Bookmark this article now because it will be your one-stop shop for all the free continuing education for optometrists you can handle.

Review of Optometry

Review of Optometry is a fantastic resource, and not just for the free continuing education for optometrists. They’ve been putting out a monthly magazine since 2004 (available for free online in pdf format since 2012). In addition, they post articles on every topic imaginable, host classified ads for optometrists, host large continuing education events (not free), and much more.

As for the free continuing education for optometrists on their website, here is how to access it:

1. Navigate to https://www.revieweducationgroup.com/
2. Click on the SIGN IN/CREATE MY ACCOUNT near the top of the page
3. Create your free account and return to the home page
4. Scroll down and look for the SUPPORTED CE tab
5. Select your free course, pass the test and receive your certificate

Optocase

Optocase is a website primarily dedicated to providing continuing education for optometrists in the form of case-based learning. Most courses are not free and cost between $20-$50 USD, but there is usually a few you can take for free.

To access Optocase’s free COPE approved continuing education credits:

1. Navigate to https://optocase.com/
2. Click on ‘Signup’ in the top left menu
3. Create your free account and return to the home page
4. Click on ‘CE Cases’ in the top left menu
5. Look for the courses that are marked ‘Free’
6. Select your free course, pass the test and receive your certificate

Evolve Medical Education

Evolve Medical Education is a fantastic website for free continuing education for optometrists. It offers dozens and dozens of COPE approved credits in several different formats from in-person to multimedia to webinars, etc. Topics are wide ranging across several different disciplines.

How to access Evolve Medical Education’s free CE:

1. Navigate to https://evolvemeded.com
2. In the top left of the page click on ‘LOG IN’
3. Create your free account and return to the home page
4. Select your category
5. Scroll down the page, select your free course, pass the test and receive your certificate

TLC COPE CE Webinars

TLC is a  leading refractive surgery company in Canada and the United States. They regularly host free continuing education for optometrists in the form of interactive online webinars. Although these are free, you must be a TLC affiliate (which in itself is free) to access them. Each webinar grants you 1 hour of COPE approved CE.

Here’s how to access them:

1. Navigate to https://www.tlcvision.com/ceseries/
2. Click on the ‘SIGN UP’ button for the webinar you wish to register
3. Fill out the form and click ‘Submit’
4. You will be sent a confirmation email with a link to the webinar
5. Click on that link on the scheduled time and day of the webinar
6. Watch the webinar, pass the test and receive your certificate

The Academy of Ophthalmic Education

The Academy of Ophthalmic Education offers mostly paid COPE approved continuing education for optometrists and opticians, but you will find a few hours of free credits. If there is no complimentary CE scheduled when you visit, check back again from time to time.

How to access this free webinar:

1. Navigate to https://www.aoece.com/
2. Click on ‘CE & EVENTS’ in the top menu
3. Scroll down the page until you see a complimentary event such as the one pictured above
4. Click on the registration button of your country of residence
   
5. You will find yourself on a page where can ‘purchase’ the course for $0
6. You will be sent a confirmation email with a link to the webinar
7. Click on that link on the scheduled time and day of the webinar
8. Watch the webinar and receive your certificate (no test)

SECO University

SECO University is a an online hub for continuing education for optometrists. They offer hundreds of COPE approved credits, but not all are free. In fact, most are not free but you will be able to pick up at least a couple of free credits here.

Here’s how:

1. Navigate to https://secouniversity.com/cope-approved-free-course/
2. Sign up for a SECO University account
3. Return to the link above
4. Click on ‘View Course’ to take the course
5. Click on ‘Take Test’ to take the test and receive your free COPE approved credits

Community For Vision

Community For Vision is a huge database of all things optometry/ophthalmology related. There is decades worth of news articles & digital magazines to review and research, job postings, helpful resources & guides, and yes, loads of paid and free continuing education for optometrists.

Here’s how to access the free COPE approved CE:

1. Navigate to https://communityforvision.com/
2. From the main menu, click on ‘Continuing Education’
3. From the drop-down menu, click on ‘Free Online CE Resources’
4. From the list of courses displayed, look for the ones that link to the website Healio
5. Make sure the course you selected is COPE approved

6. Click on ‘START ACTIVITY’
7. You will be prompted to create a free account
8. Work your way through the course and receive your certificate

You will notice that Community For Vision also links to several courses on NECO’s website as well. Unfortunately,  I was not able to actually take the quiz and receive a certificate for any of them. If you know how to do it, please let me know!

Healio

Since Community For Vision links to courses on Healio, you may wonder why I didn’t just start with Healio. While it’s true that Healio does have tons of free continuing education for optometrists, the majority of them are not COPE approved.

I think you will find that scrolling through dozens and dozens of courses to find the few that are COPE approved to be a little tedious.

Optometric Management

Optometric Management is another very useful site, not just for continuing education for optometrists, but for news, digital magazines, social media kits, videos, job postings, etc. If you own a practice, you’ll love their helpful resources.

How to access the free COPE approved CE:

1. Navigate to https://www.optometricmanagement.com/ 
2. Click on ‘Education’ in the main menu
3. Click on ‘CE Center’ from the drop down menu
4. Select the course you wish to take

Note that like Community For Vision, you will be re-directed to a different website to take the course. Each course has a slightly different procedure for how to obtain your CE certificate, so be sure you read the instructions carefully.

Through The Grapevine

In the early days of my career I would only find out about continuing education opportunities through my colleagues and their sources.

I recommend joining some local or state/provincial optometry organizations, Facebook groups, Google groups, online forums, etc. to gain access to even more opportunities.

Here’s an example of a couple of invitations I recently received in my inbox for free COPE approved CE webinars. They are from Clarion Medical Technologies and Snell Medical Communication respectively.

Summary

I hope this keeps you busy for a while. If you know of any sources of free continuing education for optometrists that I missed, please let me know in the comments and I will it add them to the list. Thank you and happy learning!