After a tumultuous year, Ophthalmology New Zealand (ONZ) finally held its 2020 Business Forum, The Other Matters, at Villa Maria Estate in Auckland in October.
Combining both a face-to-face and virtual gathering, in readiness for all Covid-19-driven eventualities, the event included speakers online and present who covered a wealth of topics from building and marketing a practice to working with colleagues both here and in Australia. Given the Covid-19 situation, the ONZ board were delighted to hold this event, said ONZ board chair Dr Dean Corbett, thanking the event’s sponsors, Glaukos, Johnson & Johnson and Legacy. “We found that the online platform gave us access to speakers that we would not have had otherwise, which was a bonus on the day.”
Virtual speakers included Kerry Gallagher, CEO of the Australian Society of Ophthalmologists and chair of medical services consultancy Vanguard Health, who joined the meeting from Australia, and Andrea Bankier, a senior consultant with executive search and leadership development consultancy Sheffield from Christchurch. Representatives from law firm Buddle Findlay also provided some “fantastic” presentations on industrial law and estate planning, said Dr Corbett, while Dr Michael Merriman shared details about practice running costs and Dr Corbett discussed anaesthetic models in New Zealand. Dr Corbett also thanked his Auckland Eye colleagues, chief executive Deb Boyd and IT manager Nick Richardson, “for sharing their digital journey with us”.
Calling the day an “unqualified success”, Dr Corbett said the wine tasting at the end, for those lucky enough to attend in person, was a particularly fitting end to an enjoyable but full day.
