Eyeworld

14 | EYEWORLD | DECEMBER 2019 ASCRS NEWS Contact information Donaldson: jdonaldson@ascrs.org By Barbara C. Erny, MD ASCRS Foundation Medical Liai- son for International Programs Julia Donaldson Foundation Coordinator written board exams to be taken by residents: visual science, optics refraction and instru- ments, and clinical ophthalmology. The review course was given for the first time in 2018 when it was taught in large part by the Emory and Stanford Global Fellows, Fran Wu, MD, and Neda Nikpor, MD. The future plan calls for Ethiopian professors to assume responsibility for running the course, and this year many subjects were taught by university attendings, local practitioners, and optometry professors. Keri Allen, MD, an Emory Fellow who spent the year in Addis Ababa, handled the logistics and staffing with assistance from Allison Jarstad, DO, a global fellow from Stan- ford. Wayne Cornblath, MD, from University of Michigan, taught the neuro-ophthalmology course. Dr. Erny explained, "he had such great nystagmus videos that I got dizzy just watch- ing!" A colleague of his, Christine Nelson, MD, assisted, lecturing on her specialty, oculoplastics. Drs. Allen and Jarstad overcame technical difficulties, including power outages and T his past April, the ASCRS Founda- tion's Medical Liaison for International Programs had a unique opportunity, a chance to see firsthand the students and programs directly affected by the Foundation's support. Barbara C. Erny, MD, traveled to the Ras Amba Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to see the ICO Board Review Course in person. The three-day course was planned by the Himalayan Cataract Project with support from a generous Emory Universi- ty grant along with assistance from the ASCRS Foundation. Every resident in Ethiopia eligible for the ICO Board exams was invited to attend and had their expenses paid. That included, as Dr. Erny saw, huge buffets at meal times with injera, Ethiopian cuisine's signature spongey flatbread, along with local vegetable and meat dishes. "No running out for a Philly cheesesteak sandwich from a truck," Dr. Erny joked. The course had two lecture halls running simultaneously, one with the clinical curriculum for the senior resi- dents and the other with visual science lectures followed by optics. The ICO gives three sets of The ASCRS Foundation supports education in Ethiopia —and sees results Barbara Erny, MD, (front row, third from right) and participants at the ICO Board Review Course continued on page 16

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