Professional Higher Certificate in Contact Lenses

• Overview

Module outline and aims

The subject of contact lenses is part of the initial qualification obtained by an optometrist. It is a speciality that a significant number of the profession do not pursue following registration due to their reluctance to deal with the potential for causing short- and long-term changes to ocular health. The Contact Lens Practice module has been devised to enable optometrists to deal more confidently and effectively with the management of contact lens patients in the community or hospital setting.

Content outline

This module aims to provide community and hospital based optometrists with an in-depth and systematic understanding of specialist contact lens fitting e.g. regular and irregular astigmatism, presbyopia, myopia control and orthokeratology. Additionally, the module will provide in-depth and systematic understanding of complications induced by contact lens (CL) wear. Other topics include:

The regular/irregular astigmatism

Lens care products and ocular lubricants

Clinical applications of corneal topography

Tear film assessment

Paediatric lens fitting

Practical session – Presbyopia

CL related complications

Detection of dry eye

Management of dry eye

Modern CL materials

Practical session – dry eye

Record keeping

UK Credits

This is a 30 credit module which runs over three days with at least 30 hours of learning, comprising of lectures, demonstrations / practical sessions and tutorials. In addition you will be required to put in a further 270 hours of self-directed (independent) study hours.

Examination date: 26th June 2017, 28th Course Information Start Date Cost Course Code Apply Monday 26 June 2017 Home / EU - £2,000 OVM057 Apply Now For additional dates please register your interest Home / EU - £2,000 OVM057 Register Interest Eligibility

Non EEA students can only apply as part of a programme, not as a stand-alone module.

• You should normally be a UK registered optometrist satisfying all legal requirements to be eligible to practise in the UK.
• You should also be registered with the General Optical Council.
• Overseas optometrists will be accepted on an ad hoc basis providing your undergraduate syllabus and clinical responsibilities are similar to those of a UK optometrist.

For those students whose first language is not English, the following qualification is also required:

• IELTS: 7.0

Please note that due to changes in the UKVI's list of SELTs we are no longer able to accept TOEFL as evidence of English language for students who require a CAS as of April 2014.