“If we love this place so much, why don’t we just move out here.”
Plenty of us have uttered those words after a visit to a lovely part of Australia, and a relaxing retreat from the bustle of the big city – before the off-ramp looms, reality kicks in and life resumes its familiar routine.
But two optometrists have turned their backs on the busy boulevards and settled for the quieter country lanes. And the engaged couple have no regrets.
Mr Howie Yin and Ms Jenny Kim are George & Matilda Eyecare (G&M) optometrists working at the network’s Mudgee practice. That’s about three and a half hours inland from Sydney, on the Castlereagh and Great Western highways.
Even when born-and-bred Sydneysider Yin studied in the city, he had a hankering for life beyond the beltway.
“I’ve always had a key interest in rural healthcare,” he says.
That interest led to Dubbo and a role as a clinical optometrist, but also work with the Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI), and travel to rural New South Wales towns such as Cobar, Walgett and Coonabarabran.
He loves the greater challenge of work in the regions.
“Anyone could walk through your doors at any time with any problem big or small and it is up to you to do the best you can with what you have,” says Yin.
“There have certainly been times where it would have been much easier to refer a patient to a specialist, however there is greater enthusiasm to manage suitable cases in-house as ophthalmologists are only in town a couple of days a month.
“Additionally, patients out regionally are usually more relaxed, have more time and don’t mind having a yarn as you refract.”
It’s a similar story for his fiancée, Kim.
It was the complexity of such a small organ that inspired her to study optometry at UNSW. But after she obtained her Bachelor of Vision Science degree with First Class Honours and Master of Clinical Optometry, it was the relaxed, wide open spaces of the state that took her eye.
That began in Scone, population 5,000, before she moved to Dubbo.
“I had the opportunity to participate in outreach clinics through BHVI and working rurally has helped me excel my optometric knowledge and skills,” she says.
She too likes the challenge of extending what she has learnt in a place without easy access to all of the facilities and support that people in bigger cities take for granted.
“It’s good for professional growth. Working regionally has allowed me to utilise all aspects of my optometric skills as well as develop skills to make timely decisions since access to eye care services is not readily available in regional areas,” Kim says.
Both optometrists moved to G&M’s Mudgee branch earlier in 2024, and neither is looking back along those highways with any regrets.
“It’s a great lifestyle and area to live in,” says Yin. “There is still a life outside of work and Mudgee has a wide array of wineries, local eateries, cafes, boutique shops, and beautiful mountains which keep us very busy over the weekends.”
Kim agrees.
“I remember saying to my partner, ‘why don’t we just move here if we love this place so much’, and ‘wouldn’t it be funny if we end up moving here one day’, and here we are…”
Mudgee might not have every big-city bell and whistle, but patients visiting Yin, Kim and the rest of the G&M team in the town will be diagnosed and treated with all the equipment they need. The optometrists also enjoy “the perfect balance of the autonomy of an independent practice and also the support of a G&M head office”.
That balance is also reflected in the complementary skills offered by Mudgee’s two new optometrists.
Yin is a primary eyecare practitioner focused on management of all ocular problems “big and small”.
“This includes vision and ocular health examinations, paediatric examinations, glaucoma and age macular degeneration management, keratoconus management, ocular emergencies and anything in between,” he says.
Ms Kim has a special interest in dry eye conditions and keeps up-to-date with new research about advanced products and treatments.
“As a dry eye sufferer myself, I understand using an eyedrop is sometimes just not enough in relieving those burning, gritty eyes and it is my passion to help my patients better understand their eye health and educate them on various dry eye products.”
It appears the big city’s loss is the region’s gain.
More reading
George & Matilda Eyecare Regional Profile: Charmaine Mills
George & Matilda Eyecare Regional Profile: Rebekah Bryant
George & Matilda Eyecare Regional Profile: Jelle de Bock
