1:30min
Dr Nathan Lighthizer
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By Kirsty Machon
Journalist
Delegates welcomed the practical slant that the speakers had on their topics at SA Blue Sky in November.
The event attracted 50 more delegates this year than last, a record for the South Australian optometry conference, which was paired for the second time with an educational program for optical dispensers.
Optometry South Australia CEO, Libby Boschen, said delegates had expressed their appreciation for the very practical approach taken by the key speaker, Dr Nathan Lighthizer of Northeastern University Oklahoma, and other presenters on the program.
‘Dr Lighthizer led a joint grand rounds session on how to put in place an all-of-practice management strategy for clinical ocular presentations and emergencies, like red eyes, swollen eyes, or other concerns,’ Ms Boschen said.
‘It was about the whole picture of managing presentations: how to triage a patient, what to do if they may need privacy in the waiting area, and how to deal the therapeutic management of the patient.
‘This approach really lifted the concept of what we are trying to do with our education model at Blue Sky. Our delegates like these very practical messages and they come away really feeling like they have learned something.’
There were about 260 optometrists and 54 optical dispensers at the combined event. The optical dispensing conference brought delegates from around the country and provided an opportunity for exhibitors at the trade expo, with five new exhibitors welcomed, Ms Boschen said.
She expects the successful dispensing conference to be held again next year, and said that offering a small number of joint sessions to both the optometry education and the optical dispensing delegates had worked well.
