Tips for AAO 2023—Ms. Turman: “Speak Up at Courses and Make Connections”

Savory A. Turman, COMT, ACC, BCC is a leadership/executive coach and a healthcare consultant. She specializes in leadership development and has deep expertise in clinical operations and organizational development.

My first annual meeting—AAO 2013 in New Orleans. I was so impressed by my first annual meeting. As a true “eyeball nerd,” I loved interacting with so many technicians and ophthalmology experts. 

My top tip for getting the most out of the meeting—network, network, network! Ophthalmology is a small community that thrives on excellence. The people you meet at AAO 2023 can become mentors or even lifelong friends. So take lots of business cards to hand out, make it a point to say “Hi” to people in classes, and exchange phone numbers and emails.

Most rewarding experience at the AAO meeting—helping other practices to formulate positive change. I love being able to share helpful information. I am always quite happy when I get an email or see people I met at an earlier meeting and hear how an idea was implemented at their practice.

Biggest beginner’s mistake at the annual meeting—not getting involved. At my first meeting, I was intimidated by the speakers. But I now encourage everybody to ask questions during and after classes. Remember that each presenter is sharing information because they love ophthalmology and love helping people. Get involved with that!

This content is excerpted from the Friday/Saturday edition of AAO 2023 News, the newspaper distributed at the convention center. Note: The print version of this article went to press while Ms. Turman was still in her previous position as executive vice president of Panorama Eyecare.

Read more news about Subspecialty Day and AAO 2023.