Australia’s Optical Distributors and Manufacturers Association (ODMA) has unveiled an educational programme offering plenty of breadth and depth to attract a wide spectrum of optical professionals to its Sydney trade fair from 27–29 June.
Steadfast in its promise to support the commercial success of independent optical practices, ODMA is offering three distinct session streams: optical dispensing, practice management and, new for this year, business.
“After O-Show 2024, a survey showed us about a third of attendees were optical dispensers, a third optometrists and another third had ticked the box of ‘owner’. It was clear we were getting a lot of people who owned a business, whether they were health-trained or not,” ODMA CEO Amanda Trotman told Mivision. “There’s a lot of clinical CPD available today, but we realised there’s a lot of other content the industry seeks and ODMA is perfectly positioned to provide that.”
Educational highlights for this year's show include an opening breakfast talk with Aussie TV current affairs star and breakfast radio host Adam Spencer, who will dive into how technology is revolutionising our world and changing business, plus:
- ProVision’s Mark Corduff hosting a panel workshop on how to become an independent practice owner
- Recruitment consultant Lynnette Edmonds covering how to attract top talent
- Optometry Australia’s Luke Arundel speaking on the risks to your practice and career and how to manage them
- Hannaford Eyewear’s Grant Hannaford, senior lecturer at the School of Optometry and Vision Science UNSW, delving into myopia management for DOs and future trends impacting the industry
- Emma Gillies from Purple Key Consulting hosting a panel on successful independent optometry/how to beat the corporates
- Custom eyewear designer Chris Savage, the Australasian College of Dispensing Opticians’ Chedy Kalach and retired optical dispenser and advisory board chair of Optical Dispensers Australia Paul Clarke running two 2.5-hour frame-repair workshops.
