The New Zealand Association of Optometrists (NZAO) is hosting its very first peer-support conference for hospital optometrists on 2 September at the Rydges Wellington Airport hotel.

The NZAO is committed to expanding opportunities for members who work in hospital settings, said NZAO president Callum Milburn. “This has been a longstanding initiative and it’s one I’m very proud of.” The hospital optometrists programme is being spearheaded by Wellington-based optometrist and NZAO council member Inhae Park with the aim of it becoming an ongoing group with regular meetings.

Hospital optometrists work in a very different environment to primary-care optometrists in the community, working side by side with many different professions (doctors, nurses, orthoptists, health assistants and technicians) in very busy, challenging clinics, said Park. “The main difference is the patients we see. We are in a tertiary care setting – we see and manage complex patients referred by community optometrists and GPs. So, rather than picking out pathology from the normal population, we are now actively treating those who have pathology and trying to provide the best outcome for them.”

Optometrists attending the inaugural conference will enjoy a full day of learning with colleagues from around the country presenting and discussing interesting clinical cases, said Park. “As much as I love attending existing optometry conferences, I always feel there is something missing for hospital optometrists – a space where we can freely discuss and help each other with complex cases we have come across in the hospital.”

The NZAO regularly hosts special-interest group workshops, covering myopia management, glaucoma, paediatrics and dry eye to name a few areas, said Milburn. “I imagine these will be of interest for our members to join in the future.”

For more information about the hospital optoms conference, contact inhae@nzao.co.nz