Our Enhanced Clinical Practice (ECP) Project looks to deliver a framework for orthoptic ECP, drawing on our previous scoping work and the existing schemas and work undertaken in other professions. The production of the schema will articulate what enhanced practice is in orthoptics and enable higher education institutions to develop ECP programmes of study for orthoptists.
Enhanced practice or Enhanced Clinical Practice “is a level of practice within the healthcare workforce. It covers the graduate professional workforce delivering the majority of clinical activity, those who have moved beyond novice/competent and who are not working at the level of advanced practice”. An important distinction within orthoptics is that although those working at an enhanced level of practice may have also developed skills in for example extended roles; ECP does not refer directly to these additional skills. Rather it is related to the core skills and expertise unique to our profession.
Phase 1
During the initial HEE commission in 2022-23, the BIOS ECP expert group was convened consisting of Martin Rhodes, Dr Gemma Arblaster and Joshua Simmons. This group undertook an initial scoping project which identified the key areas of orthoptic practice which would be used to feed into the development of any schema or curricula which would articulate what ECP is within orthoptic practice.
The scoping document was signed off by our EPDC and is now being used as the basis for ECP schema development.
Phase 2
As part of the 2024-2025 NHSE Commission, we’re working with Dr Kim Stewart of Coventry University to develop the full ECP schema for orthoptics. Kim has extensive experience in schema development, having worked on the original commission to produce ECP schemas in our fellow Allied Health Professions. The work draws directly from the scoping work completed by the BIOS expert group, who are actively feeding into this ongoing project.
The production of this schema will not only bring us in line with all other AHP groups but will be an important step in fully describing ECP in orthoptic practice. Furthermore, it will be an essential component in the articulation of our profession’s career, falling between foundation and advanced practice. The focus of the schema will also help to articulate and preserve core orthoptic practice.
Links to the HEE/NHSE work and pages relating to wider AHP ECP can be found here:
Enhanced practice | NHS England | Workforce, training and education