PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE IN MEDICAL RETINA
PROGRAMME HANDBOOK
2025-26
Division of Pharmacy and Optometry
School of Health Sciences
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
Introduction to the Professional Certificate in Medical Retina
Welcome to the Division of Pharmacy and Optometry at the University of Manchester. The Professional Certificate in Medical Retina sits in the Pharmacy and Vision Sciences PGT Consortium in the School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
This handbook provides details of the University of Manchester Programme leading to the Professional Certificate in Medical Retina. It includes information about the aims and learning outcomes, structure, content, assessment and programme management. It should be read in conjunction with related School and University documentation which is available in the School of Health Sciences Student Handbook.
We hope that your time studying with Manchester will be productive and enjoyable.
Programme Director:
Dr Catherine Porter
Email: catherine.porter@manchester.ac.uk
3rd Floor, Carys Bannister Building
Professional Certificate Lead:
Dr Ketan Parmar
Email: ketan.parmar@manchester.ac.uk
1st Floor, Carys Bannister Building
Examination Lead:
Mr Paul Rogers
Email: p.rogers@manchester.ac.uk
1st Floor, Carys Bannister Building
Theory Lead:
Prof Tariq Aslam
Email: tariq.aslam@mft.nhs.uk
Manchester Royal Eye Hospital
Divisional Director of Teaching
Dr Ruth Ledder
Email: Ruth.ledder@manchester.ac.uk
Head of Division, Pharmacy & Optometry
Prof Kaye Williams
School Administrative Teams:
Student Hub: shs.hub@manchester.ac.uk
Wellbeing: shs.wellbeing@manchester.ac.uk
Attendance monitoring: shs.attendance@manchester.ac.uk
Disability support: shs.dc@manchester.ac.uk
Mitigating Circumstances: shs.mitcircs@manchester.ac.uk
Programmes team: shs.programmes@manchester.ac.uk
Assessments team: shs.assessment@manchester.ac.uk
General information about the Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, staff listings and research interests are contained in this handbook, but more information can be obtained from the following web sites:
The Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health home page:
https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/
The University of Manchester home page:
http://www.manchester.ac.uk/
Section A: Programme Structure
Rationale, General Description, Postgraduate Taught Degree Regulations for Students
Postgraduate Taught degrees at the University of Manchester are based on the National Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ). This framework requires students to achieve credit at master’s level in order to get an award. For a standard postgraduate taught master’s programme this will normally mean passing 180 credits. A standard Postgraduate Diploma will normally have 120 credits and a Postgraduate Certificate 60 credits. The way in which you study these credits will be defined later in the programme handbook and the programme specification.
The University sets standards relating to your performance on every unit but also on your progression through the programme. Your programme and course unit specifications will set out the requirements for passing the credit on individual units.
The full PGT Degree Regulations can be accessed at:
http://www.regulations.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduate-degree-regulations/.
The following guidance should be read in conjunction with the Introduction to the Postgraduate Degree Regulations for Students:
http://www.tlso.manchester.ac.uk/degree-regulations/
Exemptions to the PGT Degree Regulations
Please be aware that the Professional Certificate in Medical Retina unit has some higher requirements to the University degree regulations and details of these are outlined below.
The programmes above will not apply compensation rules to any course units. The pass mark for the Professional Certificate is 50% and all OSCE stations must be passed.
Programme Management
The Programme Committee will be primarily responsible for monitoring the programme and will report directly to the Pharmacy and Vision Sciences Postgraduate Consortium Committee. This committee in turn reports to the School of Health Sciences PGT Committee. Special responsibility for the programme will be taken by the Programme Director, the Divisional Director of Education, and the Head of Division. The Programme Committee will, in liaison with the School Postgraduate Committee, take responsibility for programme structure, development and delivery. The Programme Director will be responsible for admissions to the programme.
The Programme Director, in liaison with the Divisional Lead for Teaching and the Postgraduate Programmes Manager, will be responsible for Quality Assurance for the programme.
Role of the External Examiner
External Examiners are individuals from another institution or organisation who monitor the assessment processes of the University to ensure fairness and academic standards. They ensure that assessment and examination procedures have been fairly and properly implemented and that decisions have been made after appropriate deliberation. They also ensure that standards of awards and levels of student performance are at least comparable with those in equivalent higher education institutions.
