Our events

OWA Last CPD Evening on Monday 20th November 2023. CPD is TBC

Optometry Western Australia’s November CPD will be on the 20th November 2023.  The presenter will be A/P Chandra Bala and the event is sponsored by Bayer.

Registration is OPEN for IN PERSON Attendance only – Zoom will follow later.

Topic: TBC

This is planned as an In Person Event & Zoom attendance.  CPD is TBC.

Venue:  UWA Optometry, 39 Fairway, Crawley, WA, 6009.

Summary:

Learning Objectives

Max CPD hours awarded: TBC

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Forthcoming OWA Metro CPD Dates for 2023
*Subject to change in person or zoom status
* Interactive CPD TBC within the dates listed below

• 27th February – Metro CPD In Person & Zoom
• 8th May  – Metro CPD – In Person & Zoom Available
• 22nd May – Metro CPD – In Person & Zoom Available
• 21st June – Metro CPD – In Person & Zoom Available
• 3rd July – Metro CPD – In Person & Zoom Available
• 12th Sep – Metro CPD – In Person & Zoom Available
• 4th October – Metro CPD – In Person & Zoom Available
• 20th November – Metro CPD – In Person & Zoom Available

All Events In WA on OA Website Currently

Optometry Western Australia Annual General Meeting for 2023 will be held on Wednesday 18th October 2023 at 6pm AWST via Zoom only.

Go to Our People to view the 2022-2023 Optometry WA Board Members

Wednesday 18th October 2023 via Zoom.

In the event of a vote being necessary, those members wishing to provide a proxy vote must complete and return the Appointment of Proxy Form if they are unable to attend on the day of the AGM. Completed Proxy form must be returned  by no later than 6.00pm Monday 16 October (48hrs prior to meeting) to be included if necessary.

• Nominations for Board positions close at 6.00pm Wednesday 11 October 2023.
• Please confirm your attendance by no later than Tuesday 17^th October to enable ZOOM meeting links to be sent.
  Please complete this short RSVP form to confirm your attendance at the AGM.

RSVP FOR THE AGM ZOOM LINK

AGM Notice & Agenda 2023
  Nomination Form          Proxy Form       Agenda AGM 2023

The Optometry WA CPD events calendar runs from February to November every year.  The Metro events are usually held at the UWA venue of the FJ Clark Building, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands.

Forthcoming OWA Metro CPD Dates for 2023
*Subject to change in person or zoom status
* Interactive CPD TBC within the dates listed below

• 27th February – Metro CPD In Person & Zoom
• 8th May  – Metro CPD – In Person & Zoom Available
• 22nd May – Metro CPD – In Person & Zoom Available
• 21st June – Metro CPD – In Person & Zoom Available
• 3rd July – Metro CPD – In Person & Zoom Available
• 12th Sep – Metro CPD – In Person & Zoom Available
• 4th October – Metro CPD – In Person & Zoom Available
• 20th November – Metro CPD – In Person & Zoom Available

All Events In WA on OA Website Currently

View All Archived Events in WA

Optometry WA used to host four regional CPD evenings a year, and in the past these have been in March & June and August.   Since Metro CPD’s are now mostly streamed online for our regional and even interstate members, the Regional CPDs are subject to numbers.  Watch this space for further updates.

2023 Regional CPD Dates * New Date & Venue in August

• Monday 28th August 2023 – The Sebel Hotel, Mandurah
• Wednesday 6th December 2023  – Bunbury – Info coming soon.

Optometry WA has an active group of members who are all within their first 10 years of their optometry career.  The Early Career Optometrists in WA have a busy calendar of events throughout the year of CPD and social nights.

2023 ECO Dates

23rd August 2023 – Zoom Interactive Therapeutic CPD with Kitty Wong & Ella Goh.   Registration open to ECO WA Members. 

17th October 2023 – Interactive Workshop – Wait list available. 

7th November 2023 – CPD – Register Here

OWA is continuously looking at a range of initiatives to add further value to our members, and your suggestions and feedback has been collated. The summarized findings are below:

• Majority of responders see value in OWA facilitating social events, key reasons being
  • Comradery especially during COVID
  • Positive impact on well being and mental health
  • Discover opportunities
  • Sharing ideas
  • Like minded people
  • Making friendships

Want to attend Social Events in 2023… Email admin@optometrywa.org.au

Events for 2023  

• Sunday 2nd April 2023 
• Social Event in the City
• 20th May – Perth Comedy Festival – Jennifer Wong
• 20th August – Holey Moley
• 5th December – End of Year Get Together – RSVP HERE

Past Social Events 2022 & 2023

• OWA Bushwalk – Kings Park
• OWA Paint & Sip – Check out the gallery of our cubism artwork!
• OWA Bowling
• OWA Social @ The Globe
• OWA Escape This
• OWA Comedy Festival Night

• Responders are interested in a social events calendar in addition to OWA-facilitated events
• Preference is for open attendance i.e. entire practice team, suppliers, loved ones
• Quarterly events preferred, with an ‘interactive CPD’ session making members more likely to attend
• Popular activities were (descending order): quiz night; movie night fundraiser; cooking class, wine tasting tour & bushwalking; fundraising gala dinner; art class
• Other feedback suggested Saturday night events; being mindful of members in regional locations; concerns around fees subsidizing events; and attendance being dependent on time and family commitments

Our promise to you:

• Create a social events calendar on ‘what’s happening around me in WA’
• Quarterly events (ideally with some interactive CPD) with a small budget subsidized for social investment, but a pay-as-you-go activity / meals to allow other industry people to attend

WAVE 2023 was on  Saturday & Sunday 18th & 19th March 2023

The Esplanade Hotel – Hybrid Conference In Person & Virtual Attendance Options.

