Forty new optometrists have entered the workforce as part of the inaugural graduate cohort from the University of Western Australia (UWA) optometry school, with every student securing employment and 90% staying to work in WA.
After commencing in 2021, UWA’s post-graduate Doctor of Optometry (OD) program is the country’s newest optometry training course, featuring an innovative curriculum design, outback and overseas clinical placements, and a unique collaboration with the Lions Eye Institute (LEI) as a founding partner of the program.
The three-year program saw its first set of graduates completing their education in December 2023. It’s hoped they – and future graduating cohorts – will alleviate workforce pressures in WA that previously relied on graduates from the eastern seaboard. Meanwhile, Western Australians wishing to study optometry had to relocate interstate at a considerable cost.
Professor Garry Fitzpatrick, foundation head of optometry at UWA, told Insight that without an optometry course in WA previously, this led to a transient workforce.
“The UWA program is helping to address this issue and provide a more stable workforce for the future. In the inaugural graduating cohort of 2024, there were 40 graduates … with a 100% employment rate. The UWA program works with all optometry employers, ensuring that graduates have experience with all models of optometry and are well-equipped to succeed in their careers,” he said.
“While the specific locations of employment for graduates are not tracked, the UWA program has seen 36 out of 40 graduates stay in Western Australia to practise optometry, with 25% practising in rural locations around Australia. This is a testament to the quality of the program and the opportunities available in the state.”
He added: “As of early 2024, the program is thriving, with significant demand for enrolment. The program primarily attracts students from Western Australia usually from a biomedical science or medical science undergraduate degree background, but international enrolments are also growing, and we expect to average around 50 students per year.”
“The program primarily attracts students from WA usually from a biomedical science or medical science undergraduate degree background, but international enrolments are also growing.”
Fitzpatrick said the program had quickly established itself as an emerging leader in optometry education. One of the key factors setting the UWA program apart is the LEI collaboration, making it a joint venture between optometry and ophthalmology.
He said the UWA program sought to develop “socially responsible graduates” equipped to address the diverse needs of patients.
To achieve this, UWA senior lecturer Mr Neilsen De Souza said students undertook clinical placements and clinical rotations in various settings, working with different patient populations.
“One of the strong features of our program is the opportunity for clinical rotations across Western Australia and Australia. This includes rotations that focus on providing optometry services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people,” he said.
“There are also placements in international locations such as India, Hong Kong, the United States, Uganda, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. These clinical rotations provide the OD students with valuable hands-on experience and exposure to a diverse range of clinical settings and patient populations.”
Shortly after commencing the program, UWA opened a new purpose built UWA optometry facility in June 2022. In addition, a public clinic called the Eye Health Centre of Western Australia has been launched and attached to the optometry facility.
Fitzpatrick said establishing the Eye Health Centre of Western Australia teaching clinic would allow the program to develop collaborative care clinics for chronic eye diseases, glaucoma, and other complex ocular conditions and “produce top-quality optometry graduates for years to come”.
UWA is also developing new services within the public sector, including a public contact lens specialty clinic for pensioners and the underprivileged, child eye health programs, aged care programs, and a refugee clinic.
A contemporary curriculum
Another unique aspect is a UWA-initiated and funded “hub and spoke model” creating a “very rich rural and remote and cultural experiences” for optometry students, Fitzpatrick said.
On Country, eye health centres acting as ‘hubs’ are led by local Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs), with UWA employing a permanent onsite academic clinician at each hub in association with the region’s University Department of Rural Health (UDRH). UWA now has eye health hubs in Darwin, Geraldton, Broome, Bunbury and Karratha.
Associate Professor Khyber Alam, course director, said cultural safety was a major focus of the curriculum, and students were actively involved in delivering care to First Nations people in those locations.
“This hands-on experience helps students develop cultural safety and sensitivity, which are essential skills for practising optometrists in today’s multicultural society,” Alam said.
The program has also established a rural presence to provide continuity of care and fill gaps in service delivery. This includes conducting research and health promotion activities in these communities.
“The OD program prides itself on its contemporary curriculum, which is designed to prepare students for the challenges of modern optometry practice,” Alam said.
“Our teaching philosophy is rooted in the understanding of constructive alignment, which ensures that our curriculum, learning activities, and assessment methods are all clearly aligned with the professional competencies to support student learning outcomes effectively.”
Alam said a key feature of the program was the use of interactive teaching approaches that are engaging and effective in developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
“As a professional postgraduate program, our teaching materials are evidence-based, ensuring that students are exposed to the latest advancements and research in the field of optometry,” he said.
“We believe in the importance of integrating multiple perspectives in learning, as highlighted by Kahn and Agnew (2017), and strive to create a learning environment where differences are celebrated and valued. This approach is reflected in our curriculum design, which includes a balance between subject-centred, learner-centred, and problem-centred approaches.”
Optometric research has also embedded itself in the program, with Professor Allison McKendrick appointed in November 2022 as the UWA/Lions Eye Institute chair of optometry research.
“With UWA being one of the top research institutes in the world, it’s a given that research will be a key focus of the OD program, with specialised researchers in glaucoma, inherited retinal disorders, vision loss, anterior eye diseases, refractive errors, health economics, health and medical education, public health and general clinical translational research,” Fitzpatrick said.
“Professor McKendrick has had amazing career and more than 20 years’ research experience related to vision and visual disorder.”
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