Eyeworld

22 | EYEWORLD | SUMMER 2025 ASCRS NEWS segment surgeons, embracing the unpredictabil- ity of the role's tasks while continuing to per- form their "day job" of caring for their practice's patients. These are the presidents who leave a mark. Vance has certainly left his mark as ASCRS President. From day one he was fully engaged and eager to support whatever needs we had. He was constantly enthusiastic (no big surprise for those who know him) and had a clear man- date for ASCRS to begin building a stronger ef- fort toward providing surgeons more education on business proficiency. Vance Thompson Vision has seen the benefits of adopting premium tech- nologies and providing patients with a broader range of options in their treatment path. While these benefits have improved the economic performance of his practice, they have also transformed how his staff operates and cares for patients. Service is not just a hollow motto but a fundamental attribute of every aspect of their interactions with patients and each other. Vance wanted to openly transfer this knowledge for the benefit of patients, practic- es, and ASCRS members. Thus, the Business of Refractive Cataract Surgery (BRiCS) Summit was born. The inaugural BRiCS Summit was held last September in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Vance put together a diverse, all-star faculty who have had tremendous success with their own unique approaches to satisfying patients. Surgeons and administrators shared the pearls and learnings from nearly two decades of development of the premium IOL category, and attendees found a uniquely warm and welcoming environment conducive to safe conversations and judgment- free assessments of how they currently worked. In my 34 years of ophthalmology, 27 on the industry side and 7 on the society side, I have never seen a more effective program put togeth- er. And it all started with the approach from Vance. His desire to see practices grow their competency is genuine. It's not about "Should I choose this lens or that lens?" but rather about the way the practice is organized and functions, the essential investments in building culture and staff proficiency, and the enormity of investing time with patients to really listen and under- stand their goals and desires. It was a remark- able weekend. Eight months later, attendees from the BRiCS Summit continue to report back increas- ing penetration primarily buoyed by the struc- tural and cultural changes put in place at their practices. The attendees also continue to share questions, observations, and challenges with faculty and each other. Rome was not built in a day, and the attendees understand the effort required to achieve continued success. As we approached the 2025 Annual Meet- ing, it began to dawn on Vance that his time as president was drawing to a close. He was candid, as he always is: "I'm really going to miss being president. This has meant so much to me, and getting to know the staff and all they do for us, I just feel like there was more for me to do." That's Vance Thompson. He is never satisfied and always eager to serve and please. He even took the time the final day of the 2025 Annual Meeting to put on a wine tast- ing seminar for our entire staff. After a long, hard week of work, there he was with Sam Garg, MD, and Dr. Mah serving wines from his vineyard to all of the ASCRS team, passionate, engaged, and appreciative of all they had done for him over the past year. One of the great discoveries this year was learning who Vance's literary hero is. It makes complete sense when you hear him regale in the exploits of Winnie the Pooh— as on brand as it gets. The ASCRS staff will be forever grateful for the contributions of Vance Thompson as presi- dent. We will always, "think, think, think" about what a great leader he has been. continued from page 21 Dr. Thompson speaks at the 2024 BRiCS Summit. Source: ASCRS

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