Meet The Team - Maile Tarsau
We’re a tight-knit team here at Visique Eye Spy and know that feeling comfortable with a familiar face can make all the difference to your Optometry experience. We thought we’d take some time to introduce you to our amazing team and provide some insight into life as an Optometrist from our experts.
First up, we have the wonderful Maile Tarsau, our clinic owner and the first Maori female Optometrist in NZ. With over a decade of experience, Maile is passionate about bringing first-rate eye care to our local community and customers and raising the quality of Optometry NZ has to offer. We’ll let Maile fill you in on what life is like in the world of Optometry.
What is life like working as an Optometrist?
Optometry is a life’s passion of mine and something I truly love. From working alongside like-minded colleagues, to the flexibility in hours from full time to part time, the variety of roles available and most of all, the amazing transformations we get to be part of.
One of the best parts of Optometry is seeing the reactions of people when they notice improvements in their vision and see how great they look in new spectacles and frames when we help them find a style suited to them. Making these positive changes in people’s lives is what excites me each day.
It’s also an incredible industry in a constant state of innovation. There are amazing new developments in eye wear and eye care and technology is constantly improving the level of care we are able to provide. Cutting-edge SMap technology is helping us deal with complicated eyes like keratoconus. This allows us to take a topographical map of irregular corneas and use the latest software to customise contact lenses to fit them.
Whether you want to work as a dispensing optician or even just manage an Optometry store, there are endless opportunities. For anyone looking at Optometrist careers NZ wide or internationally, it’s an exciting space that’s constantly changing.
What are the requirements to be an Optometrist in NZ?
For those wondering how to become an Optometrist NZ has specific requirements. A registered Optometrist needs to have a Bachelor of Optometry under the Medical and Health Science category. At the moment, this degree is only offered in tertiary education at The University of Auckland.
Beyond the science, the degree is pretty crucial for learning the diverse skills you need as an Optometrist that often aren’t considered, like communicating effectively and empathetically, having good problem skills, and being able to work with people of all ages and walks of life.
Vision is one of our most crucial senses and people facing difficulties in this area have to be treated with kindness and understanding. Developing those skills makes all the difference. Personally, I loved science and mathematics before I got into Optometry and saw it as a field where I would be able to integrate those with my desire to help people and make positive differences in their lives.
What is the scope of Optometry?
Optometry can be very diverse and no two days are the same. We conduct everything from eye health examinations, glasses and contact lens fitting and pediatric Optometry, through to caring for those with eye disorders like Keratoconus, Irlen Syndrome and Diabetic Retinopathies and managing eye diseases. There is a lot of problem solving involved as well as working hard to understand the vision problems and needs of each individual patient so you can provide them with the care and solutions they need.
Why is Optometry a good career?
As mentioned above, vision is an essential part of life and navigating the world around us. We believe everyone deserves to see clearly and comfortably and getting to help people achieve this as best we can is incredibly fulfilling.
From helping elderly patients maintain their vision to enabling children to see better with the ability to learn and grow as a result is one of the greatest things about our work. It’s also a lot less invasive than a GP or dentist so for anyone who is a bit squeamish, it’s definitely the better option!
On that note, it does take a certain type of person to work in Optometry. A great Optometrist is someone who cares and is able to listen to the clients unique needs. You have to be able to open up and really understand, so communication is an essential tool. Being able to deliver complex information clearly helps to reassure the client and give them the peace of mind they need to feel confident and at ease.
There’s also constant developments to keep on top of. You have to really love what you do and never be complacent as there are innovations happening that allow you to constantly improve your ability to care and deliver effective treatment. For this reason, you need to always be willing to go the extra mile and make Optometry a passion.
For those with these traits, there will always be job opportunities in this space. I’d highly recommend exploring the Optometry jobs NZ has to offer.
I’m proud to own my own practice and it has always been a dream of mine. By doing so i’m able to ensure our team can deliver tailored services to our clients in the kind of positive, encouraging and comforting environment I want to create. I also feel a strong sense of purpose in providing eye care to Maori communities as well and am privileged to be able to help every person who walks through our door.
Hopefully that provided some insight into just one of the amazing Optometrists that make up our team, and the nature of Optometry work. For anyone looking to get into the world of Optometry we couldn’t recommend it more as a rewarding line of work that challenges, humbles and inspires you daily. We have more website information here for anyone looking to explore the services offered at EyeSpy or learn more about our team.
Thanks, The Eye Spy Team
