ECOVSAT Webinar - Insights into Outreach: Optometry off the beaten track
Date: 6/05/2025 (AEST)
Venue: Online
Provider: Optometry Vic/SA
Contact: Chynnae Jewell, [E] c.jewell@optometry.org.au, [P] 0396529100
Activity Outline
This session will highlight optometry outreach work. It will involve four presenters from a variety of Optometry outreach presenting 12-15 min talks outlining their work and experiences across a range of outreach settings such as: Aboriginal health, regional outreach, homeless community screenings. There will also be a panel discussion involving all four presenters.
1.5 hours non-clinical content
Learning Objectives
- Recognize the unique barriers faced by communities in accessing eye care, including geographic, cultural, and socio-economic factors.
- Understand the critical role of outreach services and mobile clinics in improving access to optometric care for patients in remote geographical locations and socio-economic settings.
- Learn about the variety of settings optometrists are currently providing outreach in, as well as the pathways available to Australian optometrists to become involved in outreach work.
- Identify practical steps to integrate the insights gained from the webinar into your local or regional optometry practice, fostering better access to care for the community and enhancing patient outcomes.
Max CPD hours awarded: 1.5
Session Information
| Name |
|---|
| Insights into Outreach: Optometry off the beaten track |
| Clinical? |
| No |
| Interactive? |
| No |
| Therapeutic? |
| No |
| Duration of CPD Session/Module |
| 1.5 |
| Duration of CPD Session/Module inclusive of Assessment Component |
| 1.5 |
What’s possible for your career?
Join us for an inspiring webinar that celebrates the breadth of the optometry profession and the impact optometrists can make beyond the clinic. From Aboriginal communities to mobile outreach and public health research, this session highlights how accessible care changes lives and how your career can be part of that change.
You’ll hear from our four passionate speakers doing meaningful work in diverse communities across Australia, reflecting on the many ways you can align your skills with purpose.
Meet our speakers:
Kaavya Nair Bsc. OD
Kaavya is a Melbourne-based optometrist at ACO Eye Health with a strong passion for outreach. Since graduating in 2020, she has delivered eye care through the Royal Flying Doctor Service, RWAV Indigenous trips, and homeless support programs. Her focus is on early detection and health education, ensuring access to quality care in underserved populations.
Dominique Birbeck BMedSc(VisSc),MOpt, GradCertPublicHlth
Dominique is a clinical research optometrist at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, contributing to the PROPHECY study on diabetes complications in Aboriginal communities. A Sight For All educator and Early Career Optometrists Committee member, she brings expertise in public health, research, and community education.
Anna Morse
Anna has delivered outreach optometry services across over 80 Northern Territory communities through her work with Brien Holden Foundation and the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress. With experience dating back to 2005, she continues to lead care initiatives that embed optometry within Aboriginal health services—balancing time between QLD and Alice Springs.
Lauren Hutchinson
A proud Murrawarri woman, Lauren is an optometrist living and working on Wiradjuri Country in central west NSW. With experience in both private and community-controlled sectors, she’s a national and NT board director with Indigenous Allied Health Australia, advocating for better outcomes in Aboriginal, rural, remote, and paediatric eye care.