Eyeworld

JUN 2012

EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.

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June 2012 Chief medical editor's corner of the world Eyeing legislation, international outreach, and increased membership by Vanessa Caceres EyeWorld Contributing Editor EW NEWS & OPINION 13 David F. Chang, M.D., chief medical editor For this month's column, the tables were turned and I was interviewed by EyeWorld regarding my outlook for ASCRS as the new president. D avid F. Chang, M.D., clinical professor of oph- thalmology, University of California, San Francisco, became the new ASCRS president during the Opening General Session of the 2012 ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress. He follows Edward J. Holland, M.D., professor of oph- thalmology, University of Cincin- nati, and director, Cornea Service, Cincinnati Eye Institute. Dr. Chang talked with EyeWorld recently to discuss how the organization helps ophthalmologists, what challenges ophthalmologists face right now, and what efforts he plans to oversee during his presidency. EyeWorld: How did you get first involved with ASCRS? Dr. Chang: I became involved with ASCRS first as an Annual Meeting attendee and later as a member of the Cataract Clinical Committee for several years before becoming the chair. I was always impressed with the teamwork and camaraderie on the clinical and executive commit- tees and the fact that ASCRS really tries to tackle issues that busy oph- thalmologists face in daily practice. Many of these advocacy efforts take place behind the scenes. Through these committees, I have worked on everything from educating prescrib- ing physicians about intraoperative floppy iris syndrome to defending the safety of short-cycle steam steril- The Global Sight Alliance aims to centralize education and communication about the fight against cataract blindness Source: Global Sight Alliance ization before the Joint Commission with our ASCRS task force. All told, we have about 150 different physi- cians working on our governing board and our various clinical, advocacy, program, and advisory committees for ASCRS. EyeWorld: Since you have been a member, how have you seen ASCRS change over the years? Dr. Chang: Advancing and dissemi- nating clinical knowledge has al- ways been a core mission of ASCRS. However, the scope of this effort has exploded with the international growth of our membership and or- ganization. The Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery has steadily risen in terms of impact factor, and EyeWorld now reaches not only every American ophthalmologist and resident, but an additional 35,000 international ophthalmolo- gists through foreign-language editions. Our web presence has expanded with the increasingly popular discussion groups and more recently through special educational webinars. Finally, our Annual Meet- ing and Winter Update Meeting keep adding innovative content and symposia that have sparked growing attendance. One of the most important and quintessential constants of our or- ganization, however, has been our executive director, David Karcher. Although the physician president may be the face of ASCRS leadership, it is really David who has provided the continuity of exceptional leader- ship that is so important to a volun- teer organization such as ours. In fact, we recently celebrated David's 30th year as executive director, and what is a remarkable milestone for David is also the secret behind ASCRS's extraordinary growth and success. David manages the out- standing and dedicated staff at ASCRS who work tirelessly on behalf of our members. I am continually amazed at how much our small staff is able to accomplish. They are the real backbone of this wonderful or- ganization. EyeWorld: Describe the experience of your first year as chief medical editor of EyeWorld. Dr. Chang: This year, we revamped the editorial structure of EyeWorld by placing a section editor in charge of content in each of the major subspe- cialty areas. We also enlisted an en- tirely new physician editorial board with strong international representa- tion. We have added a number of new columns and have tried to in- volve younger physicians both on our editorial board and as the ex- perts interviewed for stories. I am excited by these changes, and it has been a privilege to work with such creative physicians and with our very professional editorial staff and writers. EyeWorld: What do you think are the biggest challenges facing oph- thalmologists and ophthalmology right now? Dr. Chang: I believe that our fore- most challenge is optometric surgi- cal expansion. We must safeguard eye patients by keeping all laser sur- gery in the hands of ophthalmolo- gists. There has never been a more important time for ophthalmologists continued on page 15

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