Specsavers has postponed its annual clinical conference scheduled for September and announced the SCC Online Series in its place, commencing next month.
Uncertainty due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic prompted the optical chain to replace the ninth edition of the conference, known as SCC9, with the online series that will comprise a regular monthly program of CPD sessions for Australian and New Zealand optometrists.
The SCC Online Series, which will begin on July 29 and is also available to non-Specsavers professionals, will include a range of virtual presentations, panel discussions and interactive webinars. They will cover a range of topics including glaucoma diagnosis and co-management, diabetic retinopathy screening, KeepSight updates and more.
The online initiative will deliver educational content tailored for clinical optometry practice, with a strong supply of therapeutics points. Points that would have been earned at SCC9 will instead be accessible via SCC Online.
The series will also include the new ‘Specsavers Pro/AM Classic’, which will involve local optometrists and ophthalmologists who review individual treatment cases to see how each field would respond and diagnose.
Each SCC Online Series event will be eligible for both Australian CPD Points and New Zealand CD and General Points.
Additionally, from 1 December this year Australia is switching from points-based CPD to a time-based system in line with Optometry Board of Australia rules. To cater for this, SCC Online will adapt for this new format at that time while maintaining accredited points in New Zealand.
Specsavers director of optometry Dr Ben Ashby said SCC Online is an innovative way of delivering on the commitment to transform eye health and provide best-practice resources to the wider sector.
“It’s essential that we continue to make high-quality, relevant CPD-accredited resources available to as many Australian and New Zealander practitioners as possible,” he said.
“Current circumstances mean that it is not feasible to host a physical event at this time, so we are using the technology we have available to ensure that we continue to deliver professional development opportunities to all optometrists.”
Specsavers optometrists can access the SCC Online series through the Specsavers MyCPD portal, which launched early this year. It is the company’s virtual hub for optometrists that hosts live CPD tracking and is home to a wide range of professional development resources and training.
Non-Specsavers optometrists can also register to participate in the SCC Online series through the Specsavers Spectrum-ANZ website at spectrum-anz.com. A full program and speaker list for the SCC Online Series will be announced in late June.
Recent CPD webinars on Zoom from respected ophthalmologists Associate Professor Colin Chan and Associate Professor Graham Lee have attracted more than 1,000 attendees in five events across May and June.
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