There is concern that too much focus is being placed on therapeutic endorsement and many are choosing not to undertake study in this area, according to a survey conducted by the Optometrists Association of Australia’s Victoria division.
The survey, which attracted responses from 60 per cent of OAA Victoria members, found that 39 percent of the non-endorsed respondents are undecided as to whether they will undertake training for the qualification.
Over 50 per cent of all registered optometrists in Victoria are therapeutically endorsed and according to the OAA Vic, that number is increasing each year as new graduates enter the market. In July the Optometry Board of Australia announced that all those applying for registration for the first time from 1 December 2014 must hold qualifications in therapeutics. Not surprisingly then, almost all survey respondents aged up to 30 years old were endorsed. 55 per cent of male respondents and 62 per cent of females were endorsed. According to the OAA Vic, this small difference most likely reflects a higher proportion of female graduates since 2005, when all students emerged with therapeutics.
Academic and full members (members working full time in clinical practice) are the membership groups next most likely to be therapeutically endorsed – just over 80 per cent of Academic members are endorsed.
Just 20 per cent of the 265 respondents who were not endorsed indicated in the survey they want to undertake study for therapeutic qualification within the next five years
Fifty-three, or just 20 per cent of the 265 respondents who were not endorsed indicated in the survey they want to undertake study for therapeutic qualification within the next five years. Another 5 per cent said they would undertake the course in the next five to 10 years.
“If we extrapolate that to our entire membership, we might guess that approximately 120 members may want to undertake a therapeutics course over the next five years, with approximately half of these in the 30-39 years age group and 25 per cent in the 40-49 years age group,” said Terri Smith, CEO of the OAA, Victoria. She said it was not surprising that as the age of respondents climbed, the numbers intending to study therapeutics declined.
“Optometrists have had access to therapeutics for 16 years now although it was only when we gained access to the PBS in January 2008 that the ballgame changed for good,” she said.
Ms. Smith said that regardless of whether optometrists choose to undertake qualifications, they remain valued members
of the OAA. “While we know that therapeutics will be a key part of optometry practice in the future we understand why some members are not prepared to commit to this extra study at this stage. The Association is here for all our members – whether endorsed or not. We argued strongly to the OBA to ensure that currently registered optometrists must be able to continue to work without endorsement.”
Optometrists registered with the Board prior to 1 December 2014 do not need to undertake further study to maintain their registration but will have a notation added to their registration stating: “the optometrist is not qualified for endorsement for scheduled medicines and is not able to prescribe schedule 4 medicines for the treatment of conditions of the eye.”
