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A break in your career
People take a break in their careers for a variety of reasons including travel, maternity leave, illness or caring for others. During a career break it is common practice for a registrant to come off the GOC registers.
What do I need to do to start practising again?
At the point when you wish to resume work and restore to the registers, you must possess a minimum of 12 general CET points. If you are also restoring a speciality you will need 6 specialty CET points. In both cases, these CET points must have been acquired in the 12 months prior to making your restoration application.
If you have not completed the required amount of CET during this 12-month period you will not be eligible to restore to the registers. You will be unable to practise as an optometrist or dispensing optician in the UK until you have done so.
How do I store my CET points if I'm not registered?
To avoid any potential disappointment or difficulty, the cetoptics website is set up to allow you to create a user account and claim CET points even when you are not registered with the GOC. This user account will store your confirmed points which can then count toward your required total for restoration, provided the points have been gained in the 12 months prior to your restoration application.