Eyeworld Daily News

APRIL 24, 2022 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | 3 ASCRS ANNUAL MEETING DAILY NEWS continued from page 1 noted the successful Annual Meeting last year in Las Vegas, Nevada. This helped improve the finances of the organization, and "we're going to come out of this pandemic in a great finan- cial position," he said. Another success, or partial suc- cess, he said, was reducing/postponing some of the medical cuts happening. Hopefully, with grassroots efforts and legislation being worked on, it will reduce the effect of the policy, he said, adding that eyePAC has recently been reinstated. ASCRS is continuing to improve the diversity of its leadership, Dr. Hoff- man said, and has recently increased the number of women in leadership positions in the organization. When asked about advice he would give to young ophthalmologists, Dr. Hoffman encouraged them to start presenting papers and volunteering to help at skills labs and on committees. ASCRS is a meritocracy, he said, if you volunteer, work hard, and do a good job, you'll be given more and more responsibility. Dr. Rhee shared his history in ophthalmology and how he became in- volved with ASCRS, noting that he first attended the Annual Meeting in 1999 in Philadelphia. "I can truly say I fell in love with this organization over time," he said, noting that besides his train- ing programs, he learned more from ASCRS and the meeting about how to take care of patients than anywhere else. "The practical information you get here is second to none," he said. Dr. Rhee also discussed the various leadership positions he has had within ASCRS. He started on the ASCRS Glaucoma Clinical Committee before eventually leading that committee. Addressing what he hopes to accomplish during his presidency, Dr. Rhee joked, "Hopefully, my career in glaucoma will prepare me to 'lower the pressure' of the ASCRS presidency." He said that he has several ini- tiatives planned. He's working to assemble a consortium of organizations and individuals to initiate the TIME (topical vs. intracameral moxifloxacin to prevent endophthalmitis) study looking at intracameral moxifloxacin. He also mentioned the Ophthalmic Instrument Cleaning and Sterilization task force, led by David F. Chang, MD, and Cathleen McCabe, MD, which is endeavoring to reduce OR waste. Dr. Rhee said that ASCRS is a pro- gressive society, but there's more work to be done. "We want ASCRS to be even more inclusive," he said, encour- aging everyone to volunteer. "You can make a difference with and through ASCRS," he said. Mitchell Weikert, MD, the recip- ient of this year's ASCRS Educator Award, was also recognized. Dr. Weikert thanked ASCRS for the honor. "Receiving this recognition from an organization that has done so much for me personally and for our profession is an honor," he said. The session featured a talk from Chris Wallace, and he also joined a panel with Zaina Al-Mohtaseb, MD, Parag Parekh, MD, and Leela Raju, MD. Mr. Wallace spoke about a variety of current topics, including Vladimir Putin, former President Barack Obama returning to the White House, Ketanji Brown Jackson being confirmed to the Supreme Court, and the pandemic. Then he focused on President Joe Biden's approval rating, noting that dis- approval ratings are rising, particularly because of the perception that he's soft on immigration, crime, and inflation. This disapproval, Mr. Wallace said, will likely have an impact on the midterm elections. He noted that since World War II, in the first midterm of a new president, the president's party loses an average of 1 Senate seat and 23 seats in the House of Representatives. If Re- publicans make those average midterm gains, they will take back control, he said. During the panel discussion, Dr. Parekh asked how ASCRS can cut through the noise to capture the atten- tion of members of Congress and the administration more effectively to have the organization's voice heard. Mr. Wallace noted that the two things he thinks make the biggest im- pact are money and numbers. However, he said that merit makes a difference, too. "In a number of cases, particu- larly if you're not up against powerful opposing lobbies, the opportunity to make a case on a subject of clear merit does make a difference," he said. Mr. Wallace also commented on the state of objective journalism and how many have seen a move toward more polarizing journalism. Mr. Wal- lace noted that he has gotten praise for being fair and even-handed recently and said he finds this "kind of depress- ing." He began working in newspapers 53 years ago, starting out as a reporter at the Boston Globe. At that time, accu- racy and fairness weren't the subject of praise—it's what stopped you from getting fired. But today, the fact that someone would be praised for being fair and down the middle is a "sad commentary" of the news business. Mr. Wallace also commented on the lack of cooperation in Congress and if he thinks this is just "business as usual." He discussed coming to Washington, D.C., in 1978, when his first job was covering the House of Representatives. What surprised him then was how many serious and thoughtful people there were who got things done. But now, he thinks there are many problems. Gerrymandering is a serious problem because there's this situation where instead of the voters choosing the politicians, the politicians choose the voters. Mr. Wallace thinks there needs to be fundamental reform of how districts are set, and he thinks this would cause a lot of changes in representation. The ASCRS Hall of Fame ceremony also took place during the session. This year, the late Roger Steinert, MD, and George Spaeth, MD, were inducted. Dr. Spaeth accepted his award, sharing a poem he wrote about what it means to truly see and expressed his gratitude for the honor. April Steinert, Dr. Stein- ert's wife, accepted the award on his behalf. During the video presentation, she noted that he "wanted to share everything he learned with everyone because it benefited the patient."

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