The RANZCO Continuing Professional Development Program assists its Fellows and Members in ongoing education and skills training.
In 1899, Dr James Barrett, who had been a founding member of the Ophthalmological Society of the United Kingdom in 1890, worked with Dr A. L. Kennedy from the Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, to form the Ophthalmological Society of Victoria (OSV), which later became the Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Section of the Victorian Branch of the British Medical Association (BMA) in 1913.
[5] On 23 March 1938, 20 ophthalmologists from various states gathered in Sydney to form the Ophthalmological Society of Australia of the British Medical Association, with Sir James Barrett as its first president.
Prior to this, the Intercolonial (later Australasian) Medical Congresses had provided the only vehicle for Australian ophthalmologists to meet and exchange professional ideas.
[6] The Australian society absorbed the OSNSW and the eye sections of the BMA branches from Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia.
In the post-war years there was growing dissatisfaction about the standard of ophthalmological training in Australia, which led to the formation of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists in May 1969.
In addition, the new Articles of Association provided for the college to supervise the training of aspiring ophthalmologists and conduct examinations to test and recognise their competence.
[7] In 1992, discussions began on the full amalgamation of OSNZ and RACO, culminating in 1997 with the joint decision to form a New Zealand Branch of the college.
The 7 key roles underpinning selection, training and assessment are: ophthalmic expert and clinical decision maker, communicator, collaborator, manager, health advocate, scholar, and professional.
The quotation, of course, is from the Bible and is derived from the story of Bartimaeus, the blind man of Jericho, who, when asked what he wanted, cried out "Domine ut videam” (Lord that I may see).
[85] In 1993, the Ophthalmological Society of New Zealand obtained its own coat of arms due to the efforts of Dr Dorothy Potter, featuring two Tuatara as supporters and a motto: Latin: E Tenebris Lux ("From Darkness, Light").
[9] With the merger of the two bodies in 1997, the New Zealand Herald Extraordinary, Phillip O'Shea, advised that the armorial bearings of OSNZ, like those of the Australian College, would become dormant upon amalgamation.
The new crest incorporates the national flowers of the two countries – the Golden Wattle of Australia and the Pohutukawa of New Zealand, in front of a flaming torch to represent enlightenment and learning.