Juliette Lim and Hector Leong (both right), with fellow ASE members and programme organiser, Jahin Tanvir (middle)

Optometry Australia (OA) and the Australian Student Entrepreneurship (ASE) group extended their Optometrists Leadership Hub to New Zealand for the first time. The first two Kiwi attendees, Juliette Lim and Hector Leong, shared the experience.

An annual programme for select students from Australia’s universities and now New Zealand’s, we were the first lucky recipients of this inclusion. The programme started in August 2023 and concluded in November. Its aim was to empower students to become effective leaders in their fields, with weekly mentoring sessions providing the opportunity to meet like-minded people keen to advance the industry. We were educated on a multitude of non-academic topics such as innovation and creativity, diversity and inclusion, building and leading a team and networking. This was delivered via online modules and virtual workshops, culminating in an expenses-paid trip to Melbourne for our final networking event.

The public-speaking workshop was particularly enlightening, with veteran TEDx-speaker and public-speaking coach Jahin Tanvir explaining the many nuances that can be used to captivate a crowd. These skills will be especially useful in healthcare, where our verbal and non-verbal communication can foster trust, promote compliance and ultimately help us improve our patients’ wellbeing. The innovation and creativity workshop was also very thought-provoking. We learned that solving existing industry problems requires constant curiosity to identify areas facing difficulties. In optometry, innovation is exciting because it offers the potential to reach more patients and improve the speed and accuracy of diagnoses.

We were also very fortunate to meet OA CEO Skye Cappuccio, who discussed the delay for Australian optometrists in prescribing oral therapeutics, together with other interesting topics such as the importance of optometry advisors in Australia who personally assist optometrists with clinical, ethical and employment questions.

Optometry Australia CEO Skye Cappuccio, Juliette Lim and OCANZ CEO Susan Kelly

Amid the lively atmosphere of a bustling eatery, the final networking evening provided additional opportunities to engage with OA and ASE group leaders and prospective industry principals. It was really insightful and important that students – especially those who are involved in healthcare, lead teams and collaborate with other healthcare professionals – are taught these skills.

Other highlights included meeting fellow students from across Australia and learning about how they do things over the ditch. This ties in especially well with the recent Optometry Students Society of Australia and New Zealand Optometry Student Society (NZOSS) collaboration, which in 2023 was sponsored by OA. Hopefully the New Zealand Association of Optometrists can be a sponsor this year too!

Having taken all of this mentoring onboard, we are eager to bring these newfound skills here. To get involved, keep an eye out for the application form on the NZOSS page, or via OA’s posts. As current and past leaders at the School of Optometry and Vision Science, we strongly advise Kiwi students to sign up to gain further skills to help push the profession forward and to enhance overall patient care.

Hector Leong is a final year optometry student and the 2024 NZOSS president, who is preparing to shift from student leader to an optometrist keen to make a positive mark in the field of eyecare.

Juliette Lim is the outgoing NZOSS president and an optometry graduate. She would like to specialise in myopia control and dry eye and is excited to start working (and paying off her student loan!).