Ophthalmic Nursing

Aunty Janet Richardson is of Baard and Yawuru Culture, an Ooranyg / Ngala Jandu (Saltwater Woman) Heritage from Broome in the Dampier Peninsula of the West Kimberley Region.

Her career in health began after leaving school, when she trained as an Enrolled Nurse and worked in Derby for many years.

In 1978, when the Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service was established, Aunty Janet worked as a Nurse/Receptionist. It was there that she met Professor Fred Hollows and his team and travelled with them through the Peninsula Region of the Kimberleys and outstations at Roebuck Plains.

That experience helped inspire Aunty Janet to pursue a career in eye health.

Over the decades that followed, her work expanded far beyond nursing. She completed a Certificate IV in Indigenous Eye Health and has worked to improve access to culturally safe eye care and minimise unnecessary vision loss for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Aunty Janet has also supported patients, specialists and health services through cultural liaison, language support, cultural education and research.

Her journey shows that nursing can be the beginning of a long and meaningful career in eye health — one that can grow into leadership, advocacy, cultural guidance and improving care for community.