On Saturday 21st July Optometry Australia held their Optometry 2040 Future’s Workshop in Sydney at the ICC. I was fortunate to attend the morning brainstorming session along with a wide range of other enthusiastic industry representatives, both optometrists and non-optometrists, who have a rich collective knowledge and experience base. The aims of the Optometry 2040 Future’s project are to identify the potential directions for the future of Optometry in Australia, and to identify proactive strategies to direct the profession down the paths that are reflective of what the profession wants. The brainstorming session involved stimulating group discussions on a variety of topics such as specialization within optometry, alternative funding options, the impact of Internet sales and artificial intelligence, to name a few.

As an ONSW/ACT member and as a young optometrist with hopefully many years left in my career, it was rewarding to participate in the project thus far in gaining insights on where Optometry currently is, and where it potentially can be, and it was empowering to actively contribute to shaping the future of my profession. – Megan Tu, Secretary of Young Optometrists NSW/ACT