Eyeworld Daily News

32 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | MAY 4, 2019 ASCRS NEWS been tremendously important nationally and internationally. I want to focus on continuing to get people involved, whether through teaching overseas as part of a foundation program or work- ing right in their own backyards through Operation Sight. EyeWorld: What do you see as the future for ASCRS? Dr. Mamalis: With the society's new branding initiative, we need to get across that ASCRS is the so- ciety for all ophthalmic surgeons. No matter where you are in the spectrum of surgical skills, ASCRS is the society for you. I think it's critical that we get across the so- ciety's value in terms of education with our Annual Meeting. I want to increase attendance because what ophthalmologists miss, espe- cially younger ones, is the interac- tion they can have with presenters and committee members. I have a concern with the electronic gener- ation of residents coming up. You can learn a lot from podcasts and doing things online, but I think the meeting is critical because you get the interaction that you don't get online. I'd love to see ASCRS expand attendance to the meeting and the membership in general to all anterior segment ophthalmic surgeons. That's why our new initiatives will be important. ASCRS is going to have an ongoing role but also an expand- ing role. There's new technology with glaucoma and MIGS, and I think we'll see anterior segment surgeons who aren't glaucoma specialists who will want to get trained with these devices. I also think we'll see similar involvement with cornea specialists and cor- neal surgery. The future of new technology is going to have a big role down the road for all anterior segment surgeons, and ASCRS will be the place to learn about these technologies. EyeWorld: What do you see as some of the biggest challenges facing ophthalmology in the com- ing years? Dr. Mamalis: There are several ongoing challenges. These issues involve reimbursement, govern- ment regulations, oversight, and insurance coverage, and they impact ophthalmologists and our patients. The costs of medical care are very important. New equip- ment and implants are expensive. The question of how they are paid for is a critical one. This is where ASCRS Government Relations plays a big role. ASCRS does a wonderful job with a small budget and a very small group of people working on it. They should be commended for the tremendous job done with advocacy for our patients. EyeWorld: What will you focus on during your time as ASCRS president? Dr. Mamalis: First, I'd like to build on the initiatives and hard work of my predecessor, Tom Samuelson, MD. He's provided ASCRS with excellent stewardship over the past year. As an educator and a person who works at a university and as a journal editor, one of the critical things I'd like to focus on is teach- ing—not only teaching of resi- dents and fellows but also ongoing education for ophthalmologists in all phases of practice. People need to know that we provide a tremen- dous amount of educational mate- rial through our website, meetings, and webinars. I want to stress the fact that we are a society that can teach people new techniques and the use of new technology as a way to help improve surgical outcomes. I want to stress our humani- tarian efforts through the ASCRS Foundation. The foundation has high-volume cataract or refrac- tive surgeons. I think we need to make it clear this is a society for all surgeons. No matter where on the surgical spectrum you are with skills or volume, there's a society for you here, and that's ASCRS. It's critical to get that message out. For instance, I'm a compre- hensive ophthalmologist. I'm not a high-volume private practitioner. I do general ophthalmology and anterior segment surgery, ophthal- mic pathology, and teaching. This helps to show how ASCRS is an ideal fit for all types of anterior segment surgeons. EyeWorld: What are some other ways that ASCRS will get the mes- sage across that it is a society for all anterior segment surgeons? Dr. Mamalis: It's critical to get people to go to our meetings. Once people go to an ASCRS meeting, they're going to go again and again. I think we need to get people involved in the society. That can include being part of committees, subcommittees, and different spheres of volunteerism. Peo- ple don't always realize that the ASCRS Foundation is behind Operation Sight. If you are a sur- geon and want to do philanthropy but don't want to travel around the world, through the ASCRS Foundation and Operation Sight, you can provide charitable cataract surgery right in your own commu- nity. ASCRS will vet patients and help support the effort. We also want to get people involved in advocacy. There is the Legislative Fly-In in Washington, D.C. [to be held July 15 to 17 this year], and we would love to get more ophthalmologists involved. They can meet with members of Congress and talk about issues pertinent to our profession. These are all ways we can increase in- volvement. N ick Mamalis, MD, professor and co-di- rector, Intermoun- tain Ocular Research Center, John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, will become the new ASCRS pres- ident during today's ASCRS Open- ing General Session. Dr. Mamalis spoke with EyeWorld about his involvement with ASCRS and upcoming plans for the year. EyeWorld: How and when did you first become involved in ASCRS? Dr. Mamalis: I was a pre-residen- cy fellow with David Apple, MD. We were performing research on IOLs in 1983, and there was no good research going on with IOLs at that time. We did many papers based on our research in the lab that we eventually submitted to the American Intra-Ocular Implant Society Journal and presented at the meetings. That was how I first became involved in the prede- cessor of ASCRS, the American Intra-Ocular Implant Society. The first meeting I went to for the American Intra-Ocular Implant Society was in the con- ference center in the basement of the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. There couldn't have been more than 500 people there. The society evolved into ASCRS, and I became involved in the jour- nal and various committees and boards, which culminated into becoming the editor of the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery and now president of ASCRS. EyeWorld: What are some of the most important recent initiatives from ASCRS? Dr. Mamalis: I think it's very important that we change our perception of what ASCRS is. ASCRS is the society for all ante- rior segment surgeons. It's not just Incoming ASCRS president: ASCRS is home to all anterior segment surgeons Nick Mamalis, MD

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