Nov 2017

NZAO: Learning with friends
BY SAMANTHA SIMKIN*
The New Zealand Association of Optometrists’
87th Annual Conference convened in
Hamilton from the 13 to 15 of October,
enabling friends and colleagues to reconnect
from across the country. The conference was
a wonderful balance of challenging learning
opportunities and time for networking; a cohesion
of education and socialising that the NZAO
conference is well-known for.
Callum Milburn, NZAO president, formally
opened the conference on Friday morning,
welcoming clinicians, educators, council members
Renee Edgar, Courtenay Le Cheminant and Jenny Stewart
NZAO conference organisers, Grant Firth, Tayla Gaskin and Walter Ruzvidzo
and speakers alike. There was a special welcome
to the two keynote speakers, Associate Professor
Sharon Bentley, director of clinical services at the
Australian College of Optometry, and Michael
Yapp, chief staff optometrist at the Centre for Eye
Health in New South Wales.
Sharon Bentley shared the impact of low vision
on functional performance and quality of life,
in particular among our older-aged population.
Vision impairment increases the risks of falls - the
leading cause of morbidity and mortality among
older adults - and can lead to both physical and
psychological consequences. Sharon encouraged
optometrists to talk to their patients about
New DO course opens
Enrolments have now opened for the 2018
Certificate IV in Optical Dispensing through
the Association of Dispensing Opticians
of New Zealand (ADONZ) preferred education
provider, the Australasian College of Dispensing
(ACOD). This certificate is the primary recognised
qualification for dispensing opticians throughout
New Zealand and Australia.
A record 54 students enrolled in ACOD’s first
course, which started last year, and director James
Gibbins says he’s looking forward to another
great year of enrolments and engagement with
students and the wider optical industry in New
Zealand. This course is extremely beneficial for
optical practices, he says, as it provides essential,
practical skills for day-to-day optical dispensing,
a deeper understanding of how light and lenses
work and background on ocular physiology
and contact lenses. It also teaches dispensing
opticians to troubleshoot with greater insight
and introduces important retail, business and
communication skills, he explains.
“We enjoy a very close working relationship
with ADONZ, which has been an outstanding
support for the delivery of the course. We have
Alastair Thompson, Gary Crowley and Brian Gifford
Murray Rogers and Jane Langford
also had fabulous support from Essilor,
including the use of excellent training
rooms within the Essilor lens facility in
Glenfield, Auckland.”
Unlike our trans-Tasman colleagues,
dispensing opticians in New Zealand
are fully regulated and recognised
as a profession under the Health
Practitioners Competence Assurance
Act, which is an extremely good thing,
says Gibbins. “ACOD strongly believes
that dispensing should be a regulated
industry. Regulation brings increased
attention to detail, responsibility,
accountability and the need for a
rigorous course, which elevates the
practise and status of all qualified, registered
dispensing opticians.”
The flexible Certificate IV in Optical Dispensing
course is completed in 18-24 months part-time.
Students needs to be employed in an optical
practice and had the support of a workplace
supervisor. The course includes online work as
well as practical sessions at the workshop in
Auckland. Gaining the Certificate IV in Optical
the risks of falling, the
interventions available and
the support they can access
through their general
practitioner or community.
In a later talk, Sharon also
tackled the tricky issue of
driving: why people stop,
why people won’t stop and
what our role is in that lifechanging
transition. She
left us with much to think
about it in how we interact
with our elderly and low vision patients.
Michael Yapp, imparted his wisdom on ocular
imaging techniques, discussing the technical
details of each machine along with providing
interesting case examples of how they can be used
well and when you can be led astray. His passion
for educating others was palpable. His take home
tips were: know the limits of your technology;
always look at the raw data; and have a ‘why’
behind each investigation.
Michael also challenged conference participants,
first thing on Sunday morning, with ‘are you
smarter than an undergraduate?’ Here, he
presented a wide range of interesting cases
highlighting the crucial role of different diagnoses
in unusual presentations. He did an excellent job
of reminding new grads and not so new grads alike
that we must continue to develop our skills and
knowledge to offer the best care to our patients.
