CCLS 2025: Talking collaboration...

March 2, 2025 Susanne Bradley

This year’s Cornea and Contact Lens Society (CCLS) one-day conference features an exciting lineup of local and international speakers, including Australian keynotes optometrist SooJin Nam and strabismus and paediatric specialist Dr Craig Donaldson. They will host two joint sessions on collaborative care, focusing on myopia control and the safety of ortho-k. Dr Donaldson will also cover corneal trauma and provide an overview of syndromal and pathological myopia, while Nam will share a case study on congenital stationary night blindness and why eyecare practitioners need both biometry and topography in myopia management.

 

SooJin Nam 

 

Behavioural and paediatric optometry specialist SooJin Nam holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in optometry from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management. ​

 

Winning the New South Wales Shell Livewire business plan competition started Nam’s journey as a business owner at the age of 25 and she is currently the proud owner of five award-winning optometry practices.

 

Passionate about professional education and mentoring, Nam has served as a children's vision clinical supervisor at UNSW School of Optometry and is active in Optometry Australia’s national Community of Practice and Education paediatric groups and a member of the Australian Optometric Panel.

 

While still a young student herself, she wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to do. “I knew I wanted to help people and, growing up in a migrant family with a small business background, the idea of owning my own business one day seemed appealing. Optometry felt like a great fit at the time and, looking back, it’s been the best decision I could have made. To be honest, I don't ever recall my optometry career being boring. There was just simply too much to do and learn.”

 

Now a successful paediatric optometrist, Nam wasn’t always keen on kids in the testing room. “I remember being absolutely terrified of testing kids when I was a new graduate and honestly tried to avoid having them in my consulting room. But I've had incredible mentors and teachers who have taught me so much about managing paediatric eye conditions so, somewhere along the journey, I transitioned into a paediatric optometrist.”

 

 

Dr Craig Donaldson 

 

 

Dr Donaldson is head of the Strabismus and Paediatric Ophthalmology Unit at Sydney Eye Hospital, a visiting medical officer at Sydney Children’s Hospital and a senior staff specialist at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. He is in private practice at Epping Surgery Centre in Sydney.

 

In addition to Dr Donaldson’s sub-specialty interest in paediatric ophthalmology and strabismus, he maintains a keen interest in general ophthalmology and cataract surgery. He was the president of the Australian and New Zealand Strabismus Society from 2012–2018, has authored many papers and lectured extensively both in Australia and internationally.

 

In 2019, Dr Donaldson was made a Member of the Order of Australia, recognising his services to medicine and ophthalmology in Australia and overseas, and was given the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology award for prevention of blindness in Asia.

 

He was attracted to strabismus and paediatric ophthalmology not only because these areas cover a huge amount of interesting pathology, but between them they also encompass patients in all age group, he said. “Each one of these areas can have an enormous impact on a person, regarding function, self-esteem and opportunities in life. I find the diversity and extent of pathology most fascinating. I have also seen many of my patients literally grow up; I have patients who were babies who are now barristers. This relationship is not only precious but the lives they find are also fascinating.”

 

A strong advocate for continuous education, Dr Donaldson said he is looking forward to the opportunity for the knowledge-sharing that CCLS brings. “I am always striving to learn and I also learn through teaching. I would like to see more crossover conference-learning between other specialties and different eyecare health practitioners. I think we can learn from each other.” 

 

For more about CCLS NZ 2025 and how to register see ‘Related stories’ below.