Professionalism and Professional Standards GOC remediation course for Optometrists and Opticians

You've just had a letter

A complaint or fitness to practice investigation has started, and you need to respond. Evidence built early reads better than evidence assembled the week before a deadline.

You are preparing your response

You're preparing your response to the GOC, your professional body, or your insurer, and need documented CPD and written reflection behind what you say.

Your case is going to committee

You need to show sustained change, not just good intentions.

The concern is about the practice, not just you

Supervision, delegation, systems or commercial arrangements. The Standards for Optical Businesses apply alongside your own.

Nothing's been raised yet

You want your practice to stand up to scrutiny, with verifiable CPD in your record.

Professional Boundaries

Boundary concerns in optical practice and the prohibition on romantic or sexual relationships with patients. Standard 15.

Consent and Communication

Consent for examination and treatment, chaperones, and communication patients later say they didn't understand. Standards 2 and 3.

Record Keeping

Clinical notes, and why poor records so often turn a defensible complaint into an indefensible one. Standard 8.

Probity and Dishonesty

Advertising, invoicing and insurance — the category regulators treat most seriously. Standard 16.

Social Media Conduct

What you post, how you respond to reviews, and the blur between professional and personal online. Standard 17.

Duty of Candour

Being open when something goes wrong, and apologising properly. Standard 19.

Overview of professionalism and the GOC's role

This section establishes what professionalism means within optical practice and how the GOC's regulatory framework is designed to protect patients and maintain public confidence in optometrists and opticians.

Core principles

We cover the fundamental duties that underpin safe and ethical optical practice, with particular focus on clinical record-keeping standards, which are among the most frequently cited concerns in GOC investigations.

The GOC standards

This section takes you through both sets of GOC standards in full, examining how they apply in clinical and business settings and what regulators expect to see demonstrated in day-to-day practice.

Professional boundaries

We address where professional boundaries apply in optical practice, from patient relationships through to online conduct, reflecting the GOC's increasing focus on social media as a source of regulatory concern.

Breaches and consequences

This section explains what constitutes a breach of GOC standards and walks you through every stage of the fitness to practise process, from initial referral through to hearing outcomes.

Professionalism and fitness to practise

We examine what the GOC means by insight, how to demonstrate it effectively, and how to maintain professional conduct and personal resilience throughout an active investigation.

Conclusion and assessment

The final section consolidates all course learning and prepares you for the post-course assessment, on passing which you will receive a CPD certificate suitable for inclusion in your remediation portfolio.

Standards of Practice

The GOC's nineteen standards of behaviour and performance for individual registrants, in force since 1 January 2025.

Case Examiners

The parallel set for registered optical businesses, relevant where a concern touches systems, supervision or commercial arrangements.

Standards for Optical Businesses

The GOC expects you to use it in meeting a standard, and to justify your decisions afterwards; you're personally accountable regardless of an employer's direction.

Professional judgement

The committee that hears a referred case and decides what, if anything, should happen to your registration.

Fitness to Practise Committee

One registrant, one lay member, who consider a concern once evidence and your written representations are in.

Interim Order

Registrants and lay members together; deals with cases the case examiners can't agree on, or where a health/performance assessment is needed.

Investigation Committee

An order made while a case is still running: suspension or conditional registration, protective rather than a finding.

Verifiable CPD

CPD with evidence of completion you can log in MyCPD. This course is certified and self-directed.

Verifiable CPD

CPD with evidence of completion that you can log in MyCPD. This course is certified CPD and self-directed, which is a distinct category from CPD undertaken with others — check the GOC's current requirements for what your own cycle needs to contain.

Insight

Understanding what went wrong, why, and its effect on patients and public confidence; see "How this helps" above.

Remediation

The concrete steps taken so it doesn't happen again, with evidence they occurred; see "How this helps" above.

Standard 15 — Maintain appropriate boundaries:

The standard behind most conduct allegations in optical practice.

Standard 16 — Be honest and trustworthy:

Probity in its widest sense — advertising, invoicing, insurance, cooperation with an investigation.

Standard 17 — Do not damage the reputation of your profession:

Reaches conduct outside the consulting room, including online.

Standard 19 — Be candid when things have gone wrong

The duty of candour in the GOC's own words, with separate published guidance behind it. Being open, apologising properly, and explaining what happened and what follows.

Standard 8 — Maintain adequate patient records:

Poor records turn a defensible complaint into an indefensible one.

Standard 14 — Maintain confidentiality:

Patient information, who sees it, and how it's stored or shared.

Standards 2 and 3 — Communicate effectively and obtain valid consent:

What the patient was told, and whether they understood and agreed.

Standard 18 — Respond to complaints effectively:

How a complaint was handled is examined separately from what caused it.

Standard 6 — Recognise your limits of competence:

Scope of practice, delegation and training.

Standard 9 — Ensure supervision complies with the law:

Frequently in play where students, trainees or delegated work are involved.

Standard 11 — Protect and safeguard patients and others from harm:

Safeguarding and speaking up.

Triage

Receipt is acknowledged and preliminary enquiries may be made.

Evidence gathering

Clinical records, witness statements, and independent expert opinion where needed.

Your written representations

The stage that most rewards documented insight and remediation.

The complainant comments

Then case examiners review it.

Case examiners decide

No further action, a warning, or referral to the Fitness to Practise Committee or Investigation Committee.

Investigation Committee, where needed

Same decision-making powers as the case examiners.

Interim orders, at any point

Protective, not a finding.

A referral can be terminated

An application can be made after referral to the Fitness to Practise Committee.

The ethics pair to this course: how a decision was reached, where this one covers how you conducted yourself. Ethics and Ethical Standards for Optometrists and Opticians — the ethics pair to this course: how a decision was reached, where this one covers how you conducted yourself.

The element assessed in almost every case, and the one most often described as lacking.

How to write reflection that reads as understanding rather than regret.

Turning insight into concrete, evidenced change a committee can see actually happened.