OPTOMETRIST | MARY RUSH

AN EYE ON THE FUTURE

writer PETER WHITE // photo LOGAN WEST

“It is all about helping people. It is so rewarding enabling people to be able to see. You often hear feedback from people saying they are happy with their glasses, so definitely that is a part of it too,” says MARY RUSH. This is what the 24-year-old optometrist loves most about her role working in the busy branch of Specsavers at Auckland’s Westfield St Luke’s shopping centre. “It is definitely a lot more interesting than it looks from the outside. Looking at people’s health, you are problem-solving and you have a lot of skills you can use,” says Mary. Her job involves doing eye tests on people of all ages, finding the right prescriptions for them to be fitted with glasses, and also doing thorough eye-health checks that can show up potentially serious eye problems. Mary started working at Specsavers St Luke’s on the weekends as a student and has been fulltime there for the last two years since she graduated. She studied for a Bachelor of Optometry at the University of Auckland, the only university in New Zealand that offers a Bachelor of Optometry (BOptom) degree.

FOR OPTOMETRY, DOING physics and CHEMISTRY AT HIGH SCHOOL ARE PROBABLY

THE BIGGEST ASSETS

YOU COULD HAVE.

MARY RUSH Initially she was considering a career in medicine, as she did not know much about optometry, but at the end of her first year at university she made her decision to study optometry. “There is a common pathway of entry. You do your first Biomedical year and from there you can apply into medicine, optometry or pharmacy. That year gives you an overview of those three specialities and you can make your choice from that.” Mary loved her time studying for her degree, especially as the number of people doing the degree are fewer than in many other specialties. “With optometry you really get to know everyone quite well and it sort of mimics high school in some ways, with smaller class sizes and more one-on-one time with your lecturers to understand things.” In Year 13 at St Mary’s College in Ponsonby, Auckland, Mary studied the core sciences of Physics, Biology and Chemistry, plus Calculus, Classics and Religious Education. “For optometry, doing Physics and Chemistry at high school are probably the biggest assets you could have,” she says. If you are interested in optometry as a career, Mary recommends taking science subjects but also spending time with an optometrist. “Most of us, as part of our degree, sat in with optometrists, so we would be happy to accommodate someone interested to sit in for an afternoon to see what we do.” Career prospects for optometry graduates are very positive. Mary says there are plenty of opportunities to further specialise into really detailed areas of optometry and eye health care. “You also have a lot of business opportunities as well so if you are interested in owning a business, then optometry is really excellent to provide an opportunity for that.”

KEY FACTS

■ MARY RUSH WORKS AS AN OPTOMETRIST AT SPECSAVERS IN WESTFIELD

ST LUKE’S, AUCKLAND. ■ SHE HAS A BACHELOR OF OPTOMETRY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND. ■ MARY STUDIED PHYSICS, BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, CALCULUS, CLASSICS

AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN YEAR 13 AND SAYS THAT PHYSICS AND

CHEMISTRY HAVE BEEN THE BIGGEST ASSETS. For more information on studying optometry through the University of Auckland, visit www.optometry.auckland.ac.nz For more information on the Specsavers graduate programme, visit https://join.specsavers.com/ne/

graduate-programme