Eyeworld Daily News

EW SHOW DAILY 4 Sunday, May 8, 2016 by Liz Hillman EyeWorld Staff Writer Hilariously talented guitarist and comedian offers tools for administrators to create positive change I n 1986, gas was 89 cents, a first-class stamp cost 22 cents, and IBM revealed the laptop computer. It was also, as Laureen Rowland, ASOA executive director, said to round out this list, the year ASOA founder Lucy Santiago met ASCRS Executive Director David Karcher. That year and this chance meet- ing lead to the formation of ASOA. ASOA's Opening General Ses- sion kicked off the celebration of this important milestone: its 30th anniversary. When ASOA was first established, it garnered about 300 members within a month. Three decades later, the organization now has more than 2,800 members, several hundred of whom have re- ceived credentials under ASOA's Cer- tified Ophthalmic Executive (COE) program, which started in 1999. Over the years, ASOA has been there to support members, educate them, and help them navigate through change affecting ophthal- mic practice—change that is only expected to continue. "We are sailing into uncharted waters as we travel down the path of MACRA [the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015], MIPS [Merit-Based Incen- tive Payment System], and declin- ing reimbursement," said Daniel Chambers, MBA, COE, Dallas. Mr. Chambers is the incoming president of ASOA. "ASOA stands ready to lead our members through the tsunami of legislative and regulatory [chang- es]. Now more than ever practice administrators need to support one another, and ASOA is here to sup- port you. "My goal as ASOA president is to keep our members educated and informed as we maneuver together in challenging times ahead," he said. Robert Ford, executive vice president, Abbott Medical Optics (Abbott Park, Illinois), which was the ASOA Opening General Session sponsor, stepped up to congratulate ASOA on its 30th anniversary, and laud the "incredible harmony" that he has observed among all of the players in the ophthalmic industry. It's something he said he has not seen in other sectors of the device business. Then Mike Rayburn, CSP, CPAE, took to the stage, plugged in his guitar, and spent the next hour en- tertaining the crowd with his often hilarious musical talent, mixing his musical metaphors with tools attendees can use to create change versus manage it. Mr. Rayburn provided 3 tools for attendees to help them do just that. The first was to ask the question "what if" in a positive way—and ac- tually entertain the ideas that could come from that question instead of dismissing them. The second tool was to "write music you can't play," which in non-musical terms he explained as setting goals that don't exist, goals that might be that "in a perfect world" scenario. "What is it that's nuts but you're going to do it anyway?" he said. Once you have that goal, Mr. Rayburn said you need to commit to it in your heart, write it down, and start taking steps to reach it. The third tool Mr. Rayburn offered is to become a virtuoso or at least make the choice to go down the road leading to virtuoso, which in non-musical terms means resolv- ing to be the best in your field. "Most adults will never make this choice," he said, noting that the opposite of a virtuoso is not failure but competence. "The people who come into your offices, the people whose lives you make better, they don't want competent, they want virtuoso. … Most of us are coasting. Here's the problem with coasting: It only happens downhill." Throughout his performance, Mr. Rayburn delighted the audience with his own unique renditions of well-known songs that left the crowd clapping and in stiches. For a taste of Mr. Rayburn's routine, imagine Flo Rida's "Apple Bottom Jeans," Queen's "We Will Rock You," and Chamillionaire's "Ridin' Dirty"—performed as country songs. He also completely revamped Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" with lyrics that reflect the perspective of a nerdy high school boy in his parody song "A Nerd Like Me." ASOA debuted a video created specifically to mark the occasion of its 30th anniversary, showing clips of Mr. Karcher and Ms. Santiago speaking about the formation of the society under the ASCRS umbrella and the value it has brought to administrators and ophthalmic practice as a whole since its inception. EW ASCRS News Today ASOA 30th anniversary celebration kicks off at its Opening General Session Mr. Rayburn motivates the audience to become "virtuoso" while treating them to his comedic, musical talent.

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