Exhibitor Enquiries – please email admin@optometrywa.org.au

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COMING SOON WAVE 2024 

Explore WAVE 2023

Email admin@optometrywa.org.au

WAVE 2024 is 16th & 17th March – The Esplanade Hotel, Fremantle.
Further details to follow! 

NAIDOC WEEK 2023:  Theme for 2023 is “For our Elders”

National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) formed in 1991.   Historically, NAIDOC formed as the National Aborigines Day Observance Committee (NADOC) in 1956.

Download the HISTORY HERE

At OWA we aim to be part of the solution to Closing the Gap on Health for our First Nation’s communities and invite all optometrists to be part of this goal.

OWA has a proud history of collaborative solutions to eye health care in this state and other areas of Australia and overseas. We have a good working relationship with the Commonwealth and State Departments of Health and the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHO’s).

This NAIDOC week we will be again sending member emails to highlight the history of the struggle for existence, recognition and healthy futures. I encourage you to read the emails to understand how the past still influences outcomes, integration, engagement and interactions today.

OWA life member, Gary Crerie, has again donated an original Aboriginal art work by Bevan Tjampitjinpa as prize for one lucky OWA member who participates in the NAIDOC Week quiz, available here until 12th July 2023.

• RAP Chair – Gary Crerie
  OWA Life Member Optometrist & member of the OWA Board.

Your RAP Committee

Gary Crerie (Chair) Retired Optometrist.
Graduated 1980 UNSW. Sole practitioner for 40 years. Member of the OWA board since early 1980’s with a brief period off the board. Organised volunteer optometrists to take over Margie O’Neill’s Pilbara and Kimberley clinics at all ACCHO’s. Delivered services to Halls Creek, Warmun, Yiyilli, Wyndham and Kununurra. Inaugural Chair Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory committee to OA. Optometry representative on Commonwealth and State Health Advisory committees. Formerly ACBO WA and OEP State Chair, ProVision board.

Bill Hayward. Aboriginal Community representative: Noongar man from Wagyl Kaip language group in Katanning, has personal relationships to people we know and see around WA. Chiropractor (first of seven in Australia) after working as a supervisor at Griffen coal in Collie continues with voluntary advocacy roles in Chiropractic and allied health issues through SWAMS and Derbyl Yerrigan. Chiropractor of the year recipient.

Sinead Denny, Optometrist, with strong history in providing services to the Aboriginal Communities regionally and locally through the Lions Outback Vision programmes and contributing at strategic level with Optometry Australia on the National Working Group. Great at personal relationships and rapport. OWA Board member.

Andrew Nguyen Optometrist, sole practitioner and long time OWA board member. Treasurer OWA.

7th July 2023 – NAIDOC WEEK COMPETITION CLOSED
The Prize was this Original Artwork below by Bevan Tjampitjinpa

Click here to read more on the artist; Bevan Tjampitjinpa

How To Enter (OWA Members Only)

Take a look at the article from Gary with history, culture and more HERE plus reading the HISTORY PDF will help with the quiz questions too! 

Competition Closes: WED 12th July 12pm AWST.  Competition Open to OWA Members Only.

Winner is Lily Dunford. 

Optometry WA Life member & RAP Chair, Gary Crerie offers his perspective and information during NAIDOC Week in the
article available HERE.

Feel free to open & read the snippets of language, culture and history of this week provided by RAP Chair, Gary.   You might find the answers to the Quiz questions within the documents on this page!

NAIDOC WEEK TOOLKIT

GET INVOLVED – CHECK OUT LOCAL NAIDOC EVENTS HERE

Optometry WA run a monthly eye clinic at St Pat’s Community Support Centre in Fremantle.  On the third Tuesday of every month (except December), Optometry WA Executive Officer, Evan MacRae runs the eye clinic with the support of one of our kind volunteer optoms.

The frames are all donated or recycled and the lenses are kindly provided at a very low cost by CR Surfacing Laboratories.

We ask for volunteers at the start of each year and we currently need volunteers for the 2023 St Pat’s dates.  Click here to register your interest.

If you have any queries, please email admin@optometrywa.org.au

Thank you to ne:Solutions for their recent donation of equipment to St Pats.

Optometry WA hosts an annual golf day for members and our industry associates.

The Optometry WA Golf Day for 2023 was Friday 5th May at Cottesloe Golf Course. 

We play as teams of 4 Ambrose and you can register as an individual, 2, 3 or team of 4.

Want to join us for 2024?     Email admin@optometrywa.org.au for further details.

Optometry WA works with Time Critical to provide CPR courses for our members on Sunday mornings…  Once you complete your course, you can upload the certificate to the OA Member Hub, tick that you are CPR Accredited and enter the expiry date of your certificate.

Time Critical has completed a Risk Assessment & put the following measures in place:

• Adequate space to adhere to social distancing
• Adequate ventilation
• All surfaces have been cleaned and disinfected
• Training equipment has been cleaned and disinfected
• Adequate hand sanitiser and alcohol wipes available
• Hand sanitiser provided throughout the course
• Training equipment cleaned with alcohol wipes during session after each use

Remember to put the expiry date 3 years from the date taken, as you are only required by AHPRA to take the course once every 3 years. You can also email the OWA office to update your certificate on admin@optometrywa.org.au