Victorian Optometrists Training and Education (VOTE) Trust grants have been awarded to Dr Bao Nguyen from the Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences at the University of Melbourne, and Sian Lewis from the Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand (OCANZ).
The VOTE Trust grants, which are awarded annually, have two key aims:
• To advance and foster the practice of optometry, and
• To improve Victorian optometrists’ ability to practice and Victorian optometry students’ ability to undertake training.
The project will benefit future graduating optometrists through an enhanced ability to deliver services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
Migraine Management Project
Dr Nguyen and her co-investigators have received a VOTE grant to support a project that aims to understand current approaches to identify and manage migraine headache in optometric practice, and to educate optometrists about the utility of a validated migraine screening tool.
Optometrists will be encouraged to participate in a pilot program to implement the tool as part of their routine eye examinations and to provide feedback on whether the screening tool has influenced their patient management.
The results of this project will assist the development of future educational resources for optometrists about headache disorders and the role of optometrists in migraine management.
Project to Deliver Culturally Safe Optometric Care
Sian Lewis has been awarded a VOTE grant in support of a project that aims to upskill optometry educators to develop and deliver culturally safe optometry curricula. The project builds on a successful 2017 VOTE Trust Grant project in which culturally safe optometry curricula were developed and piloted.
This project will now seek to embed this knowledge in optometry programs of study through the delivery of a national workshop to share best practice approaches and support educators. The project will benefit future graduating optometrists through an enhanced ability to deliver services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
About The VOTE Trust
The VOTE Trust was established in 2010 by the then Optometrists Registration Board of Victoria, from funds accumulated and held by the Board. The Board had ceased to exist with the establishment of a national registration and accreditation scheme and the creation of the Optometry Board of Australia. The VOTE Trust funds are held and administered by Perpetual Trustees, and disbursed on the advice of the Grants Advisory Committee.
The Grants Advisory Committee are: Andrew Anderson, Mitchell Anjou, Alex Gentle, Pete Haydon and Maureen O’Keefe.
To read more about the VOTE Trust, click here