External Examiners’ reports relating to this programme will be shared with student representatives at the programme board, where details of any actions carried out by the programme team/School in response to the External Examiners’ comments will be discussed. Students should contact their student representatives if they require any further information about External Examiners’ reports or the process for considering them.
The External Examiner for this programme is: Dr Rebekka Heitmar
Name of Institution: University of Huddersfield
Position at current Institution: Reader in Optometry and Vision Sciences
Please note that it is inappropriate for students to make direct contact with External Examiners under any circumstances, in particular with regards to a student’s individual performance in assessments. Other appropriate mechanisms are available for students, including the University’s appeals or complaints procedures and the UMSU Advice Centre. In cases where a student does contact an External Examiner directly, External Examiners have been requested not to respond to direct queries. Instead, External Examiners should report the matter to their School contact who will then contact the student to remind them of the other methods available for students. If students have any queries concerning this, they should contact their Programme Office (or equivalent).
Important information with regards to this course will usually be emailed to you. If you have any queries or concerns at any time during your period of study in Manchester, there is a range of people you can approach. Your Programme Administrator will be your first port of call for general issues. If your Programme Administrator is unable to help you, your query will be passed onto one of the Programme Directors. If all else fails or you wish to raise a confidential matter at Divisional level, you should approach the PGT Consortium Lead – contact details below.
The Programme Committee will be primarily responsible for monitoring the programme and will report directly to the Pharmacy and Vision Sciences Postgraduate Consortium Committee. This committee in turn reports to the School of Health Sciences PGT Committee. Special responsibility for the programme will be taken by the Programme Director, the Consortium Lead for Postgraduate Taught Programmes and the Head of Division. The Programme Committee will, in liaison with the School Postgraduate Committee, take responsibility for programme structure, development and delivery. The Programme Director will be responsible for admissions to the programme.
The Programme Director, in liaison with the Consortium Lead and the Postgraduate Programmes Manager, will be responsible for Quality Assurance for the programme.
Teaching Staff
The Professional Certificate in Medical Retina course draws upon the expertise of a large number of academic and clinically qualified staff. Each module is led by one or two academic staff, but lectures may be delivered by invited guest speakers with specific expertise in that area.
Programme Information
The course, which can lead to the award of Professional Certificate in Medical Retina brings together the research expertise of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health and the clinical expertise within Manchester Royal Eye Hospital to provide students with a firm grounding in the knowledge needed to pursue a higher degree and to follow a research/academic career in ocular health/vision sciences. It also gives an opportunity for vision related professionals to advance their knowledge on the scientific foundations of ophthalmology and vision sciences.
Section B- Course unit specification
Information about all course units is given on the following pages. Timetable information for the academic year will be uploaded onto Canvas. You can access individual unit timetables and week-by-week lecture information on each unit’s Canvas space. Please note that you must be enrolled on a unit to access its Canvas site.
GENERAL INFORMATION
OPTO71300 Professional Certificate in Medical Retina
| Title | Professional Certificate in Medical Retina |
| Unit code | OPTO 71300 |
| Programme | Prof Cert compulsory ACOP
|
| Credit rating | 15 |
| Level | 7 |
| Contact hours | 20 |
| Other Scheduled teaching and learning activities* | 10 |
| Pre-requisite units | none |
| Co-requisite units | none |
| School responsible | SHS |
| Member of staff responsible | Dr Ketan Parmar |
| ECTS** | 7.5 |
| Notional hours of Learning*** | 150 |
AIMS
The unit aims to:
Provide students with knowledge of common medical retina conditions including diagnosis and management. This will incorporate areas such as screening, referral and treatment pathways where appropriate. Understanding of the role and importance of modern imaging and interpretation of these images and of clinical signs towards diagnosis will be a key aspect as well as subsequent formulation of a management plan.
This will allow clinicians to understand how to manage patients or community and hospital-based optometrists to make accurate and appropriate referral decisions for patients with medical retina conditions
Finally, the course aims to provide students with critical appraisal skills to keep knowledge up to date.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE UNIT
The unit will provide students with a core understanding of the anatomy of the retina with reference to modern imaging technologies. They will learn pathophysiology, clinical presentation and investigation techniques in particular detail. The unit will cover range of management strategies and approaches to treatment including screening.
