Eyeworld

SPRING 2024 | EYEWORLD | 45 Contact Spencer: martin.spencer@shaw.ca Dr. Spencer with staff and trainees at an eye camp in Nepal Source: Martin Spencer, MD doing.' It's icing on the cake and nice to get the recognition." Dr. Spencer finds it gratifying hearing that others are interested in similar global work. "I'm happy to see how much interest there is now in global ophthalmology. When I first started, there were few people doing this kind of thing. Now, there are fellowships in it, which is won- derful." People always ask why there are so many more cataracts in these countries, he said. "There aren't. It's access and poverty. What we're doing is social justice. There are many millions of people who shouldn't be blind. I operate in Canada on people who can't pass a vision test for driving, but in these other coun- tries, people are going blind," Dr. Spencer said, adding that he hopes his work and the aware- ness from the award lead to more people being able to help in the future. The two best things about getting this award are getting more recognition for the field and the money that's going to the Seva organi- zations, he said. Dr. Spencer has earmarked the financial prize to be split between Seva Canada and Seva Foundation efforts to strengthen eye program quality and sustainability. An active member of ASCRS, Dr. Spencer will offer two sessions on small-incision cataract surgery at the ASCRS Annual Meeting in Boston in April. He will also participate in the ASCRS Foun- dation's symposium on Saturday, April 6, "Be the Change You Wish to See." Those interested in meeting Dr. Spencer and hearing how you can join in being part of the solution for reduc- ing blindness should be sure to attend. To learn more about the Chang-Crandall Humanitarian Award and recipients of the award, visit https://ascrs.org/foundation/ grants-and-awards/humanitarian-award. their success, the growth of their dignity as pro- fessionals, long after he has gone home." Dr. Spencer added, "Whenever I go, I'm al- ways a little bit anxious because you don't know exactly what you're going to encounter," he said. "My goal is really to just raise the surgical quali- ty to the next level, whatever that is, depending on what they're doing." One important aspect of this work, Dr. Spencer said, is the instruments involved. "My instrument box I use for manual sutureless sur- gery, you can fit in your shirt pocket. You don't need a ton of instruments," he said. But again, he stressed that it's all about being adaptable. You come into a situation, and if something is missing, you make the best of it. "I always bring along a couple boxes of instruments, but I want to make sure I'm not teaching something that they can't do with local instruments or that we can provide for them." Oftentimes, he said that some of the places he travels will have too many instruments, depending on what's been donat- ed. He always makes a point of using instru- ments that are multifunctional. Dr. Spencer's continued commitment to new interventions was seen as recently as the COVID-19 lockdown. He joined Seva Founda- tion's Medical Director Chundak Tenzing, MD, MPH, and staff member Samina Zamindar, DO, MS, as they developed virtual life-saving sessions on quality improvement and infection control. Dr. Spencer visited programs in India and Nepal in 2023 and has plans to travel to Madagascar in February. "I'm in contact with our program staff and partners. They suggest where I can go to help," he said. Dr. Spencer was "just dumbfounded" when finding out that he was selected as the recipient of the Chang-Crandall Humanitarian Award. "I was not in a million years expecting this," he said. "I didn't know anyone was aware of my work with Seva. I've spoken at meetings, but they're not usually huge audiences. I'm very honored and surprised." Seva, he said, is a Sanskrit word that means 'service.' "To me, it means service without ex- pecting anything back," he said. "I don't expect people to say, 'Oh, isn't it nice what you're

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