Sara Carrison (BMedSc(VisSc), MOpt ’19) is an emerging leader championing First Nations optometry students and advocating for creating a culturally safe and inclusive environment within the profession.
As a proud Ngarrindjeri woman and optometrist hailing from the rural town of Port Lincoln, Sara always had a keen interest through high school to study optometry but faced a daunting move interstate until Flinders launched the Medical Science (Vision Science) degree.
“It was still pretty tough for the first couple of years, I was flying back to Port Lincoln almost every second weekend!” Sara says.
“I was at the Uni Hall for the first year, then after meeting some friends we found a rental in the second year, so that was good, and I felt supported. Plus, having great lecturers helped, especially people like Ben Hamlin who was really supportive – there were some moments during the degree that I thought I wasn’t going to get through if it wasn’t for him.”
In her first year out of study, Sara took on an optometry role at OPSM. It was a no brainer considering it meant a path back to her hometown of Port Lincoln to work in the local practice. It was during this time, which included working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients and fellow optometry students, that she realised she could be doing more with her unique position.
“One of my biggest passion projects that I’ve been working on is ‘A Place for Mob and A Place for Me in Optometry’, which is mentorship-like program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students studying optometry,” Sara says.
“We have regular yarns and just try to help figure out what support people need currently and what changes we can advocate for to help support future students. Hopefully this will eventually extend to either side of the degree, supporting mob to get into eye healthcare and continue that support for early career optometrists.”
In a full-circle moment, Sara took the next step towards supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander optometry students in an official capacity by joining Flinders as an Associate Lecturer this year.
“I realised how good it would be to have an Aboriginal optometrist teaching at the University and being able to help guide people through,” she says.
“I could see how it would be beneficial to both mob and non-Indigenous students at Flinders, but also how it could help me understand what’s being taught to up-and-coming practitioners at other universities too.
“Some of the students joke about how every time they’ve got an assessment, it’s me that looks nervous! I guess the memory is still fresh!”
In addition to her academic appointment, Sara serves on the Policy and Education Committee of the Optometry Board of Australia and provides optometry outreach services across SA and NT. Her unwavering commitment to enhancing eye health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities was recently recognised at the 2024 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Eye Health Conference (NATSIEHC24) where she received the Emerging Leader in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Eye Health award.
“I feel like I’m just doing what anyone in my position would do,” Sara says.
“I sometimes forget that what I’m doing is making a difference and it is something that, you know, not a lot of people are in the position to be able to do!
“It was a good opportunity for me to be able to take a step back and reflect – I was very humbled.”
Sadly, funding for Sara’s Place for Mob project has ended for now. Despite this, she remains committed to supporting students partway through their degrees, dedicating her own time to provide essential mentoring. She is more than happy to continue, but it’s a challenging load, especially with the added travel to support Darwin-based students.
“What I really would like is to have more places like Deadly Vision Centre, where it’s an Aboriginal run clinic – by mob for mob – and I can support students coming through,” she says.
“Then, whether that’s providing First Nations students a placement which is culturally safe where they’re providing a service to mob, or if it’s non-Indigenous students doing a placement and we can help prepare them on how to be culturally safe practitioners, or upskilling Aboriginal Health Practitioners in eye healthcare, it all makes a positive change.”
Sara Carrison was awarded an Early Career Alumni Award for her significant contribution to First Nations’ eye health and advocating for a culturally safe and inclusive environment within the profession.