Every year we welcome optometry students from The University of Auckland to come put into practice their extensive skills and knowledge. We offer discounted eye examinations to our clients to see them during this period, allowing the students to gain real life experience in our busy clinics, whilst being supervised by an optometrist.

We are proud to welcome our 2022 extern, Antony Tam to our Merivale branch this July.
Anthony is currently in his final year studying for his Bachelor of Optometry at the University of Auckland.

You might ask – what exactly is an externship?

An externship is a three-week ‘hands-on’ experience for final-year students, in which they gain further experience in the direct examination and management of patients away from the confines of the University clinics.

Optometrists such as OCULA’s, become mentors to these students and agree to personally supervise the student during their externship, which involves being available to check the ocular health of every patient that the student sees. Optometrist mentors also have to give feedback to the University upon completion of the three-week period.

This is such an amazing opportunity, as students participating in externship are exposed to learning experiences which may not be available within the University of Auckland Eye Clinic and which will help prepare them for entry to the profession.

Why do we participate?

At OCULA, we like to be one step ahead of eye changes. We believe prevention is the best line of defense and are at the forefront of the transition from treating eye disease to preventing it. But it would be of no use to us id we do not ensure future generations of optometrists.
That is why we decided to join the Honorary Teaching Fellows.

And while people might find the idea of teaching and being responsible for a student slightly daunting, we love being able to introduce these students to the reality of being an optometrist in New Zealand.

Keen to support us by booking a consultation with our extern?

Anthony Tam will be available for consultations from 27 June to 18 July 2022. All his consultations will be a thorough 90 minutes long, and will personally be supervised by Roberta McIlraith.

Simply click here and select Anthony Tam when booking your consultation.