1:30min
Opinion piece by Nancy Atkinson – President, Optometry Queensland Northern Territory
As optometry evolves, keeping up with new knowledge is essential, particularly understanding how to apply that new knowledge into clinical practice.
That’s where interactive, case-based CPD comes in. Unlike traditional lecture-style learning, case-based education places optometrists in realistic clinical scenarios.
Case-based learning reflects the complexity of real clinical practice and, importantly, it builds clinical decision-making skills, not just clinical knowledge.
In optometry, where diagnostic uncertainty and co-management decisions are part of everyday care, that distinction matters.
Research across healthcare education shows that case-based and discussion-led formats, can improve clinician performance, while passive, lecture-based learning alone has little to no impact on changing clinical behaviour.
Studies have also shown that interactive activities, where you analyse patient presentations, weigh management options and discuss outcomes with peers, lead to greater improvements in practitioner performance and patient outcomes, as well as helping practitioners maintain a connection to the profession.
The Optometry Board of Australia defines interactive CPD as learning that involves a two-way flow of information with other practitioners. It creates space to test thinking, explore different approaches and learn from the lived experience of others facing similar challenges.
Although almost 30% of Australians live outside major cities, access to specialist support and peer networks remains uneven for those located in regional and rural communities.
Optometrists in these settings often manage a broader scope of presentations, sometimes with fewer referral pathways and longer wait times for ophthalmology or other specialist services.
That makes confident, well-reasoned decision-making critical and interactive, case-based CPD activities may help bridge that gap.
Interactive CPD may also reduce professional isolation; a factor known to impact both clinician confidence and retention in rural health workforces.
The upcoming Interactive Series in Darwin reflects a growing recognition that CPD should do more than deliver information.
It should actively support optometrists in strengthening their clinical reasoning skills, refining management strategies and approaching complex cases with greater confidence.
In a profession where early detection and timely intervention can prevent vision loss, those gains are significant.
Darwin Interactive is about making high-quality, relevant learning accessible, regardless of geography. And ultimately, it’s about patients.
As President of OQNT, I’m proud that the Interactive Series is coming to Darwin for the first time, giving optometrists the opportunity to learn, engage, and grow in ways that reflect the realities of modern practice.
Because confident clinicians make confident decisions, and both lead to better patient care.