International Optometry: OCANZ

As a proud member of the NZAO, I fully support New Zealand optometry supporting our colleagues in other countries, through the World Council of Optometry and closer relations with Australian optometry. In fact, I am the current NZ delegate to OCANZ - the Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand.

OCANZ meets annually, but of course its work carries on throughout the year. Its job is accrediting optometry schools in Australia and New Zealand, so the courses taught reflect what a graduate optometrist needs to know in a current, western health system. This benefits patients as well as governments, as they can be assured that Australasian-trained graduates are taught to the highest standards. Another facet of OCANZ is providing a path for overseas-trained optometrists to register in the two countires, to ensure that their skills and knowledge are equivalent to those of a local graduate.

Some countries teach their eyecare professionals to a lower level than we do, and in some countrie, what we think of as "optometry" doesn't exist, and eye doctors perform the functions we do, or refractionists provide prescriptions for glasses. So, an overseas person needs to show that his/her course is fundamentally the same as the Australasian courses, then to sit a series of exams to the same level as our graduates do.

It is fascinating to learn how many styles of optometry there are, but what is appropriate in one country might be a stepping-stone to better eye care for its people whereas western health care is expected by its citizens to be of a higher standard. Patients used to ask me why I participated in VOSO trips to the Pacific Islands, giving away free spectacles and being part of a team providing free cataract surgery. And I explained that these people had nothing, so a pair of glasses, donated, and not necessarily new or to their correct script, was better than nothing...but in NZ, they expected to at least make the driving standard!

OCANZ meets in Melbourne on 2 October, and I am looking forward to being there and doing my bit to ensure that the standard of practitioners registering in Australia or New Zealand remains as high as our populations expect.

Overspex Sunglasses

This spring weather! One day summer, the next winter - as one of our patients said this morning, he needed his sunglasses yesterday but to-day, no way!

And one of the best options that you might not have considered is Overspex, no longer the huge clunky glasses that take up half of your face.

I always recommend Transitions lenses for most people, which I wear, and I also have a separate pair of Drivewear as sunglasses - they're brilliant as they are Polarised (so remove glare) and photochromic as well - so they tint from a 50% tint to about 85% in bright light. Great for driving, and I do not need to take them off if I go into a shop as they lighten enough to see well.

But for people who do not want several pairs of prescription glasses, or need to read in the sun but do not want to have a separate clear and tinted pair of readers, or love Polarised lenses but find them too expensive with a script in them, consider Overspex, as they fit well over your own glasses (so you can see) and they give good protection from glare at the front and at the side. Having shields to ptotect yor eyes from glare (and wind!) is a great idea for beach-walking or for anyone who suffers from watery eyes in the breeze.

Optica, a Christchurch company - who survived the quake - supplies several different sizes of Overspex, all Polarised, and in several colours of frame and lenses. Fashionable, practical, good value - come and see our range to-day.

Anti Reflective Coating

With all the talk about new technology, here's a link to "old technology", which changed the appearance of spectacle wearers, especially those with strong lenses, which had many annoying reflections. Both the wearer and the person she was talking to could see these, and they were very distracting, so thank you Saint Dick Whitney......http://www.dickwhitney.net/AOARCoatingsPage.htm


Anti-reflective coatings have improved over the years. The earliest ones were developed for glass lenses, and for plastic and polycarbonate lenses, new minerals and techiques to coat had to be developed. The durability of AR coatings has improved, and even over the last few years, we have seen better-lasting coats. Essilor's Alize 2 stays clean, doesn't wear off and gives really sharp, clear vision. it's simply the best coating to have on your lenses. And the two year warranty gives peace of mind - not that we need to replace a coat of this quality hardly at all!

~ Happy Birthday ~

To celebrate, we are giving away 10 x 10,000 Fly Buys packages, plus an additional 10,000 bonus points on the 10th of September. Plus one lucky winner will receive 10 years of free Eyecare.