Optometry taster day for clear-sighted pupils

Plymouth University hosted a special taster day for 50 South West pupils to inspire them to be tomorrow’s opticians.

The event was organised by Lecturer in Optometry Alice Cottle and sponsored by Specsavers.

The pupils, all in Years 10 to 13, met academic staff from the University’s Optometry programme, attended mini lectures on eye anatomy and visual processing, and had the opportunity to participate in a practical session using equipment in the optometry lab.

They also met students from the University and optometrists from different settings to highlight the range of opportunities available and support the message that, as a career choice, optometry is much broader than people might think.

Miss Cottle, the module lead for Clinical Optometry Skills in Year One of the BSc (Hons) Optometry programme and herself a graduate of the University, said: “Optometry is a hugely rewarding profession, and it was great to see so many young people enjoy learning about it.

“We want to inspire the next generation of optometrists and provide practical learning and opportunities for patient facing activity to help achieve that. Our student satisfaction rating reflects the popularity of our approach, and we hope the pupils we met during this event will become the next generation of satisfied students in the future.”

Lucy Knock, Early Careers Manager at Specsavers, helped facilitate the day and gave a presentation on how Specsavers can support students through school and university.

Luke Serle, a pre-reg optometrist from the Plymouth Armada Way practice and another Plymouth graduate, also joined her for a question-and-answer session on what life as a pre-reg is like.

Lucy said: “This event was a remarkable success and I want to thank the University for its efforts to inspire students to consider optometry as a career. It was fantastic to see the profession being showcased by Alice and her colleagues and Specsavers was pleased to be able to support the day, not least because our purpose is to change lives. We may have just done that for some of the young people during the day.”