotiated the commissioning of a PEARS enhanced service, sometimes known as General Referral Refinement, to set up the practical skills assessments that optometrists are required to undertake for accreditation following the successful completion of the distance learning.
Low Vision
This course involves distance learning lectures video recorded on CD-rom. It provides theoretical training in low vision practice. The theoretical training is worth 22 CET points. It is recommended that practitioners also do some practical training. WOPEC can work with LOCs to provide the practical training element.
Postgraduate Award Modules in Clinical Optometry
WOPEC is pleased to announce it will be leading the new Cardiff University postgraduate award programme for eye care practitioners from September 2011 – certified learning that is flexible, supported and offers a unique combination of distance learning and advanced practical skills training. This programme complements the short courses that WOPEC already offers. In fact, successful completion of previous WOPEC courses can now give you academic credit to use towards a Cardiff University award or degree.
You can work towards the full MSc in Clinical Optometry (180 credits), or achieve a Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits) or Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits), allowing you to use the suffixes PGCert, PgDip or MSc in Clinical Optometry, professionally. Or you can simply choose to study individual modules that interest you on a freestanding basis. To find out more visit our Postgraduate pages on the Cardiff University website.