The NZAO was privileged to also have the
opportunity to learn from a couple of local
ophthalmologists. Dr Derrell Meyer advised
delegates on how to make winning referrals,
whilst giving a peek behind the curtain into some
of the challenges in today’s increasingly resourceconstrained
public healthcare environment. Dr
Stephen Ng, presented the ‘Choosing Wisely’
worldwide campaign that aims to identify and
reduce clinical practices which have no evidence
Richard Johnson and Tui homer
ACOD’s James Gibbins at ADONZ17 with DOs Dianne Marshall and Alastair Stewart
Dispensing is required to practise and be called
a dispensing optician in New Zealand, and can
lead to increased job opportunities and income
potential.
Enrolments are open now for 2018 and will
close midway through first semester, 2018. The
workshops occur throughout the first semester.
For more information and to enrol, please visit
www.acod.edu.au or see the ad on p17. ▀
David Bottinga and Devashini Devanandan
that patient health is improved and/or are a waste
of our vital public health dollars. This movement
seeks to make both health practitioners and
patients question why things are done and what
the risks are, with the result of maximising our
health spending while minimising unnecessary
tests and procedures. Finally, Dr Hussain Patel
walked attendees through the diagnostic
dilemmas in glaucoma. For example, patients with
high myopia, anomalous discs and other ocular
conditions can confuse the diagnosis of glaucoma.
There was also a large number of local
optometrists and researchers presenting on
their specialist areas, covering a huge range of
pathologies, from keratoconus by Dr Akilesh Gokul
to children’s vision screening by Nia Stonex. Dr
Nicola Anstice, from the School of Optometry and
Vision Science, discussed standards of competence.
She asked each of us to undertake Harvard’s
Implicit Association Test which provided some
surprising and interesting results, encouraging
everyone to recognise their biases to help improve
patient communication and care. Reneé Edgar, an
optometrist from Wellington and vision coach of the
Wellington Firebirds, shared her clinical pearls about
‘sports vision’ and how these can be incorporated
into everyday practice. These few examples
represent these high quality of research and clinical
advice presented over the weekend and, as an
attendee, I’m thankful to each of the presenters who
took the time and effort to educate their peers.
The conference included plenty of time to
discuss and debate all that was heard in the
lecture hall over some delicious food and drink.
There was also a welcome evening on the Friday
night and a much-anticipated gala dinner on
Saturday. The dinner celebrated the collegiality of
the NZAO and provided an opportunity to thank
all the organisers, sponsors and presenters that
made the conference possible. During the dinner,
Callum Milburn handed the NZAO presidency to
Rochelle van Eysden from Christchurch and the
vice presidency to Chelsey Wood from Auckland,
the first time in the association’s history that both
positions have been held by women. As members,
we look forward to this new term and all that
Rochelle and Chelsey will achieve together with
the rest of the council and other NZAO members.
Along with the formalities there was of course
plenty of time to eat, drink and be merry. It was
a wonderful weekend and I know everyone who
attended is already looking forward to the NZAO’s
88th annual conference in Paihia from 12-14
October next year. If you missed out on attending
this year, I would recommend you book your diary
now for 2018!. ▀
*Samantha Simkin is a therapeutically-qualified optometrist who
completed her PhD in the Department of Ophthalmology at the
University of Auckland on paediatric visual impairment.
For more
personalised
eye care, talk to
Eye Surgery
Associates
SERVICES INCLUDE:
• Cataract surgery specialists
• Glaucoma
• Medical & Surgical Retina
• Acute & General Ophthalmology
Clinics on the North Shore,
Central and South Auckland
Phone 0800 750 750 or Fax 09 282 4148
info@eyesurgeryassociates.co.nz
www.eyesurgeryassociates.co.nz
Eye Surgery Associates are a Southern Cross Health Society Affiliated Provider
Dr Hussain Patel
Ophthalmologist
MBChB, MD, FRANZCO
Dr Monika Pradhan
Ophthalmologist
MS, DOMS, FCPS, MRCOphth
NZOSS new committee
The new, New
Zealand Optometry
Student Society
(NZOSS) executive team
has been voted in for
2018 and they are (from
left to right) William
Tang (sports), Menaga
Manokaran (PR), Alice
Jackson (general), Andrew
Kim (vice president),
Gemma Ji (education),
Marna Claassen
(general), Aimee Aitken
(secretary), Nick Lee
(president), Simran Kaur
Virk (general), Katarina
Marcijasz (treasurer) and
Nileesha Parbhu (social).
Congratulations to all
from NZ Optics. ▀
6 NEW ZEALAND OPTICS November 2017