Key presenters

Associate Professor Ann Webber
UNSW Medicine & Health

Associate Professor Ann Webber is a paediatric optometrist, with a strong track record in clinical private and public practice, professional representation, regulation and accreditation, academic teaching, and clinical research.

She has career history spanning over 30 years as a practicing optometrist, including establishment of a multi-practitioner optometry practice, and pioneering an optometry clinic within the ophthalmology department at Queensland Children’s Hospital.

Internationally renowned, Ann is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), Editorial Board Member of the AAO journal Optometry and Vision Science and has been awarded Diplomate by the AAO for her globally recognised expertise in paediatric optometry and clinical research.

She consults widely, and has contributed as an expert member for the World Health Organisation Development Group for Package of Eye Care interventions (pediatric). Ann’s PhD and clinical research focuses on the impacts of childhood vision disorders and inter-professional collaborative models of eye care.

Ann is a highly sought-after clinical educator, known for commitment to evidence-based content and engaging communication style.

Amanda Lea
UNSW Medicine & Health

Amanda is a paediatric optometrist and education focused academic at UNSW where she is involved in the clinical teaching of paediatric optometry, binocular vision and myopia control to pre-registration optometrists and vision science students.

Amanda has special interests in evidence-based clinical teaching and practice, and co-convenes the paediatric strand of the final year Master of Clinical Optometry course.

Who is this course suited to?

This short course is tailored for health practitioners who would like to advance their skills and knowledge in paediatric eye care for lifelong learning. The course is building on entry-level competencies and is recommended for practitioners with an interest in paediatric eye care.

For example, those who assess children referred from childhood vision screening programs, see a large number of children in their practice or who work in collaborative and team-based care.

Online Synchronous Sessions (via Zoom)

• Welcome session: 3 June 2024 | 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm AEST 
• Zoom session 1: 17 June 2024 | 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm AEST 
• Zoom session 2: 24 June 2024 | 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm AEST
• Zoom session 3: 1 July 2024 | 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm AEST  
• Zoom session 4: 8 July 2024 | 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm AEST 
• Completion course assessment: last day of the course 

All our Zoom sessions are recorded and available for viewing from anywhere, at any time.

What are the course learning outcomes?

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Increase your understanding of typical ocular and visual neurodevelopment in the healthy child.
• Assess visual function, ocular alignment and motility, refractive status, and ocular health of infants and pre-literate children and interpret clinical findings.
• Diagnose common paediatric eye conditions.
• Apply an evidence-based approach to the communication with, and examination of, an infant or young child.
• Develop and communicate management plans (including relevant prescribing of optical correction) to parents/guardians and other health professionals.
• Apply research evidence to clinical decision-making.
• Summarise and communicate findings.

What core topics are offered?

For lifelong learning, the following topics are offered in this short course to develop and increase your knowledge, understanding and skills in paediatric optometry:

• Comprehensive clinical eye exam of infant and young child
• Typical general and visual pathway development in children
• The child with a developmental delay
• Management of Childhood refractive error
• Amblyopia
• Childhood strabismus – diagnosis/classification
• Childhood strabismus – management
• Common ocular health concerns in children

What are the course credentials?