Lien Trinh
Talking Eyes, an Australian podcast launched by optometrist Lien Trinh, is broadening its listener base.
What started as a consumer-focussed podcast exploring the latest advancements in eye research will soon be expanded with a dedicated practitioner series, available to Ahpra (Australian Health Regulation Agency) registered health professionals.
Ms Trinh, who worked in public health before joining Helen Summers Optometrist in Darwin, initiated the podcast in 2024 in an effort to upgrade her own professional knowledge.
“I’d been working in public health with patients in the low-income setting, and 15 years had passed me by – there was so much I needed to know before settling into private practice. Helen’s practice had all the latest technology to play with, but I felt I needed to learn more about eye disease management and for me, the easiest way to learn is with audio.”
To produce Ms Trinh’s first podcast season of Talking Eyes she worked with Professor Lauren Ayton from University of Melbourne and Centre for Eye Research Australia to find world-class experts willing to share their work in the field of retinal research and clinical care. For this second season, it was important to have both expert clinicians and researchers, and lived experiences communicated through the show. One episode devoted to keratoconus introduces us to Larry Kornhauser, President of Keratoconus Australia, who lives with keratoconus.
“I was interested in learning more about keratoconus because of the sheer numbers of these patients I manage in our Darwin practice and I wanted to understand the condition better,” Ms Trinh explained.
“Larry turned out to be the perfect interviewee – he is an expert on the disease and an excellent communicator. So, as well as telling us about the clinical aspects of the disease, he was able to explain its impact on the patient and their quality of life, which is so useful for clinicians to understand”.
Ms Trinh said patient feedback on the podcasts has been positive.
“I’ve had listeners tell me they can’t wait to share the podcast with family, because no-one understands what it’s like to live with their eye disease.”
Practitioner Only Series
The Talking Eyes Practitioner series, sponsored by Alcon, is due to go into production and Ms Trinh hopes it will be available before the end of the year. It will be hosted on Optometry Australia’s website as well as mivision.com.au.
The mainstream series is available via Spotify, Apple, YouTube and Acast.
