About this course
Prioritising wellbeing means healthier practitioners, safer care, and sustainable practice.
[podcast mini /media/goc-standard-11-wellbeing-intro.mp3]
We often think of patient safety in terms of sharp instruments, infection control, or clinical decisions. But here’s the truth: one of the biggest risks to safety can be invisible—burnout. Fatigue, stress, and exhaustion don’t just affect how we feel; they affect how we think, how we communicate, and how we care. A tired clinician misses details. A stressed receptionist may overlook red flags. These are not personal failings—they’re workplace risks.
That’s why GOC Standard 11 makes wellbeing a professional duty. It recognises that protecting staff wellbeing isn’t just kindness—it’s risk management. By putting simple, visible safeguards in place—like protected breaks, buddy systems, or pause-for-safety prompts—you reduce errors, protect patients, and build a culture where colleagues can thrive.
This course will give you practical, ready-to-use tools and scripts that fit into everyday optical practice. By applying them, you’ll not only safeguard your own wellbeing—you’ll actively strengthen the safety and trust of the care your patients receive.
Burnout affects judgement, performance, and patient safety. This course explores how to recognise the signs of stress, manage workload pressures, and support both your own wellbeing and that of colleagues. With practical strategies, you will be equipped to meet GOC Standard 11 with confidence.
This course is relevant to the whole optical team, including
- Registered optical professionals wanting reliable CPD mapped to GOC Standards
- Locums, jobseekers, and overseas practitioners needing to demonstrate current knowledge
- Colleagues addressing professional challenges who require structured CPD for reflection and remediation
- Managers and teams who want consistent, defensible training
CPD Time: 60 minutes (1 CE Credit / 1 Non-interactive CPD Point)
Assessment: 10 MCQs. Pass mark 80%. more…
On passing the assessment you will immediately receive a CPD Certificate.
Customer feedback on this course
- Concise and practical — helped us change rota practice the same week.
- Clear scripts and templates made huddles far more effective.
- Valuable for locums — the day‑one checklist is brilliant.
- Good balance of individual and organisational actions, with realistic examples.
- Helped managers document decisions defensibly and reduce clinic risks.
Aim:
The aim of this course is to enable optical teams to protect patients and colleagues from harm by recognising, preventing, and responding to stress and burnout in line with GOC Standard 11.
Course objectives:
- Provide clear teaching on the duty to safeguard colleagues and patients from risks associated with fatigue, stress, and burnout in optical practice.
- Deliver practical tools, scenarios, and documentation methods to help learners recognise early signs of burnout, support colleagues, and implement organisational safeguards.
Anticipated learning outcomes:
On course completion you will be able to:
- Recognise emotional, cognitive, behavioural, and physical warning signs of stress and burnout (Standard 11) that impact staff performance and patient safety.
- Apply proportionate supportive actions and conversations (Standard 11) to protect colleagues and reduce risks during clinical practice.
- Document adjustments and propose organisational controls (Standard 11) such as rota design, buffers, or lone-worker safeguards to sustain safe and effective care.
GOC Framework Mapping:
Standard 11: Protect and safeguard: Well-being and Burnout
Domain: Professionalism
Learning content:
Aim | Introduction: Why Wellbeing Matters | Understanding Stress and Burnout | Scenario: Recognising Burnout | Spotting Warning Signs | Strategies for Individual Resilience | Scenario: Supporting a Colleague | Organisational Responsibility | Scenario: Organisational Challenges | Reflection and Personal Wellbeing | Reading List
View full course description
GOC Standard 11: Wellbeing and Burnout in Optical Practice
Course Description
GOC Standard 11: Wellbeing and Burnout in Optical Practice
This course equips optical teams with practical steps to meet Standard 11. It links colleague wellbeing to patient safety and focuses on reproducible controls, clear documentation and proportionate escalation.
Aim
Meet GOC Standard 11 requirements; focus on wellbeing and burnout prevention; and protect patients and colleagues through simple, visible controls.
Introduction: Why Wellbeing Matters
Explains the link between colleague wellbeing and patient safety, GOC expectations and high‑impact levers to protect care.
Understanding Stress and Burnout
Defines stress, fatigue and burnout; reviews common causes in optical practice (workload, isolation, locum insecurity) and the impact on attention, memory and safety.
Scenario: Recognising Burnout
Worked examples of an exhausted practitioner and a disengaged staff member, with immediate supportive actions and documentation fields.
Spotting Warning Signs
Covers emotional, cognitive, behavioural and physical indicators; contexts that raise risk (overruns, domiciliary work); and how to record facts and escalate proportionately.
Strategies for Individual Resilience
Practical self‑care routines, micro work‑design changes, reflective practice, targeted CPD, peer support, mentorship and locum checklists.
Scenario: Supporting a Colleague
Guidance for a tearful colleague debrief, immediate stabilisation, safe clinic stoppage and documentation standards for actions taken.
Organisational Responsibility
Employers' duty under Health & Safety; rota design, buffer capacity and lone‑worker protections; leader behaviours and artefacts such as rota policy and decision logs.
Scenario: Organisational Challenges
Examples of unsafe rota patterns, domiciliary travel adjustments and time‑bound decisions with implementation records and escalation data.
Reflection and Personal Wellbeing
A reflective cycle linked to Standard 6, feasible everyday goals, peer rhythms and feeding learning into governance with light records.
Reading List
Selected UK NHS and government wellbeing guidance, occupational health tools and sector leadership resources.
Course Completion
Participants complete a short feedback survey and an assessment. On passing, a CPD certificate is issued immediately.
You can copy and adapt this example PDP entry for your own needs and circumstances.
| PDP Learning or Maintenance need |
| Understanding and applying GOC Standard 11 to protect colleagues and patients from harm related to stress and burnout. |
| How does this relate to my field of practice? |
| Essential for safe practice in optical settings where fatigue, lone working and rota pressures can affect care. |
| Which development outcome(s) does it link to? |
| Standard 11 |
| What benefit will this have to my work? |
| Improved early recognition of strain, better colleague support, clearer documentation and safer clinic management. |
| How will I meet this learning or maintenance need? |
| Complete this course, apply scenario‑based actions, record proportionate controls and reflect in a one‑page wellbeing plan. |
| When will I complete the activity? |