Catherine was involved in the curriculum and module design of the first blended learning Optometry course in the U.K and in developing and overseeing the eyeclinic at the university of central Lancashire. She takes an active role in writing assessments and learning materials using a range of multimedia methods specifically designed for online delivery as well as face to face teaching. As a clinical optometrist she has undertaken research in the area of glaucoma and is now actively engaged in optometric pedagogic research, publishing an abstract in the clinical teacher journal supplement by ASME in September 2020 titled "Instilling reflective practice – The use of an online portfolio in innovative optometric education".
Catherine has practiced as an optometrist for over 25 years in a variety of community settings and has always had a keen interest in optometric education, being a practice based supervisor for many students over the years and taking a lead role in teaching and training within the workplace. Catherine has undertaken practice based research both during her MSc and DOptom degrees. In early 2019, Catherine moved into a full time academic role at the university of central Lancashire, for which she has a passion for making teaching clinically relevant, using case scenarios and reflection to drive learning, with the overarching goal for students to become proficient clinicians. She hosted a sharing good practice seminar within the school of medicine on the use of an online student portfolio in 2020 and is actively engaged in research in this area.
Accredited in MECs, Glaucoma level 1&2 and cataract pre and postoperative assessments, Catherine has a highly analytical approach to her work and attention to detail and has extensive knowledge and experience of the regulatory and legal issues related to Optometry due to her work at the General Optical Council.
