Dr Catt spent 17 years at university or in surgical training before starting in private practice. She achieved first class Honours and a high-distinction average in her undergraduate degree of Bachelor of Medical Science from The University of Sydney. Her honours degree was by laboratory-based scientific research in molecular immunology at The Centenary Institute of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
Dr Catt undertook her post-graduate Medical Degree at The Flinders University of South Australia, where she spent time training in Darwin, Alice Springs and the remote communities of Arnhem Land. Her internship and junior residency was based in Gosford Hospital and her senior residency at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.
Dr Catt began her Masters degree in Medicine (Ophthalmic Science) through the University of Sydney during her senior residency which took her to Dubbo, where she worked in the Aboriginal Medical Service, tutored Sydney University Medical Students through the school of rural medicine and where she established a travelling telemedicine-based diabetic retinopathy screening service for the clients of the Aboriginal Medical Service.
Dr Catt was accepted into the Ophthalmology training program at Sydney Eye Hospital on her first application. Her five years of training as an ophthalmic surgeon saw her working at many Sydney hospitals including Sydney Eye Hospital, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, St Vincent’s Hospital, Westmead Adults and Children’s Hospitals, Liverpool Hospital and Bankstown Hospital. She was also seconded to Royal Hobart Hospital, Royal Darwin Hospital and Wagga Wagga Base hospitals as part of her comprehensive training. Dr Catt passed all of her Part 1 ophthalmic examinations, her Ocular Pathology examinations and her Part 2 ophthalmic examinations (RANZCO Advanced Ophthalmic Examination, or RACE) on her first attempt and at the earliest opportunity according to what is allowed by the training committee.
Dr Catt was awarded the position of Professorial Senior Ophthalmology Registrar at the Sydney Eye Hospital during her fifth and final year of ophthalmology training. During that year, the centenary of the hospital, she was awarded prizes for being the most outstanding Medical Officer and also for her services in the teaching and training of Registrars (ophthalmology trainees).
Dr Catt was accepted into a highly competitive Fellowship position at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto Canada, where she undertook further training in paediatric ophthalmology and surgery and in adult and paediatric strabismus surgery. She was awarded the Morin Award for most outstanding Fellow at the end of her training there.
Since returning to Australia, Dr Catt has worked as a Consultant paediatric and adult ophthalmologist and eye surgeon at Sydney Eye Hospital and the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. She is the ophthalmologist for the Liverpool Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care unit, one of the largest units in the state, caring for sick and premature babies.
Dr Catt is a partner in the private rooms at Sydney Ophthalmic Specialists in Macquarie Street, Sydney, and also works at Gordon Eye Surgery.
In addition to her clinical work, Dr Catt has an interest in teaching and training registrars and medical students. She is a Clinical Senior Lecturer at The University of Sydney and is a Tutor for international students of the university’s Masters of Medicine program.
Dr Catt is regularly invited to speak at conferences and meetings both nationally and internationally and has been interviewed in the media on numerous occasions for a wide range of topics encompassing eye health and the JulEYE fundraising intiative for which she is an ambassador.
Qualifications Summary:
- Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours Class 1) – The University of Sydney
- Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery – Flinders University of South Australia
- Masters of Medicine (Ophthalmic Science) – The University of Sydney
- Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (FRANZCO)
- Senior Clinical Lecturer – The University of Sydney
- Chair of the Australian & New Zealand Paediatric Ophthalmological Society (ANZPOS) an official special interest Group of the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO)
Training Summary:
- Fellow in Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
- The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
- Dr Asim Ali, Dr Kamiar Mireskandari, Dr Nasrin Tehrani, Dr Ray Buncic, Dr Elise Heon, Professor Brenda Gallie
- Professorial Senior Ophthalmology Registrar
- Sydney Eye Hospital
- Professor Peter McCluskey, Associate Professor John Grigg
- Senior Ophthalmology Registrar
- The Children’s Hospital at Westmead
- Professor Frank Martin
- Ophthalmology Registrar at Sydney Eye Hospital 2007 – 2010 inclusive