Welcome to the second edition of Acuity, the new career and professional development journal for College members. Through Acuity, our aim is to bring you the latest clinical advancements in your area of practice and to support you on your professional journey. 

Increasingly, optometry is commissioned differently in each of the four nations that make up the UK. While optometrists in all the nations encounter many of the same issues, these differences mean that optometrists’ experience of daily practice will vary depending on where they work. We explore what this means for optometrists in each nation. 

We know that technology and innovation are shaping the profession to even greater lengths today, so in this issue we tackle the hot topic of artificial intelligence. What is it? How can it help you? And what will it mean for the profession? We’ve sought out sector experts to contribute their thoughts. You can read this fascinating article here. 

If you, like so many optometrists today, are already pursuing a portfolio career – or are interested in doing so – click here, where you can read about the optometrists juggling numerous job roles. We ask how portfolio careers work in reality, and how optometrists embarked on this path. 

We have two articles with CET points. The anisometropia feature carries one CET point, and one interactive CET point is available for the antimicrobial resistance article – just complete the relevant questions on the Acuity web pages to earn your points. 

If you have ideas for topics to cover in future issues of Acuity, or would like to contribute, we would love to hear from you, get your opinion, feature your case study and amplify your voice. 

Please email us on this, and with feedback on Acuity content, at acuity.editorial@college-optometrists.org.

Edward Mallen MCOptom, President
ed.mallen@college-optometrists.org

Picture credit | Caroline Andrieu