Where – other than in a lecture theatre earning CPD points – would you rather be on a wet Sunday? Such was the mindset of 500 eye care professionals who travelled to the Australian Technology Park in Sydney’s inner city suburb of Eveleigh in June to attend the second Super Sunday, hosted by Optometrists Association Australia (OAA) NSW division.
The ‘who’s who’ of eye care was on hand to present the latest in research, as it relates to optometrists, at Super Sunday on 23 June.
Professors Algis Vingrys and Gerard Sutton, Associate Professor Daryl Guest, Michael Yapp and Emmanuel Calligeros were among the high profile speakers who presented on topics including recurrent corneal erosion syndrome, approaches to glaucoma treatment, refractive surgery and vision solutions for our ageing population. But it was Dr. Simon Chen who stole the show, attracting an extraordinary 400 people to hear him speak on threatening retinal disease.
Andrew McKinnon, CEO of OAA’s NSW division, said the conference built on its successes of 2012 with two lecture streams running concurrently throughout the day, and lectures separated by punctual 10 minute breaks.
But it was Dr. Simon Chen who stole the show, attracting an extraordinary 400 people to hear him speak on threatening retinal disease…
In the intimate atmosphere of the Technology Park – an historic building that was once home to Sydney’s main locomotive workshop – attendees networked between lectures and took the opportunity to explore the latest technologies for eye care on display by exhibitors.
“The day went really well – we had made some small adjustments based on feedback from 2012 – and so it was smoother and less rushed, while still giving delegates a good number of CPD points for the day,” said Mr. McKinnon.
Chris Fealy, an optometrist from the mid North Coast town of Forster-Tuncurry found the day well worth the eight hour return journey. He said he traveled to Super Sunday for several reasons.
“Super Sunday is a convenient way for me to meet Registration CPD requirements – the mid week CPD events in Sydney are difficult to attend,” said Mr. Fealy.
“I enjoyed the Conference in 2012 and like to support the Association’s efforts.”
A Convenient Way to Learn
With a five-month old baby at home, optometrist Mimi Wong from Alan Wong Optical in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta said Super Sunday presented the perfect opportunity to maximise her CPD points without needing to be away from her practice or family for too long. She said she enjoyed the format of the
day with its ten-minute breaks between each lecture.
“Everyone has the same 10 minute break – regardless of the lecture they are attending so you know that when you’re out, everyone is out and there’s a great chance to catch up,” said Ms. Wong.
Naema Badman from Eyes and Vision in Adelaide also appreciated the Super Sunday format. “Most of the conferences tend to have long scheduled breaks when really, you just want to get in, learn something, get your points and pack as much information into one day as you can. That’s what Super Sunday allows you to do,” she said.
Highly Accessible Content
She said the line-up of speakers was impressive. “There were some really great speakers at Super Sunday – and it was nice to see so many of them were from the University of Melbourne. I’m NSW trained and so while the speakers were presenting the same information as we would hear from NSW eye care professionals and lecturers, they were doing so in a slightly different way. I got a lot out of the day,” she said.
Ms. Wong said the topics chosen for presentation were highly accessible for working optometrists. “The organisers chose some very good speakers who have a lot of experience presenting at conferences. The optometrists and the ophthalmologists understood where we are at in terms of working in a multidisciplinary environment. So the take home messages were very clear.
“Dr. Simon Chen for example, presented nine case studies during his lecture, each with nine key messages, which were very easy to understand and put into practice.”
Mr. Fealy said the conference provides information that can be put into practice to the immediate benefit of the community. “I appreciate the experts sharing their knowledge and practice with us. So much hard work goes into knowing what they know, then they summarise it and put it forward for our benefit. Then I can take that to benefit the community I live in,” he said.
“And when the day is done, personally, I also like the feeling that I have seen a little more of the Grand Design… and then look forward to lunch on Monday”.
