Eyeworld Daily News

32 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | APRIL 24, 2022 ASCRS ANNUAL MEETING DAILY NEWS by Sumit "Sam" Garg, MD Incoming EyeWorld Chief Medical Editor T he ASCRS Annual Meeting has always been my favorite meeting. My first ASCRS Annual Meeting was in 2009 when I was a fellow working under Roger Steinert, MD. It was one of the first times I presented some of our work on femtosecond laser kera- toplasty. I remember being extremely nervous about the presentation. I rehearsed and rehearsed. After the presentation was done, I felt a sense of relief, but more importantly, I felt a sense of accomplishment. The rest of the meeting was some- what of a blur. I remember attending various sessions, wet labs, symposia, and dinners. Coming away from the meeting and having a chance to re- flect, I realized I learned more than I had thought, and more importantly, I learned how much more I had to learn. I was hooked. I have been a regular at the meeting ever since. Not only do I find it the most impactful and informative meeting from a practice and educational perspective, but along the way, I have made lifelong friends. These friends are a big part of what makes coming to the ASCRS Annual Meeting so special for me. Year after year, the ASCRS Annual Meeting delivers on current practical and cutting-edge updates for ante- rior segment surgeons. What I find quite amazing is how the meeting has evolved and continues to create educational opportunities in various forms to engage young doctors and the most experienced alike. I have been involved with the Young Eye Surgeons (YES) Clinical Committee for many years. The YES members are the future of our organization. ASCRS leader- ship has made a concerted effort to create opportunities for education and mentorship for residents, fellows, and ophthalmologists in their first 5 years of practice. What I have learned over the years of attending the ASCRS Annual Meeting is that the meeting is for us— the membership. Not all meetings are alike, and I think that ASCRS offers unique opportunities to learn, network, teach, mentor, engage with industry, have fun, meet old friends, make new friends, innovate, and more. I, for one, am a better doctor because of my involvement with ASCRS and what I get from every ASCRS Annual Meeting I attend. A meeting for us A ttendees might already know of William Flanary, MD, though perhaps not by that name. "Dr. Glaucom- flecken"—the social media person- ality run by Dr. Flanary, an ophthal- mologist—has more than 2 million followers on Twitter and TikTok combined. Dr. Flanary is known on social media among the medical commu- nity and beyond for his humorous shorts, in which "Dr. Glaucomfleck- en" stereotypes different medical professions and situations. On his website's bio, Dr. Fla- nary says he began comedy in high school and in college progressed to standup comedy. In his fourth year of medical school, Dr. Flanary was diagnosed with cancer. At this point, he wrote that he hadn't done standup comedy in 2 years. He start- ed it up again, eventually turning toward comedy writing when his life became too busy for late-night standup. "Comedy writing has helped sustain me over the last few years, even as cancer reared its ugly head again requiring more surgery and hormone therapy," he wrote on his bio. Since then, Dr. Flanary/Glau- comflecken has become popular on social media. He is the keynote speaker at the beginning of the Sunday General Session, ahead of the Lindstrom Symposium. He said he will deliver some ophthalmolo- gy-related comedy and talk about the pandemic, as well as other cool things in ophthalmology. He also said he would showcase some new- er, unbroadcast content. From the response that's already been seen on social media over Dr. Flanary/Glaucomflecken coming to the ASCRS Annual Meeting, attend- ees are excited to see him. Come see Dr. Flanary on Sunday at 10:00 a.m., Level 2, Hall D, or attend his Q&A in the ASCRS Tap Room from 12:30–1:00 p.m. Learn and laugh with "Dr. Glaucomflecken"

• Cover