Two Weeks Left to Enrol as ACO Opens New Advanced Pharmacology Certificate for Optometrists
The Australian College of Optometry (ACO) is urging optometrists to move quickly on enrolments, with just under two weeks remaining before its new Certificate in Advanced Ocular Therapeutics gets underway on 27 July.
The four-month course has been developed in response to a clinical reality practitioners are seeing more often: patients presenting with complex ocular conditions that sit alongside systemic disease and multiple medications. Rather than treating the eye in isolation, the certificate is designed to sharpen the pharmacological knowledge and clinical decision-making skills optometrists need to manage that overlap safely.
Course content covers the science behind oral medicines and how they factor into ocular disease management, including pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and drug classes, along with adverse drug reactions and the ocular side effects tied to commonly prescribed medications. Diabetes pharmacology and the renal, hepatic and cardiovascular systems also feature as part of the broader therapeutic picture optometrists are expected to navigate.
A central module, Managing Ocular Side Effects of Pharmaceuticals, will be presented by ACO optometrist and researcher Dr Suhyun Kweon. The session takes a case-based approach to identifying and managing medication-related ocular complications, weighing up their clinical significance and building practical management strategies. It reinforces a theme running through the certificate: that therapeutic benefit and ocular risk need to be considered together when making treatment decisions.
The program leans heavily on real-world, team-based learning, pairing participants with experienced facilitators and peers to translate the material into everyday clinical practice. A short clinical placement observing a healthcare practitioner rounds out the course, giving participants hands-on exposure while building ties across the broader healthcare sector.
ACO says the certificate is intended to build practitioner confidence in handling increasingly complex therapeutic cases, positioning optometrists for a broader scope of primary eye care as the profession continues to evolve.
Enrolments are open now ahead of the 27 July start date, with further details available at profession.aco.org.au/advanced-ocular-therapeutics.
