Eyeworld

EW MEETING REPORTER 118 October 2018 EyeWorld reports from the 2018 Women in Ophthalmology (WIO) Summer Symposium, August 16–19, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida The changes that women might want in medicine will be less likely to come to fruition if women are not putting themselves out there and standing up for their needs and value, she said. In addition, women who are in leadership roles need to avoid pulling up the ladders they climbed behind them. Editors' note: Dr. McAneny has no financial interests related to her comments. Leading with less ego Alice Epitropoulos, MD, Columbus, Ohio, took on the topic of ego in leadership. "Ego is obvious and sits right out in the open. It's one of the biggest barriers to people working together effectively," Dr. Epitropou- los said, before explaining the symptoms of ego as those that give you a "distorted image of your own importance, resulting in an inability to see what's around you." These symptoms include ig- noring feedback, only surrounding yourself with like-minded people, being blind to how your actions affect others, underestimating how much you are being watched, losing touch with the frontline experience, and not letting go of control. Preventative pearls, Dr. Epi- tropoulos said, include practicing humility, understanding that work is not all about you; it's about the out or another situation that you and your colleagues might also need support in. Editors' note: Dr. Fitch has no financial interests related to her comments. Women in leadership in a new era of medicine Barbara McAneny, MD, Albuquer- que, New Mexico, said that while developing one's resilience in the field of medicine is important, she doesn't want women in ophthalmol- ogy to learn how to be resilient but complacent in a system that needs to change. While there are now a signifi- cant number of women in medicine and even more when looking at the number entering medical school and residency, only 20% of women in healthcare are in what Dr. McAneny called the "C suite," those in CEO, CFO, and similar positions. Even fewer women of color hold those positions, she added. There is also a significant pay gap between male and female ophthalmologists. "We need to learn that we have to step forward and demonstrate our value, speak up, raise our hand for what we deserve to have," Dr. McAneny said, adding later that the pathways toward leadership roles might need to be redrawn in ways that don't inherently seem to exclude women. intrasession variability in vessel cali- ber for OCT-A en face images; (2) the coefficient variation for vessel cali- ber is similar for OCT-A and ICG-A; and (3) the variability appeared to be higher in patients with glaucoma, supporting the theory that there is altered blood flow in glaucoma. Editors' note: The physicians have no financial interests related to their comments. Learning to love medicine again In "Learning to Love Medicine Again," Starla Fitch, MD, Atlanta, said that to her, practicing in today's medical atmosphere can feel like be- ing on a teeter totter where one end is weighted with negatives—many of which cannot be controlled by the physician—and the other end is weighted with positives. Dr. Fitch related how she had experienced feelings of burnout and ultimately reached a breaking point. She also shared what she started to do to move forward from that burn- out, change, and to help others in a similar position. Finding someone who can ac- curately mirror you is so important, she said. This person is a sounding board who can reflect your situation and offer insights. Second, she said having a positive attitude is import- ant. How does one cultivate that? By finding and making regular remind- ers that emphasize what we love about medicine and why we went into this field in the first place, Dr. Fitch said. Finally, recognize what you are grateful for in your life and share your gratitude with others. Dr. Fitch said a few years ago she started sending short notes of thanks and gratitude to one person each morning. She also incorporated an exercise of sharing three things that each member of her OR team are grateful for each day. Before concluding, Dr. Fitch left attendees with three challeng- es. First, do no harm—not just to patients, but also by not losing sight of yourself or your staff and colleagues. Second, find what makes you remember why you went into medicine in the first place. Third, raise your hand—don't be afraid to show that you've experienced burn- View videos from WIO 2018: EWrePlay.org Lisa Nijm, MD, discusses ocular surface disease management, the prevalence of dry eye, and how it affects patients.

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