The Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) recognizes that BC Opticians serve urban and rural communities throughout the province, and that in-person Continuing Education (CE) opportunities are more readily available in large urban settings.
Recognizing the need for quality CE opprtunities in the public interest for all regions of British Columbia, the COBC encourages registrants to design their own learning outcomes and objectives through study clubs. Study clubs are considered under the professional providers designation and engage Opticians in professional development in a peer support setting.
What Is A Study Club?
A study club is a group of two or more people who meet on a regular basis to review, discuss and study advanced topics related to Opticianry. Study clubs can discuss articles from journals related to the profession, review Opticianry textbooks or assess particular case studies in opticianry. The discussions are usually narrowly directed but can lead to a wider discussion on related topics.
How to Develop a Study Club
1) Submission of Application for Study Club
To apply for CE credits through study clubs, registrants are required to first obtain pre-approval for the study club from the COBC.
Registrants are encouraged to approach other Opticians to form the study club and decide on topics of discussion. Members of the study club appoint a Study Club Coordinator, and s/he is responsible for completing and submitting the Application for Continuing Education Study Club form to the COBC for pre-approval of the study club.
In addition to the Application form, the Study Club Coordinator is required to submit on the Outline of the Study and Study Materials. These documents are separate from the Application form.
- Outline of Study: Please include the outline the content of the study club in detail.
For example: The topic is High Index Prescription Lenses, and the content could be divided as the following:- Materials
- Index Refraction
- Lens Designs
- Coatings
- Prescriptions
- Lens specifications
- Format
The format of the study club may include lecture style, discussions, hands-on practice, PowerPoint, or other applicable methods.
- Study Materials
Please include detailed information about the study materials, such as title and date of publication of journals, manuals, texts, videos, case studies, and other applicable materials.
- Time Commitment
Report the time commitment to the study course including duration and frequency. Study Club commonly take place on a bi-monthly or monthly basis
2) COBC Approval of Study Club
The COBC reviews the completed Application for Continuing Education Study Club form, the Outline of the Study and Study Materials.
When the study club is approved, the COBC will send a confirmation of approval to the Study Club Coordinator. The Study Club Coordinator is responsible for distributing this confirmation of approval to each study club participant.
3) Verification of Study Club Completion and Submission for Credits
After each study club session, study club members are responsible to write up a summary or review of the discussion. Each summary or review is to include the name, registration number and signature of each study club participant who was present at the session.
At the completion of the study club, study club participants submit the confirmation of approval and the written summaries or reviews of study club sessions.