Competencies and training needs of the Portuguese optometrists - a national inquiry

PURPOSE: The World Health Organization places the Optometrist as the primary eye care provider, clearly defining its competencies and scope of practice. In Portugal, there are no studies about Optometrists professional competencies and the profession remains unregulated. The aim of this study was to describe the Portuguese optometrists’ professional competencies model and to identify possible training needs felt. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was carried out, with the Portuguese optometric population as target group, ascertaining the level of academic qualifications, the clinical procedures most frequently performed, the training needs felt and the confidence levels in the performance of certain procedures. RESULTS: The 444 validated surveys represent 28.41% of the study population, making it a representative sample. The validated sample had 78.8% of Graduates, 20.5% of Masters and 0.7% of PhDs in Optometry. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study allowed us to conclude that the competences most frequently performed by Portuguese optometrists are a very reductive view of the internationally stipulated, based on Refraction, Basic Ocular Health Assessment, Contactology and Paediatric Optometry in School Age (>6 years old). The most important training needs occur at the level of Applied Ocular Pharmacology, Prismatic Prescription, Optometry in Special Needs Populations, Contactology in Special Cases, Low Vision and Clinical/Hospital Internship. Professional experience of 10 years or more and Master’s/PhD qualifications give rise to more skills, higher levels of confidence and lower training needs. Higher frequency of execution of certain procedures translates into high levels of confidence and less training needs in the area.