Where do Dispensing Opticians Qualify?
To qualify as a Dispensing Optician, one can either do the following: * A two-year full-time course at a college like ABDO or university which is then followed by the pre-registration year. * A three-year Distance Learning course run by a college, like the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO), the student being employed by a qualified optician for the duration of the course. Practical experience is gained from the employment whilst theoretical knowledge is acquired through the course (correspondence and online training), which includes compulsory block-release attendance for two two-week periods at one of the colleges. The third year of the course is the student’s pre-registration year. . Registration with the General Optical Council as a Dispensing Optician is obtained after qualifying for ABDO’s Fellowship Diploma (enabling the use of FBDO’ after the D.O’s name) and a pre-registration year working under the supervision of a qualified optician. After successful completio
