Patients and public
Policymakers
Members
News and views
Background
FODO, as the association for eye care providers, supports training and education for individual, local, regional and national eye care providers. This page tells you:
Student awards
We sponsor annual prizes for students to encourage and support excellence. Current student awards include:
- FODO Prize for Improvement on First Year Work, for students at City, University of London.
- FODO award for best overall performance in law, ethics and business management, for students at University of Plymouth.
- FODO Career Progression Prize and FODO clinical prize for University of Bradford students
- Best performance in optometric practice management in the final year of BSc (Hons) in Optometry at Technological University Dublin.
- Best performance in optometric practice management in the second year of BSc in Ophthalmic Dispensing at Technological University Dublin.
- Best overall performance in the Optometry Degree for students at Anglia Ruskin University.
- FODO prize for students at ABDO College.
Irvine Aitchison Memorial Fund
Over the years, the Irvine Aitchison Memorial Fund (IAMF) has funded the Goodman Lectures and more recently two bursaries to second year optometrist and dispensing optician students (third year at Glasgow Caledonian University). The bursaries help them gain experience and personal growth as part of Vision Aid Overseas (VAO) groups working in Africa for two weeks during the summer. Since 2018, the trustees of the IAMF, which is managed by FODO, have been funding work through the College of Optometrists to develop online training that develops pedagogical skills among the optometric and dispensing optician professions. The aim is to support professional development as 'educating the next generation' becomes part of the professional role of optometrists and dispensing opticians in the same way as for other clinical professions. It will also raise the standards of education, training and supervision at all levels across the sector.
Other resources
Members often ask us what they can use to help encourage the next generation to take up a career in eye care. We recommend the following resources:
- ABDO's careers brochure for dispensing opticians
- BIOS's advice on how to become an orthoptist
- College of Optometrists guide to a career in optometry
- Health Education England has a short guide to ophthalmology, and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists has produced a career guide for budding ophthalmologists.
Feedback
What would you like to see? If you have suggestions on how we can make our training and education programme even better, email [email protected]
