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John Farmer OAM was recently honoured as a Life Member at the 2024 OV/SA Awards. John has embraced innovation since the beginning of his extraordinary career and has always shown a strong commitment to clinical excellence and global health. 

His journey as an optometrist began with a desire to make a difference. John has relentlessly pursued opportunities to improve eye care, particularly in Papua New Guinea (PNG), where he began by providing eye care services to remote communities. Recognising the need for more sustainable solutions, John developed programs to train local healthcare workers as eye care nurses. Over time, these programs became a comprehensive 12-month course, which he helped deliver.

Throughout his career, John has received numerous awards, including the Ivor J. Lewis Memorial Award and the Order of Australia. Despite retiring from clinical practice in Australia, John remains firmly dedicated to his work in PNG. His selfless efforts, often unpaid and self-funded, exemplify an unwavering commitment to improving global eye health. 

Here, we ask John about his career highlights and advice for early career optometrists.  

Of your many achievements in optometry, which would you describe as the most significant? 

I would say that my involvement in developing eye care in PNG had the greatest impact. It has been an amazing journey. Highlights include providing eye care in remote villages, training nurses, teaching ophthalmology registrars, helping establish and continuing to support low-cost glasses supply, developing national eye plans, helping to design the new Centre for Eye Health and setting up the optometry degree program at the University of PNG.

How did you achieve all this incredible work?  

Like many things, it’s one step at a time (or, as is the case with PNG, two steps forward and one step back). I helped where I could and with whatever came next. Many amazing people support me along the way, and local eye care professionals work hard in extraordinarily difficult conditions, because they care. 

What advice do you have for early career optometrists? 

Remember that you are in a position to help people, by caring for their eyes and overall well-being. Optometry is more than just a job; it’s an opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of many. This includes your patients, of course, and those you work with.

In your opinion, what needs to happen next for the profession to progress? 

In terms of scope of practice, the inclusion of oral medications within optometrists’ current prescribing capabilities would enhance patient care, improve accessibility and catch Australia up to what is already in place in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. 

What do you consider to be the biggest challenge to our profession? 

I think the biggest challenge is maintaining financially viability, while increasing the provision of eye care. With an aging population, the need for this has never been greater. As the scope of practice in my working life has gradually moved from eye health screening to providing non-surgical eye care, the proportion of patients purchasing glasses has decreased. The traditional optometry business model of subsidising eye care consultations with glasses sales has become more difficult, especially in rural areas. We are trained and the community needs so much more from the profession.

I don’t have the answers. Higher consultation fees for those providing full scope eye care would help but I suspect that is difficult to achieve in practice.

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