Optometry Year 1 Team (School of Health Sciences)

The Optometry Year 1 Team: William Holmes, Catherine Collin, Andrew Gridley, Karen Hampson, Hema Radhakrishnan, Catherine Porter, Mumta Mistry, Laura Patryas, Taaibah Shakeel, Andrew Stokes, Naheed Sadr-kazemibennett and Shazmina Yasmin.

The Optometry Year 1 Team designs and delivers the first year of our new regulated MSci Optometry Programme.   In 2021, new regulatory educational requirements for optometry prompted the Optometry Team to design an innovative programme, focused on fostering a strong sense of community and belonging among students. Central to this approach is a four-week welcome programme, aligned with the “building belonging” framework, where students engage in interactive activities to bond with peers and staff, and familiarize themselves with the campus. Throughout the first year, the curriculum emphasizes autonomy and collaboration. Team-Based Learning (TBL) is a cornerstone of the teaching model, utilizing a two-week cycle where students apply knowledge to clinical cases, including in sessions co-created with students themselves. Additionally, the programme pioneers the use of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs), shifting assessment from high-stakes exams to real-time, trust-based evaluations of clinical competence, offering more context rich feedback. Evaluation data, including NSS responses, indicate a positive impact on student experience. The first-year team’s efforts have gained recognition both within and beyond the university, helping to shape broader best practices in optometry education.