Kiely Patricia M, Horton Peregrine
Optometrists Association Australia, Melbourne, Australia.
Clin Exp Optom. 2008 Jan;91(1):96-102. doi: 10.1111/j.1444-0938.2007.00202.x.
Three schools of optometry in the eastern states of Australia provide optometrists for the entire country. Concerns have been expressed about attracting optometrists to practise in the other states. This paper analyses the source of optometric qualification of optometrists practising in each state, to assess the proportion who have chosen to practise in a state different from that in which they qualified and to determine whether there are gender differences in preparedness to move to a different state.
Data on year and school of qualification, primary professional activity and current state or territory of practice were extracted from the Optometrists Association Australia database to determine a profile of place of qualification of optometrists in each state or territory of Australia in 2005.
More than 77 per cent of practising optometrists from Australian schools practised in the state where they graduated. The majority of optometrists for the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), South Australia (SA) and Western Australia (WA) were New South Wales graduates; the majority of Tasmanian optometrists were Victorian graduates. Optometrists from overseas accounted for 17.3, 24.6 and 19.9 per cent of optometrists in practice in SA, Tasmania and WA, respectively, but less than 7.5 per cent elsewhere. The highest number of optometrists who had qualified outside Australia practised in NSW. Female graduates from 2000 and later were more likely to move interstate than their male counterparts.
Approximately 14 per cent of practising optometry graduates practised in states without schools, where 21 per cent of the population resided. This indicates some degree of mobility but the market needs to work further to match supply of optometric services to demand at state level. Further analysis is necessary to determine patterns of graduate movement in the years following graduation, to determine whether movement to different states is short- or long-term.
澳大利亚东部各州的三所验光学校为全国培养验光师。人们对吸引验光师到其他州执业表示担忧。本文分析了在各州执业的验光师的验光资格来源，以评估选择在与获得资格州不同的州执业的验光师比例，并确定在跨州执业意愿方面是否存在性别差异。
从澳大利亚验光师协会数据库中提取资格年份和学校、主要专业活动以及当前执业州或领地的数据，以确定2005年澳大利亚每个州或领地验光师的资格获取地概况。
毕业于澳大利亚学校的执业验光师中，超过77%在其毕业州执业。澳大利亚首都领地（ACT）、南澳大利亚州（SA）和西澳大利亚州（WA）的大多数验光师是新南威尔士州的毕业生；大多数塔斯马尼亚州的验光师是维多利亚州的毕业生。来自海外的验光师分别占南澳大利亚州、塔斯马尼亚州和西澳大利亚州执业验光师的17.3%、24.6%和19.9%，但在其他地区所占比例不到7.5%。在新南威尔士州执业的澳大利亚境外资格获得者数量最多。2000年及以后毕业的女性毕业生比男性毕业生更有可能跨州执业。
约14%的执业验光专业毕业生在没有验光学校的州执业，而这些州居住着21%的人口。这表明存在一定程度的流动性，但市场需要进一步努力，使验光服务的供应与州一级的需求相匹配。有必要进行进一步分析，以确定毕业后几年毕业生的流动模式，确定跨州流动是短期还是长期的。
