Eyeworld

EW NEWS & OPINION 13 by Liz Hillman EyeWorld Staff Writer to feel prepared to tackle advanced technology lenses and advanced cataract surgery techniques." The 2015 ASCRS Clinical Sur- vey found that 65% of young eye surgeons who responded think they should begin implanting toric IOLs during their residencies. Fifty-nine percent had performed some level of toric IOL implantation, but 39% of them had performed 5 or less. Of those, 25% had not performed any toric IOL implantations. Overall, 41% of respondents to the survey said they considered their residency experience with toric IOLs as some- what adequate or very inadequate. Similarly, 59% of young eye surgeons surveyed said they had implanted 5 or less presbyopia-cor- recting IOLs; 40% of those hadn't implanted any. Fifty-one percent of young eye surgeons rated their ex- perience with presbyopia-correcting IOLs as somewhat adequate or very inadequate. Eric Donnenfeld, MD, Rockville Centre, N.Y., YES ACT program chair, said "residencies do an amazing job at training ophthal- mologists to be good ophthalmol- ogists." What advanced training programs outside of residencies, like YES ACT, do is provide them with the tools and techniques to help them be successful in their practice. "The purpose of YES ACT is to provide a forum for young doctors to teach and be taught the new surgical techniques that are now available that will allow young ophthalmologists to be a success in clinical practice," Dr. Donnenfeld said, calling the YES ACT program a "once-in-a-residency opportunity." Developed in conjunction with the New York University School of Medicine and New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, YES ACT will take place in New York on March 5–6, 2016, and is geared toward U.S. residents, fellows, and surgeons in their first 5 years of practice. With the opportunity to earn continuing medical educa- tion credits, the event will include edifying lectures, surgical videos, wet lab instruction, and roundtable discussions. "Every training program has dif- ferent faculty and teaching. By going to these programs, you learn what some of the people at the forefront of the field are using," Dr. Alevi said. "In addition, it is great to meet other residents and fellows in your field. I've learned a lot from them as well because we are all going through the same challenges." The day-and-a-half of program- ming will include the surgical man- agement of astigmatism, improving outcomes for refractive cataract sur- gery, femtosecond cataract surgery, advanced IOLs, and more. The hands-on wet lab will cover phacoemulsification, limbal relaxing incisions, capsular tension rings, folding, and suturing. Roundtable breakout discussions will focus on toric and multifocal IOLs, complex cataract surgery, and IOL calcula- tions. Elizabeth Yeu, MD, Norfolk, Va., chair of the ASCRS Young Eye Surgeons Committee and YES ACT program chair, said surveys reveal "residents still aren't feeling comfortable with the kind of exposure that would lend them Event will feature lectures, hands-on wet labs, and opportunities for networking with peers and experts in the field A s a young ophthalmolo- gist, David Alevi, MD, recognized in training that he, like his peers, was exposed to a certain style of cataract surgery. He knew, though, there was much more in the field to learn. That's why the cornea and refractive surgery fellow at Ophthal- mic Consultants of Long Island in New York said he took the oppor- tunity to attend an ASCRS training program a couple of years ago. He said this program allowed him to learn how ophthalmologists at the forefront of the field practice, the techniques they use, and their perspective and advice on every- thing from different technologies to complications that can occur during surgery and how to mitigate them. ASCRS is reintroducing this intensive program—the Young Eye Surgeons Advanced Cataract Training (YES ACT) program—as an opportunity for young practicing ophthalmologists, residents, and fellows to refine their skills, learn about cutting-edge techniques and technologies, and gain hands-on experience. February 2016 Advanced training program offers a "once-in-a- residency opportunity" for young eye surgeons Dr. Alevi said the training program he attended in 2014— the Resident Advanced Cataract Training (ReACT) program, which YES ACT is replacing—afforded him the opportunity to "try techniques that you normally don't get to use in the operating room." Opening up this year's event to include surgeons within the first 5 years of their practice and expand- ing programming to a day-and- a-half allows the event to serve a group still needing to learn about new technologies and techniques and will accommodate different learning styles, Dr. Yeu said. "When you're first in practice, you're just making sure that you're a safe surgeon, so it's difficult to start focusing and transitioning into tech- nologies on your own, unless you're gaining some kind of exposure to it in a different environment," Dr. Yeu said, adding that smaller roundtable sessions, in addition to didactics, video, and wet lab, will give partici- pants more of an opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussions. Registration is free for all res- idents and fellows within the U.S. with ASCRS membership and costs $100 for practicing physicians. ASCRS will also provide a $500 stipend to residents and fellows traveling from outside the New York area. "The biggest takeaway [for young ophthalmologists] is to learn about new techniques and new technologies but to also learn where to go when they need help in the future," Dr. Donnenfeld said. "ASCRS prides itself [on the fact that it] is an organization that's dedicat- ed to every surgeon, increasing and improving outcomes, and improving patient satisfaction." For more details on the full pro- gram and registration information, visit www.yesact.ascrs.org. EW Editors' note: The physicians have no financial interests related to this article. Contact information Alevi: david.alevi@gmail.com Donnenfeld: ericdonnenfeld@gmail.com Yeu: eyeu@vec2020.com

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