This module will allow eye care professionals to gain expert specialist skills and knowledge in Myopia Management with GCU’s fully online distance learning Continuing Professional Development (CPD) module. This upskilling module in Myopia Management is an essential stepping stone to equip the practitioner with the confidence and skills to competently and effectively manage patients with myopia in community practice.

What you will study

The Myopia Management Module (20 credits at SCQF 11) will equip the student with the specialist knowledge and skills required to confidently and competently manage patients with myopia in practice.

The module will include:

• Theories underpinning myopia growth
• Risk factors for myopia onset and progression
• Optical and pharmaceutical treatments including their proposed mechanism
• How to construct a clinical routine to be used in a myopia appointment
• How to formulate a myopia management plan and evaluate treatment success.

The module will provide students with the ability to evaluate current research on myopia and its relevance to clinical practice including risk factors and methods of treatment. Students will be introduced to further techniques used in the monitoring and treatment of myopia including axial length measurement and corneal topography. Teaching material includes lectures, interactive tutorials using real patient scenarios and additional online learning resources to help support and advance learning. There will be the opportunity to accrue CPD points for General Optical Council (GOC) registered practitioners.

Who is this for?

This upskilling opportunity is for practitioners working in practice who wish to improve their knowledge and confidence in myopia management which can be applied when discussing risk factors and possible treatment options with patients. For those practitioners who are interested in offering, or are currently offering, myopia management treatments to their patients, the module covers patient selection, the logistics of each treatment option, initial appointments and follow-ups as well as evaluation of treatment success.

How you will study?

The module runs from September of one year until May of the following year. All lectures and tutorials will be delivered fully online over Trimester A and Trimester B.  Students will have access to all teaching materials and resources and be able to engage online. There are two live, online sessions in which attendance is recommended but not compulsory. The remainder of the module will be independent and directed distance online learning based around myopia and evidence-based management and patient case discussions. The assessment is made up of two written online coursework tasks.

The module entails approximately 200 hours of notional effort, worth 20 credits at postgraduate level. This module can be undertaken as part of the MSc Investigative Ophthalmology and Vision Research Programme or as a standalone CPD module.

The Department of Vision Sciences

The course will be delivered by expert academics in the Department of Vision Sciences who are actively involved in myopia research and in managing patients attending the popular Myopia Management Clinic based in the Vision Centre at GCU.

Entry requirements

Applicants for the standalone Myopia Management Module are normally required to be registered with the General Optical Council as an Optometrist, Dispensing Optician or Contact Lens Optician. For non-EU applicants, an equivalent national qualification would be considered.

Application and start date

The Myopia module runs from September of one year until May of the following year.

To register your interest, please email: myopia@gcu.ac.uk. If interested student numbers become higher than the intake allows, or if funding becomes available, practitioners will be considered on a first come, first served basis following the order of when interest was registered.

Fees and funding

Fees are reviewed annually; the fee for 2024-25 is £850.