I am a Tubba-gah woman, who are the traditional owners of the land surrounds of the area now known as Dubbo, NSW. I was born and raised on the land of the Muluridji people and currently live and practice on the lands of Bindal people.

I am a qualified optometrist and work in private practice in Ayr while running after my children. Upon graduating from University of Melbourne in 2004, completing a Bachelor of Optometry I was recognised at the first female first nations optometrist of Australia. Over my 20year career as an optometrist I have provided eyecare to remote locations and communities in every state of Australia.

I have been fortunate enough to engage with communities such as Domadgee, Mornington Island and Palm Island. I am a member of Indigenous Allied Health Australia and a board member of the Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand.

I would be Australia’s only First Nations Optometrist/Audiologist, which allows a unique perspective into allied health across both disciplines. Currently First Nations allied health providers in Australia make up 0.2% of the optometry workforce and there are fewer than 6 audiologists. For First Nations people, systemic barriers to accessing vision and hearing health services can make it more difficult to navigate an already complex health system.

Access may be affected by limited availability and accessibility of culturally appropriate health services, a lack of continuity of care, or racism or discrimination from health care providers. I would like to help to improve health outcomes for First Nation people across both eye and ear health services and contribute to access and provision of culturally safe services. My experience as an optometrist, my current training in audiology and involvement in various health service organisations means I well positioned to effect change within the First Nations allied health space.

I also hope that other First Nations people will consider a career in allied health and I am happy to lead the way forward.

It has been a busy first semester! I am studying Master’s in Clinical Audiology remotely through the University of Melbourne while living in regional north Queensland. I also work as an optometrist and have 2 school aged children. I do love to play golf but honestly have had no time in the last 6 months with all my study, work and family commitments.

The first semester has been mostly theory based and semester two will bring more clinic-based learning. I am excited to move into patient care, being an optometrist this is the part of my current job I enjoy the most.

I travelled to campus in Melbourne on a couple of occasions for practical assessment and the examination period. It is quite a distance considering I live 100km from the nearest airport and the flight from Townsville to Melbourne, is at minimum 3 hours if you can get a direct flight. So, travel to campus takes the better part of a day, it also means time away from the business and my family.

The challenges of studying remotely include time away from family and the business, as well as keeping up with the fulltime workload of study, business and being a mum. There is little time to spare and during the semester all my weekends are spent studying and catching up on lectures online. The high point has been performance on exams and the realisation that the knowledge I have learnt so far is making me a better clinician. It is rewarding to learn a new skill and fulfilling to utilise this to the benefit of others. Seeing and hearing to the best of their ability to make a huge difference to a person’s quality of life. I have found learning about the ear anatomy very interesting, as well as the different hearing devices available.

The second semester subjects are a mix of content including clinical professionalism, hearing aids prescribing and performing hearing and ear health assessments. I am looking forward to progressing my knowledge and skills in these areas. The next semester will include three trips to Melbourne which is costly and time consuming but the benefit of being able to get hands on experience in the university clinic is vital.

I thank you for your support so that I can have less stress during a very demanding time.