Chatswood
Level 3, 270 Victoria Ave
Chatswood 2067
nsw
02 9424 9999
Fax:
02 9410 3000
Drummoyne
1 Bayswater St
Drummoyne 2047
nsw
02 9819 6100
Fax:
02 9819 6497
Tuggerah Lakes
Suite C3, Kanwal Medical Complex, 654 Pacific Hwy
Kanwal 2259
nsw
02 4347 9955
Fax:
02 4347 9954
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Consultant ophthalmic surgeon with over 10 years of experience
Dr Rushmia Karim is a skilled surgeon, performing cataract surgery and refractive lens exchange. She has a special interest in neuro-ophthalmology and performs complex cataract surgery, squint surgery and lid procedures (blepharoplasty).
Dr Karim has a particular interest in providing bespoke eye surgery for her patients, tailored to their visual needs. Understanding each individual’s current and future visual demands is important to her. She is particularly focused on being patient-centred throughout the consultation and communicating the current evidence regarding each individual treatment option to her patients.
‘I have always wanted patients to understand their eye condition and be at the centre of their care,’ Dr Karim says. ‘Understanding the patient as an individual and providing them with the latest evidence-based medicine is what I strive to achieve at every consultation.’
Dr Karim trained in the highly regarded London ophthalmology vocational program, including the world-famous Moorfields Eye Hospital, in cataract surgery and ophthalmology.
Dr Karim has a particular interest in understanding the unique visual needs of her individual patients. ‘A one-size-fits-all model doesn’t work in eye health,’ she says.
‘Understanding each patient’s daily visual needs so I can best approach their surgery is key. I want to know whether my patient drives a car, plays golf, paints, or plays an instrument so I can tailor my treatment to their needs. As an artist myself, I know first-hand how important it is to take into account my patients’ hobbies, activities and lifestyle.’
Dr Karim also likes to carefully discuss a patient’s future visual needs to inform her treatment. ‘Future-proofing patients’ vision requires careful consideration. The visual needs of someone who works can be different to someone in retirement. I need to take into account patients’ changing needs as they age.’
Pictured: Dr Karim in the operating theatre with the LENSx laser she uses to perform cataract surgery.
Dr Karim completed her medical degree at the University of New South Wales and two Master qualifications at the University of Sydney. She is currently a Clinical Lecturer at Sydney University Save Sight Institute, Department of Medicine and Health.
After working as a doctor at Concord Repatriation General Hospital for five years, Dr Karim was selected to train at the prestigious Moorfields Eye Hospital London in ophthalmology. At Moorfields Eye Hospital and Western Eye Hospital she undertook vocational training in cataract surgery, retinal ophthalmology and oculoplastics. In addition to the six years of ophthalmology training, Dr Karim undertook a two-year fellowship in strabismus/paediatric ophthalmology and neuro-ophthalmology.
Before returning to Sydney, Dr Karim was the Head of the Paediatric Eye service at the distinguished Prince Charles Eye Unit at the Royal Berkshire Hospital Trust, Reading, UK.
Dr Karim was awarded a scholarship with Health Education United Kingdom to further research genomic medicine. She has two children and during her maternity leave she completed a certificate in Genomics Medicine at the top-tier Imperial College, London.
Dr Karim has been extensively involved in research. She has published numerous papers in prestigious journals and has presented her research at conferences around the world. Prior to her return to Sydney, Dr Karim was the Head of the Paediatric Eye Service at the distinguished Prince Charles Eye Unit at the Royal Berkshire Hospital Trust, Reading, UK.
Dr Karim grew up in Sydney and has strong roots in her community. She plays over-40s women’s soccer and walking football for her local club and advocates for a healthy lifestyle.
She has a prestigious academic profile and is dedicated to high-quality research. She was appointed as an expert panel member with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2018–2020. NICE is the foremost organisation promoting health and social care through evidence-based medicine in the UK.
Dr Karim is a strong advocate for children’s health and safety. She was a panel member for the Children’s Safeguarding Team at Moorfields Eye Hospital for three years and at Royal Berkshire Hospital Trust. She holds the highest certification in safeguarding in the UK and has considerable skills in welfare and protection.
Dr Karim loves to paint, and her artworks can be seen in our Vision Eye Institute clinics. Her work has been featured in The Ophthalmologist journal’s yearly art edition.
She has also been singing since she was a child, first performing with the Burgundian Consort Choir and Collegium Musicum Choir at UNSW. Dr Karim then joined the Sydney Graduate Choir with the highlight of singing the Messiah at the Sydney Town Hall at Christmas. She participated in this wonderful tradition for over a decade before she left for the UK.
In London, Dr Karim combined her love of singing and children’s health by singing with the London Doctors’ Choir every Christmas at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. She now focuses on community singing at her local church and school.
Pictured: Dr Karim with her husband.
Dr Karim has an extensive research portfolio. She has performed and published systematic reviews including Cochrane reviews, randomised controlled studies and observational studies. This includes the Cochrane review, ‘Corneal collagen cross-linking for treating keratoconus’, which paved the way for the intervention to be funded by the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. This paper is widely used and referred to worldwide.
Dr Karim has travelled the world presenting her research findings and has chaired conference sessions as an expert researcher. She is currently interested in refractive lens choices in patients with eye disease/neurological diseases.
She is currently a Clinical Lecturer at the Save Sight Institute, Faculty of Medicine, and Health.
