Early career optometrist Shazaan Khambiye awarded bursary to attend Indigenous eye health conference

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Optometry Australia is pleased to announce Shazaan Khambiye is the recipient of our bursary to attend the 2024 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Eye Health Conference (NATSIEHC24), held this year on nipaluna country (Hobart, Tasmania).

Khambiye, who attended NATSIEHC22 in Darwin, is thrilled to be returning to the Conference on May 22-24 of this year, where he hopes to form connections with like-minded individuals, educate himself on the latest research and initiatives in this space, and enhance his understanding of the needs of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Having lived and worked in Tasmania from 2015-2023, Khambiye was involved in establishing Optometry Tasmania’s Early Career Optometrists (ECO) group. During his time in Tasmania, he completed cultural awareness training through the Tasmania Aboriginal Centre and, while studying a Master of Clinical Optometry at the University of Melbourne, he undertook a research project focusing on patient demographics in Indigenous Australian eye care clinics in southern Tasmania.

‘This research helped me identify gaps within care and highlighted the needs for not only providing eye care as a service, but understanding holistic deficiencies within the system which, if addressed, can lead to better long-term outcomes for patients and the community,’ Khambiye said.

Since returning to New South Wales in 2023, Khambiye has been working with the Brien Holden Vision Foundation (BHVF). His current focus is facilitating eye care initiatives at the Waminda Aboriginal Clinic in Nowra, with the aim of expanding these efforts to service more regional Aboriginal medical centres along the southern coast of NSW.

About the bursary

Optometry Australia’s bursary, valued at $3000, is intended to cover NATSIEHC24 conference registration, travel, and accommodation costs. NATSIEHC24 will be formally hosted for the first time by the First Nation Eye Health Alliance (FNEHA), Australia’s first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led eye health organisation.

The theme for this year’s Conference is Our Vision in Action, representing the next phase in the growing evolution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership in eye health. This year’s theme wishes to elevate and explore activities, projects, and initiatives to end avoidable vision loss and blindness that are led or guided by First Nations peoples and organisations. The activities delivered as part of this theme will support the eye care sector in our collective journey to implement principles of self-determination and representation in eye care.

Early bird registrations close on January 31. To secure your spot, visit IEHU’s website here.