Eyeworld Daily News

18 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | APRIL 24, 2022 ASCRS ANNUAL MEETING DAILY NEWS get it right, rather practice until you don't get it wrong. Another tool for survival for some physicians includes working with industry. "What are the benefits of working with industry? When we think about working with industry, I perceive it as a beneficial partnership between oph- thalmologists and our partners," said Nandini Venkateswaran, MD. Industry gains the opinions and expertise of ophthalmologists. Ophthal- mologists can be on the leading edge, gaining early access to new technol- ogies/devices/medications, provide meaningful impact, and enhance the quality of patient care, she said. Ac- cording to Dr. Venkateswaran, residents and fellows can engage with new tech- nologies and participate in educational opportunities with the help of industry. These collaborative partnerships include being on advisory boards, giving promotional talks, and research and development, which can include studies and development of new prod- ucts/instruments. Dr. Venkateswaran said young ophthalmologists wanting to work with industry should hone their craft in medicine. Then reach out to in- dustry and voice your interest. You can also leverage the support of your us and is a direct reflection of us," said Beeran Meghpara, MD. Joey Hsia, MD, discussed how to stay up to date with surgical techniques after graduation. While continuing to learn and advance knowledge might seem obvious, there are some barriers especially for those just getting out in practice. "When you just graduate, there are so many other priorities on your mind," Dr. Hsia said, such as building your clinical volume, finances, building your reputation, etc., and continued learn- ing can take a backseat. Learning a new device or tech- nique can improve patient care and outcomes and it, in general, makes you a better surgeon, expanding your surgical repertoire, potentially driving increased patient referrals, Dr. Hsia said. This continued education is avail- able at national meetings, in online CME, on the ASCRS and AAO websites, within peer-reviewed and non-peer- reviewed publications, and via surgical reps and former mentors. But "new is not always better. … Do your home- work," Dr. Hsia said. Dr. Hsia said it's important to: • Know the limits of your ASC and their willingness to acquire new devices or instruments. • Talk to someone who has performed what you're trying to learn to get tips. • Practice in a wet lab or with an eye model. A piece of advice Ashley Brissette, MD, on the panel offered for residents is to make it known where your skills might be lacking and try to do that before you finish training. She said she asks her residents what they haven't done that they want to do or need to do before they finish training. Michael Greenwood, MD, also on the panel, said in his first year out of training, there were nine new tech- nologies that he had to learn and it "steamrolled from there." He also said that you shouldn't practice until you A n afternoon Young Eye Surgeons (YES) symposium discussed Tools for Survival, or what YES Clinical Commit- tee Chair Zaina Al-Mohtaseb described as "soft skills" that aren't necessarily discussed in training. Albert Cheung, MD, gave tips for getting into fellowship. Fellowships, Dr. Cheung presented, offer specialized care and high subspecialty patholo- gy, enhancing residency training and providing strategic value for certain practice settings. The number of fel- lowship positions and applicants are increasing, he said. Daniel Lee, MD, on the panel, said to think deeply about the future you want for yourself and your career. "You don't want to go into fellowship just because it's something to do," he said, noting that the strongest applicants are those where it's clear they really thought about it, thought about gaps in care out there and what their role would be in filling those gaps. To prepare for fellowship, Dr. Cheung said to get exposed to the breadth of each subspecialty and the types of surgeries that they do in the OR or by watching surgical videos, practice in wet labs, and seek out research and scholarly activities. Seek out advice from multiple sources regarding programs and practice for interviews, Dr. Cheung said. When evaluating a program of interest, look at the scope of opportu- nities/the type of pathology they deal with, the program's reputation and faculty, surgical numbers, number of fellows, location, and program setting/ culture. Fellowship programs are look- ing at various candidate factors, but the panel said that it's different than what programs look for of residents. "I sit on the committee for resi- dents and cornea fellowship. I look for two very different things. For residents, I'm looking for signs that the person is teachable. … When it comes to a fellow, all of our fellows are often the first interaction that a patient has with YES symposium offers Tools for Survival Dr. Venkateswaran speaks about the mutually beneficial relationship ophthalmologists can have with industry. continued on page 22

• Cover