Optometrists

Every year, your New Zealand registered optometrist must do at least 20 hours of continuing education, at the standard of a post-graduate course. This ensures that your optometrist stays up to date with current knowledge of eye health, spectacle lens design, contact lens materials, best-practice patient care, eye surgery, etc, etc, etc. Most NZAO and Visique optometrists do many more hours of CE, as we are interested in the eyes and visual system (else we wouldn't have selected optometry as a career!) and want the very best for our patients.

Some of this CE is provided by reading peer-reviewed journals, in print and on the Web. Some is available in small-group seminars and workshops - learning new techniques in contact lens fitting or in minor "surgery" (syringing out blocked tear ducts, for example)is best done hands-on. Lectures or larger seminars, at conferences for example, are a great way to learn about new research and the chance is there to question the researchers after the lecture. And many of us take part in local discussions to share information about techniques or to improve our ability to diagnose - interesting case studies. Of course, any patient discussed is anonymous!

Sometimes when you visit your NZAO optometrist, she will be using similar tests to the ones you are familiar with. Sometimes the techniques or equipment is new. But in any case, you can be reassured that she will be able to provide you with the best and most current advice available.