Support for ABDO Members

Support for ABDO Members

ABDO offers a range of support services for members in need of help and assistance.

From a friendly chat with the membership team through to telephone counselling, you can talk to an experienced professional about issues that are important to you.

ABDO  also offers members legal protection, a helpline for legal and tax advice.

You can also get assistance should you find yourself facing a fitness to practice case.

And the ABDO benevolent fund provides support to members, past and present or their dependants who are in severe financial difficulties due to unforeseen changes of circumstances such as redundancy, bereavement, illness, relationship breakdown.

Help for students

The Benevolent Fund occasionally receives requests for help from students who are self-funding and having difficulty paying for course fees. In this situation, students should apply to the ABDO Education Trust which exists for this purpose.  Students in severe financial need, however can apply to the Benevolent Fund, provided they are ABDO members.

A further source of help for students (who have completed one year of study)  is the Wiseman Memorial Fund, which is administered by the OSA.

The Spectacle Makers’ Charity offers a limited number of bursaries for first year students across all optical professions.

Students in need of support around examinations should contact the examinations department.

Every ABDO member is in a region, and has access to support from regional and local leads. Your regional lead is a great point of contact for advice on local contracts, commissioning and liaising with your LOC.

ABDO is committed to supply members with sufficient CPD to attain at least your minimum CPD requirement over the CPD cycle.

The ABDO Research Fund and the ABDO Education Trust fund can support you if you are studying or researching in the field of ophthalmic dispensing.

ABDO’s clinical lead can support your work in practice and offer advice and guidance as well as signposting you to other clinlcal information. Contact mhalford@abdo.org.uk

ABDO offers access to colleagues who work in a variety of settings with the profession who are there to help and support you with difficult clinlcal decisions. Contact mhalford@abdo.org.uk

ABDO can give members access to clinical training courses which are designed to support prior learning as well as develop clinical skills for the future. This includes four OFQUAL registered optical qualifications as well as access to courses such as the WOPEC courses developed in conjunction with Cardiff University. Contact mhalford@abdo.org.uk

ABDO offers opportunities and support to help you develop your clinical skills, such as Extended Services which includes training on minor eye conditions and glaucoma repeat measures. Read more here.

ABDO’s National Resource Centre is locating in Birmingham, and hosts events and examinations for members.

Quality in Optometry hosts clinical governance toolkits for optical professionals which have been developed jointly by ABDO, AOP, the College, FODO and LOCSU.