The unit will cover common medical diseases of the retina in detail including diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusions and other vascular diseases and macular degeneration.
Other more rare conditions will also be covered in less detail.
Students should understand latest research findings and apply evidence-based care to patients with age related macular degeneration.
Students will learn the principles of critical appraisal and have practical experience of applying these skills.
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
| Category of outcome | The Learning Outcomes of this course are in line with those of The College of Optometrists’ Professional Certificate in Medical Retina and these are given on Canvas. Students should be able to: |
| Knowledge and understanding | Explain the anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology of the retina and retinal disease.
Understand the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic approach, imaging findings, and management options for retinal vascular pathologies. They should have an understanding of relevant literature especially with respect to the evidence base supporting the use of current treatments for retinal vascular disease. |
| Intellectual skills | An ability to apply learning to novel situations such as patient presentations
Problem solving, in particular with regards to diagnosis. Critically assess published ophthalmic research and report results both orally and in written format, including critical appraisal of relevant papers and understand the role of research in this field. |
| Practical skills | Interpretation of modern retinal imaging
To review papers submitted for publication and research proposals. An ability to interpret clinical images An ability to detect and classify diabetic eye disease An ability to detect and classify macular degeneration An ability to recognise and manage acute retinal pathology, including appropriate referral |
| Transferable skills and personal qualities | Communication, an ability to communicate effectively with patients
Critical analysis Reflection Manage time and work to deadlines Use initiative when seeking information Use information technology to a high standard Apply skills for identifying, appraising, synthesising and applying evidence. |
LEARNING AND TEACHING PROCESSES (INCLUDING THE USE OF E-LEARNING)
Lectures (live or in the form of online podcasts)
Online quizzes
Online discussion boards to discuss case studies
In-person practical skills day
Practical Examination OSCE including VRICS
ASSESSMENT (INCLUDING FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT, E-ASSESSMENT, and INFORMATION ABOUT FEEDBACK)
| Assessment task | Length | How and when feedback is provided | Weighting within unit (if relevant) |
| Examination (short answer and MCQ)
OSCEs |
2 hours
~30 minutes |
After written examination
Within 15 working days |
100% Prof Cert Not credit rated but must pass all stations to gain the certificate |
INDICATIVE READING LIST
Ryan’s Retina, 6th Edition. Authors: Andrew P. Schachat & Charles P. Wilkinson & David R. Hinton & K. Bailey Freund & David Sarraf & Peter Wiedemann & SriniVas R. Sadda
Date of Publication: 06/2017
Gass’ Atlas of Macular Diseases: 2-Volume Set – Expert Consult: Online and Print 5th Edition
by Anita Agarwal MD
Retina- Color Atlas and Synopsis of Clinical Ophthalmology (Wills Eye Series)
Authors Allen Ho, Gary Brown, J. Arch McNamara, and Carl D. Regillo
Publisher McGraw-Hill Professional
A complete reading list for the course is accessible via Canvas: https://manchester.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/leganto/nui/lists/354518391140001631?auth=CAS
Coursework
The course includes summative assessments of learner’s management/diagnostic skills when provided with clinical data (OCT images, fundus photographs and medical history).
Assessment
Written Examination (100%) – 20 MCQs, four short answer questions
The pass mark is 50% and compensation rules do not apply to this unit
OSCE (Pass/ Fail for professional accreditation)
Please access the “Assessments” module on Canvas for up-to-date assessment details (including sample questions and OSCE assessment sheets): https://canvas.manchester.ac.uk/courses/45318
Certification
Upon passing the Professional Certificate in Medical Retina course, all candidates will receive an electronic letter of confirmation from the university. The College of Optometrists has reviewed its policy regarding provision of certificates for higher qualifications such that from June 2023 only full College members with a UK address will receive a College certificate upon completing this higher qualification course. Although only full UK College members will receive certificates, all course completers will continue to be considered holders of the higher qualification and entitled to use the corresponding affix accordingly.
| Date of current version | 17th Aug 2025 |