EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/233841
January 2014 EW IN OTHER NEWS 61 Canadian ophthalmologist sees success in playwriting by Ellen Stodola EyeWorld Staff Writer Dr. Lakra recently earned awards and acclaim for his play Sequence W hen it comes to balancing ophthalmology with other interests, Arun Lakra, MD, Calgary, Canada, knows a thing or two. The Canadian ophthalmologist has been balancing two careers for almost as long as he has been in the ophthalmology field. In addition to practicing in Calgary, Dr. Lakra is a playwright who has recently received praise and critical acclaim for his play Sequence. When he is not working on his two careers, Dr. Lakra is busy with his family. Getting into ophthalmology Dr. Lakra went to medical school at the University of Toronto. He then completed his internship at the University of Hawaii. "My philosophy back then was that your internship is supposed to be the worst year of your life, so spend it in the best possible place," he said. Dr. Lakra went back to Toronto to complete his residency, where he also completed a year of medical retina training. His next step was to return to Calgary and join the refractive surgery world. Dr. Lakra said that for a while he exclusively worked in refractive surgery but decided to switch recently and focus on general ophthalmology, which he has been doing for the past few years. He is currently in private practice in Calgary. Getting into playwriting Dr. Lakra said he had always been interested in writing, and during his later years of medical school, he was feeling a bit imbalanced. "I always had an interest in writing, but when you're going through something like med school or residency, it becomes all left-brain all the time," Dr. Lakra said. "I made a conscious effort to try to explore the other side of things, so I took a few steps to do that." continued on page 62 Index to Advertisers Abbott Medical Optics (AMO) MicroSurgical Technologies Phone: 714-247-8314 Fax: 714-247-8682 www.amo-inc.com Phone: 888-279-3323 Fax: 425-556-0437 www.microsurgical.com Page: 21 APACRS Page: 39 Phone: 65-63278630 www.apacrs.org Alcon Laboratories Inc. Page: Cover 2, 10, and 11 Phone: 800-862-5266 Fax: 800-241-0677 www.alconlabs.com Bausch & Lomb Page: 7 Phone: 585-338-6536 Fax: 585-338-0898 www.bausch.com Diamatrix Ltd. Page: Cover 3 Marco Ophthalmic Inc. Page: TOC 1 Phone: 904-642-9330 Fax: 904-642-9338 www.marcooph.com Mastel Page: 45 Phone: 800-657-8057 Fax: 605-343-3631 www.mastel.com NexTech Page: Cover 4 Phone: 813-425-9200 Fax: 813-425-9292 www.nextech.com Rhein Medical Inc. Page: 13 Phone: 813-885-5050 Fax: 813-885-9346 www.rheinmedical.com Stephens Instruments Page: 38 Phone: 800-354-7848 Fax: 859-259-4926 www.usiol.com World Ophthalmology Congress Page: 22 www.woc2014.org ASCRS•ASOA Meeting Information 2014 ASCRS Symposium and ASOA Congress Page: 25 Phone: 281-367-8081 Fax: 281-292-5481 www.diamatrix.com New Orleans Academy of Ophthalmology ESCRS Phone: 504-861-2550 www.noao.org Glaucoma Day 2014 www.escrs.org Oasis Medical Page: 33 Page: 51 and 58 Gulden Ophthalmics Page: 59 Phone: 215-884-8105 Fax: 215-884-0418 www.gulden ophthalmics.com Katena Products Page: 17 Phone: 973-989-1600 Fax: 973-989-8175 www.katena.com Dr. Lakra in his ophthalmology office. He splits his time between working in ophthalmology and writing. Source: www.lisaenman.ca Page: 41 Page: 31 Phone: 909-305-5400 Fax: 909-305-9987 www.oasismedical.com Ophthalmology Innovation Summit Page 47 www.oisascrs.com Cornea Day 2014 Page: 29 Page 37 EyeWorld Events at ASCRS 2014 Page: 49 and 57 ASCRS Winter Update 2014 Page: 14 and 15