Initiated in 2018 and led by Māori optometrists and Māori curriculum framework specialists, the Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand (OCANZ) has launched an Optometry Māori Health Curriculum Framework.
“It signifies a resolute commitment to addressing Māori health disparities by equipping the future generations of optometrists with the knowledge and skills needed to make a difference,” OCANZ Indigenous Strategy Taskforce and Optometry Māori Health Curriculum Framework Reference Group co-chair Renata Watene (Ngā Puhi, Tainui) wrote in the framework foreword.
Introducing education in Māori principles and core values, the framework’s goal is to enhance the cultural safety and responsiveness of optometry education in Aotearoa and Australia, said OCANZ CEO Susan Kelly. An implementation guide, embodying the Māori values of manaakitanga (knowledge sharing) and kotahitanga (unity) is accompanying the framework and is an invitation to optometry educators in Aotearoa and Australia to embrace learning about Māori culture, she said, adding OCANZ is committed to support trans-Tasman implementation of the new framework in a phased approach and with ongoing support.
The framework was developed with input and advice from several organisations and individuals, including Watene, who’s also a teaching fellow at the School of Optometry and Vision Science (SOVS) at the University of Auckland; Professor Nicola Anstice (Ngā Puhi) from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Flinders University; and Dr Andrew Collins, head of SOVS.
OCANZ is an independent external agency responsible for accrediting optometry programmes in Australia and New Zealand and examining overseas trained optometrists who wish to practice in Australia or New Zealand. It was established in 1996 with support from the optometrists’ registration boards in Australia and New Zealand, the heads of the optometry schools, Optometry Australia and the New Zealand Association of Optometrists, all of whom are represented on the OCANZ board.
