Read the latest RCOphth news updates and guidance here.
Despite important progress over the last two years, cataract surgery training opportunities in independent sector providers remain limited and in some areas – including the South West of England and London – there is no training at all in the independent sector, insights from our Ophthalmologists in Training Group (OTG) indicate.
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists’ Examinations department is delighted to announce the 2023 winner of the Dr Sadhu Ram Gupta MBE Award for International (non-UK) Examination Candidates.
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists has written to Health Minister Will Quince MP to express our support for the extension of independent prescribing responsibilities to orthoptists. The British and Irish Orthoptic Society has previously advocated for these responsibilities, including in a letter to the Secretary of State.
What was the experience of ophthalmologists in training in 2023, and how does this compare to previous years? Jordan Marshall, RCOphth Policy Manager and Sam Simpson, specialty trainee and Ophthalmologists in Training Group (OTG) representative, summarise the key findings from the GMC’s 2023 National Training Survey.
The government has responded to a report by the Health and Social Care Select Committee, agreeing that if medical school places are to be expanded ‘there would need to be the appropriate number of specialty training places subsequently made available for graduates’. With the upcoming Long Term Workforce Plan in England expected to announce increases to medical school places, this clarity is important in potentially paving the way for a much-needed expansion in ophthalmology specialty training places.
This is the first episode of Eye to Eye, the podcast of The Royal College of Ophthalmologists. The first episode launches with two interviews recorded at the RCOphth Annual Congress in May and a special message from the Chair of the Ophthalmologists in Training Group, welcoming new trainees. We'll be hearing from Fahd Quhill, Consultant Ophthalmologist from Sheffield on his research into laser pointer retinal injuries followed by an interview with Jeff Hogg, a registrar from Newcastle who tells us about his work analysing prescribing trends in glaucoma.
The University of Edinburgh invites applications for 12 postgraduate scholarships to support international applicants accepted for admission to their 2-year, part-time, online ChM (Master of Surgery) in Clinical Ophthalmology in September 2023, thanks to the generous support of The David and Molly Pyott Foundation Scholarships in Ophthalmology programme.
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists is pleased to announce that their prestigious Part 2 FRCOphth Oral examination will be held in Athens, Greece for the first time in October 2023. This marks the first time that the Part 2 FRCOphth Oral exam will be available to sit on the European mainland, enabling candidates in European and neighbouring countries to sit the exam closer to home.
A recent RCOphth Cataract Surgery Complications course was the setting for the world’s first surgical skills course in a dry-lab environment where trainees watched surgical techniques being demonstrated live, in 3D
Working with training programme directors, NHS England, ophthalmologists in training and independent sector providers, The Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) has published a blueprint to help providers and trainers enable appropriate and safe cataract training within the independent sector (IS), where these training opportunities are needed.
