The challenges associated with delivering paediatric eye care within the expansive and diverse state of Queensland keep orthoptist Faren Willett engaged and looking toward the future.
As I reached my final school years and began thinking about what career I wanted to pursue, I knew I wanted to work with people. I had a keen interest in biology and the human body, and I loved the idea of a career that allowed me to connect with people, keep things fun and imaginative, and care for others.
After high school, I began my Bachelor of Science, which allowed me to explore a broad range of subjects and interests while keeping my options open. Throughout the course, I found myself consistently drawn to topics involving vision and sight. I was also inspired by the work of Fred and Gabi Hollows. Their missions highlighted the importance of vision and demonstrated just how life-changing improving someone’s sight can be. Around this time, I sat down with a family friend who was an orthoptist to find out more about what the profession involved. I was sold.
I applied for the Master of Orthoptics graduate entry program at La Trobe University. My first clinical placement was at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, where I was inspired by the talented clinicians and the breadth of work involved in paediatric eye care. It was here that I began to see how well orthoptics combined my interests in science, people, and problem-solving.
Upon graduation, I was offered a position in a small ophthalmology clinic in Sydney, working closely with two ophthalmologists who, between them, covered all areas of ophthalmology. I loved the diversity and the opportunity to develop a broad skill set. I was able to consolidate my knowledge of the eye across a full range of subspecialties, but it was paediatrics that remained my true interest. I loved the challenge of thinking outside the box, building rapport with children, and adapting my approach to each patient. I quickly realised that paediatric orthoptics suited my adaptable and friendly nature.
A positive work environment, the personalities of the children and families we work with, and the small wins that happen throughout the day can make the work incredibly rewarding.
A few years later, I was thrilled to be offered a position at Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. I packed my bags and moved north to pursue my passion for paediatric eye care.
Working in a tertiary paediatric setting has given me an incredibly rewarding career that aligns closely with my values. Like many clinical professions, orthoptics is a constant problem-solving exercise. The range of presentations that can come through the door is enormous, from common eye conditions to unexpected trauma, complex systemic disease, and rare or complicated conditions.
Working with children adds another layer of complexity. From the outside, it can be difficult to imagine how to assess the vision of a child who may not understand what you are asking them to do, may not want to participate, or may simply communicate in a different way. A large part of our role is creating an environment where the child feels safe and comfortable so we can get the most information out of them. A play-based approach often requires constant adapting: you must use your imagination, think on your feet, and work out what will engage that particular child. This is particularly important because many of the children we see will return for ongoing assessment and care. We want to build positive experiences and minimise fear and anxiety around clinical environments from an early age. When we get it right, they don’t even realise they are being tested.
Eye and vision problems can be a particularly confronting experience for families. When a child is affected, there is understandably a huge amount of worry about what this might mean for their future. The rapport we build with children and their families, is therefore, incredibly important – we become a crucial part of a family’s journey – a familiar face, not only during the assessment and management of a clinical problem, but also as someone who can provide reassurance, guidance and support along the way. In paediatrics, particularly, we often have the privilege of seeing children grow and develop over many years and the ongoing relationships foster trust and allow for a much more holistic approach to healthcare and better outcomes for our patients.
There is also a real sense of joy and hope in paediatric practice. A positive work environment, the personalities of the children and families we work with, and the small wins that happen throughout the day can make the work incredibly rewarding.
Meeting Challenges
However, it is the challenges of paediatrics that keep us on our toes and looking towards the future. We are constantly facing challenges at every stage of the journey – from access to care, to the clinical presentation, assessment, and management. Each challenge requires us to reflect: how can we overcome this, and how can we do it better?
In paediatrics, there will always be the challenge of working with patients who cannot communicate exactly what is happening to them. This makes observation, clinical reasoning, creativity, and collaboration essential. It also means we need to be willing to look beyond the obvious and find different ways to understand what a child is experiencing.
It also makes us think about the bigger challenges facing eye care, particularly in a state as large as Queensland. How can we improve access to paediatric eye care for children living outside major centres? Can new models of care, referral pathways or technology help us reach more children earlier? How can we make services more accessible, efficient, and effective while still maintaining the personal connection that is so important? These are questions that extend beyond the individual patient and have increasingly become an area of interest for me throughout my career.
Technology may change how we work, but it cannot replace the human connection at the heart of paediatric eye care.
Knowledge is Power
Another increasing area of interest for me is teaching and education. The eye is complicated, and vision is often poorly understood outside the eye health professions. This creates a huge role for orthoptists as educators. We are constantly teaching students, colleagues, other health professionals, and families about the eye and vision. Knowledge is power and helping people understand an eye condition is an important part of successful management and care. I particularly enjoy the opportunity to take something that can seem complicated and make it understandable and meaningful for the person in front of me.
The profession has also encouraged me to develop skills outside clinical practice, which have opened opportunities within the broader eye health sector. I have volunteered with Orthoptics Australia, which has helped me better understand the wider landscape of eye health. I have been involved in organising and managing education events, including an international conference. I have also had the privilege to serve on the Orthoptics Australia Board of Directors. Being involved at this level has provided an opportunity to give back to a profession that has given me so much, while also contributing to conversations about its governance and future. This feels particularly important at a time when healthcare is changing so rapidly. We need to be willing to adapt, challenge existing models, and think creatively about how we deliver care.
We are also entering a world of rapid advances in artificial intelligence and technology. Rather than seeing this as a threat to the profession, I find it exciting to think about how these tools might help us overcome some of the challenges we face. At the same time, I believe the skills that make a great paediatric orthoptist – communication, adaptability, creativity, clinical reasoning, and the ability to build trust with a child and their family – are irreplaceable. Technology may change how we work, but it cannot replace the human connection at the heart of paediatric eye care.
As I settle back into clinical practice after my second maternity leave, as both an orthoptist and parent, I find myself reflecting on the opportunities that have arisen for me already, and where I want to be going next. This profession has given me opportunities to keep learning, keep adapting, and keep asking how we can do things better. As I look ahead, I am excited to see what the next chapter of my career – and the profession itself – will look like.
Faren Willett BSc MOrthop completed her Masters of Orthoptics at La Trobe University in 2014. She practises as a paediatric orthoptist at the Queensland Children’s Hospital.
