There has been a discussion amongst resident doctors, GMC and the RCOphth over the past few years about the place of the Refraction Certificate in the OST training programme. With the introduction of Curriculum 2024, GMC asked the College to review how refraction is assessed. A short-life independently chaired working group met three times in the spring of 2025 and produced an Initial Report that emphasized the fundamental importance of the skill for all ophthalmologists and recommended that a pilot be carried out to assess whether refraction skills could be assessed in the workplace to the same standard as the Refraction Certificate. The Refraction Pilot Group (RPG) that oversees the pilot is jointly led by Mr Stephen Winder, Chair of Examinations Committee and Mr Vikas Chadha, Chair of Training Committee. Other members are the two OTG Chairs, Dr Chris Way and Dr Alan Abraham – and the Refraction Senior Examiner, Mr Luke Clifford. The RPG is supported by the departments of Examinations, and Education, Training & Events.
If you have not have taken the Refraction Certificate before and intend to sit in May 2026, you are eligible.
You will complete the RCOphth Refraction Logbook and the Refraction EPA on the ePortfolio (or as a Word template it you do not have access to the ePortfolio). After sitting the Refraction Certificate in May 2026, you will be sent an on-line survey to complete. On receipt of the survey, you will receive a 10% refund of the Refraction Certificate fee.
Yes you will – provided that you meet the eligibility criteria (not have taken the Refraction Certificate before and intend to sit the May Refraction Certificate examination in May 2026). Please send your full name, GMC number, ST stage/SAS status, deanery and confirmation you have not sat the Refraction Certificate and intend to sit the May 2026 Refraction Certificate to [email protected].
Yes, the Pilot is open to all resident and other doctors who have not taken the Refraction Certificate and who intend to sit the May 2026 Refraction Certificate examination.
Eligible doctors in non-training posts would need to find a local appropriate assessor to get the Refraction EPA signed off. There are some mandatory WBAs so you need to have someone local anyway who can do those.
Yes, you can. The Word template for the new EPA can be downloaded from the website here
No – the main requirement is that you have not previously attempted the Refraction Certificate. Currently, the Refraction Certificate can be taken either before or after your Part 1 attempt.
The Logbook is required for the EPA. Therefore, you will need to have completed it before you share your draft EPA with your NCS.
The Logbook should be emailed to [email protected] and the approved Refraction EPA should be uploaded to the ePortfolio by Friday 8 May 2026. They must be completed prior to sitting the Refraction Certificate. If you do not have access to the ePortfolio, you should email your EPA to [email protected] by the same deadline.
The EPA will shortly be available in the ePortfolio and clearly identified as a pilot assessment. It is not technically possible to restrict this EPA to volunteers, and therefore others will be able to complete it as well. However, only eligible volunteers who have completed all the Pilot requirements will get the 10% discount and certificate. A Word version of the EPA is available on the website to download if you are a non-resident doctor with no ePortfolio access.
For an overview of the Pilot, you should see the Action Plan submitted to the GMC.
For general guidance about the Pilot, you should see the Refraction Pilot Guidance Note.
If your query is clinical, you should consult one of your supervisors. If it is a general query about the Pilot, please email [email protected]
The opening date is 12 January 2026 and the closing date is 13 March 2026. Please also check the Examinations website.
No, you should apply in the normal way.
You have to pay the full fee that has been published by the RCOphth for the Refraction Certificate in May 2026 when you book the examination. Please note that 2026 fees are not published until mid-December and there will be a small rise in the Refraction Certificate fees from 2025. After you have completed all the Pilot requirements (Logbook, EPA, Refraction Certificate examination and Survey) you will receive a refund of 10% of the fee you paid into your bank account within 10 working days of sending in your Survey.
No. The Pilot is specifically designed to study the outcomes for one cohort taking the same examination.
Yes, you will, provided you have completed all the Pilot requirements, which are:
- EPA
- Logbook
- Refraction Certificate – the requirement is to sit the examination, not to pass it
- Pilot survey
There will be no additional discount, as it only applies to the May 2026 sitting of the Refraction Certificate. If you have completed all the Pilot requirements you will get the discount. There will be no discount on your resit fee.
Yes. The Pilot is specifically designed to study the outcomes for one cohort taking the same examination so you would no longer be eligible.
Yes participants who complete all requirements will get an individual certificate that they can use for appraisals, ARCPs etc.
As far as participants are concerned, the Pilot will finish after completing the Pilot Survey.
No – the EPA will NOT count towards your ESR and ARCP.
You will still have to do the other mandated EPA for your Level of training. The Level 2 EPA already includes the CRSRet as a mandatory requirement, as does the Refraction EPA. The same CRSRet can be used for both Level 2 and Refraction EPAs.
If you are unable to find appropriate people to sign the EPA you would not be able to continue with the Pilot but it is important for the Refraction Pilot Group to know what challenges you have faced and they will ask you for feedback. Please email [email protected] if you find yourself in this situation.
Yes, your examination result will count and be recorded in your formal training record.
Yes, it is fine for the data to be retrospective. The key is that there is evidence of practice and skills learnt so that the Refraction Certificate results can be compared. You can of course do no more refractions and add to the data.