Hospital optometrists enjoyed a full day of sharing and learning at their inaugural gathering at the Rydges Airport Hotel in Wellington

On a gorgeous spring day in Wellington, 30 hospital-based optometrists from around the country got together to mingle and pick each other’s brains. The New Zealand Association of Optometrists’ (NZAO) inaugural New Zealand hospital optometrist peer-support (HOPS) conference was an opportunity for all of us from around the country to finally meet for an amazing day of networking and learning.

My personal journey started in 2020 at Wellington Regional Hospital, during the height of Covid. Since then, I had often wondered if other hospital optometrists shared the same steep learning curves I had, how they were feeling now and what their journeys had been like. So I reached out to the few hospital optometrists I knew and asked them to spread the word to their colleagues. Pretty soon I had over 40 names and I realised I could put together a CPD event to share knowledge and socialise. Thus, the HOPS conference was born! From the beginning I had a vision of it being filled with cases we had either individually managed or had been a part of the managing team. There were to be no lectures, just a day of grand rounds.

Fourteen optometrists presented clinical cases, from delayed corneal epithelial healing post-graft, oculoplastics, lymphomas, glaucoma, retina and vitreoretinal (VR) surgery to acute myelogenous leukaemia. Each case was a snappy 12 minutes, followed by some really good questions and discussions. The standard was at the highest level, with amazing photos and videos. A particular highlight was the discussion of post-op care, which hospital optometrists are always actively involved in. Not being something optometry school teaches us, this area presented the steepest learning curve for me when I started out and I continue to learn from the amazing ophthalmologists I work with. So it was fascinating to hear about all the different post-op management pathways for different sub-specialties. I’m already familiar with post-cataract and post-glaucoma surgery management, but learning about post corneal grafts, LASIK, VR and oculoplastics was fascinating. This really highlighted the benefits of co-management between optometry and ophthalmology and how lucky we are here in New Zealand to have such an environment.

As we wrapped up, everyone seemed positive and motivated to take their newfound knowledge back to their departments.

I was overjoyed we were finally able to hold such an event, and I thank NZAO and AFT Pharmaceuticals for sponsoring it. I’m confident this could be an annual conference, with more cases from different sub-specialties and hopefully even more optometrists! I’m looking forward to the 2024 HOPS conference already, which has me thinking winter in Queenstown is lovely, isn’t it!

Inhae Park is an optometrist specialising in glaucoma, working at Wellington Regional Hospital and Capital Eye Specialists.