From working as a fitter and turner to owning an optometry practice and delivering eye services to remote Australia, Jo Murphy is living his best life while making life so much better for others as well.
Optometry wasn’t my first career choice. When I graduated from school, I had a lot of interests but wasn’t sure which avenue to pursue. Having done well in high school, I was offered an engineering scholarship, but I wasn’t sure if I would like to spend all day on a computer designing things. As a teenager, I’d spent a lot of time maintaining and fixing farm machinery, and I’d developed skills in metal working, so I opted for an apprenticeship in fitting and turning.
A few years later I reconsidered my options. I looked at all the health sciences, including medicine, and decided on optometry. It was an interesting mix of all the sciences, I would be able to help people, I would have good employment opportunities, and it offered a good work life balance.
I studied at Queensland University of Technology, graduating in 2013. It was during my time at university that I first developed an interest in rural optometry and providing services to remote and regional locations.
A FLYING PASSION
Having always had a passion for flying (I’d first flown a glider aged 17), the idea of flying into remote areas to deliver eye services seemed logical. So, I did some research and learned about Queensland optometrist Geoff Fitzpatrick AM, who was doing exactly that. I contacted him and asked if I could tag along on his next trip, and he responded, “I’m flying to western Queensland in a few weeks, can you pack light?”
I was impressed with the efficiency that Geoff ’s airplane afforded him and resolved to get my pilot’s licence the week after completing my final year exams.
While doing some outreach work in Central Australia with the Brien Holden Foundation, I fell in love with the desert. I contacted Bill Robertson from Eyecare Plus Alice Springs, and while he wasn’t advertising a position, we struck a deal where I would work part time for him and part time doing work in remote communities with the Foundation. I always encourage students and young optoms to not just look at the job opportunities that are advertised in the classifieds, but to approach practices that are in the place they want to live, or doing work in a field of interest.
A STEP UP
After seven years working with Bill, I bought the practice from him and he now works for me. We have always had a great relationship built on trust and respect. Our outreach service has expanded, and the model has evolved over time. The outreach trips are now organised through our main practice. I travel with one of our optical dispensers, while still working very closely with the Brien Holden Foundation. We aim to visit communities in the weeks leading up to the outreach ophthalmologist’s visit.
I started out flying a Cherokee Lance, but recently purchased a Cessna 210. We load it up with our optometry equipment, and all the food and bedding we need as these communities are so remote that there are no restaurants or motels. The plane really makes these trips efficient – it’s a time machine that enables us to minimise travel time and maximise time working in remote communities or back at home. (It’s also great seeing the landscape of Australia from over 2,000 m.)
On most trips, we have access to a ‘donga’ or a house where we sleep, and we practise out of the local health clinic where there are a few pieces of equipment, though we still have to take quite a lot with us. I have done the occasional outreach trip in remote places without accommodation or a health clinic. For these trips we pack the ute and drive because we simply can’t fit all the extra camping gear and optometry equipment in the plane.
One of my most memorable days as an optometrist was the final day of a trip where we had been camping in swags and providing eye examinations out of an old hut. We returned to Alice mid-morning, had a shower and a shave, and then went into the main practice for a Maui Jim evening. We went from sleeping in swags under stars and washing our hands out of a jerry can in between patients, to examining the eyes of patients while they were sipping champagne and trying on high end frames; all on the same day!
REWARDS AND LEARNING
Delivering eye care services to Aboriginal communities is incredibly rewarding – we are always welcomed and it’s great knowing that when we leave, we’re leaving people with better vision through the delivery of glasses. It’s a tangible benefit that they can appreciate.
Of course there are challenges, especially when trying to inform people of the need to take their diabetes medication or to proceed with surgery. Health literacy in remote areas is very different from mainstream Australia; some people fear leaving their local communities to travel for surgery; and there can be cultural issues associated with surgeries too.
It’s taken me a while to appreciate how critical the role of a primary health care practitioner is. We are the first point of contact with the health care system and we play a vital role in setting patients up for success as they are referred on to secondary and tertiary care. In remote communities, aside from distance, we also often have challenges of different cultural backgrounds, poor health literacy and English being a second, third or even seventh language. It can often take a long time, explaining conditions and potential cures, and answering questions so that a patient is comfortable taking the next step of seeing an ophthalmologist. This step often involves many people, including a translator, family members, and the local health clinic staff.
Interestingly, when I look back at the beginning of my working life as a fitter and turner, I can see strong parallels with what I was doing then and what I’m doing now. It’s the same thought process – when you’re working in the trade, people come to you with something that’s not working properly. They’ll tell you some stories, you’ll ask them some questions, take some measurements, do some tests, diagnose the problem, and come up with a solution. I’m now just applying that problem solving process to humans instead of machines and so it’s become a blend of art and science.
If I had the opportunity to start my career again, would I do anything differently?
Not at all. Doing fitting and turning straight out of school was the best choice I have made, but I’m also very glad I started learning about eyes 15 years ago; it’s been a good 15 years. More recently, buying a practice has forced me to acquire skills in management and business which has been a steep but enjoyable learning curve too.
Jo Murphy completed a Bachelor of Vision Science and Master of Optometry at the Queensland University of Technology in 2013. He became the owner of Eyecare Plus Optometrists Alice Springs in 2021.
