I have been carving my own career path since choosing ophthalmology as my residency.
Following my passion to provide eye care to vulnerable populations has led me to create incredible relationships with ophthalmologists all over the world through my current position as director of global ophthalmology at Emory University.
Meeting and learning from those outside the United States is where I find the most joy, and as such I was so excited to attend the YO Lounge Power Hour: Ophthalmology Around the Globe. As Drs. Grace Sun and Paul Chan said, encouraging YOs from around the world to join the Academy and be active committee members is such an impactful way to learn and help each other thrive.
In this day and age of technology, we tend to rely on email, WhatsApp and Skype — among others — to communicate. But nothing beats meeting in person, face to face and discussing our work and passions and ways to collaborate.
I was so blown away by some of the YOs from India, Morocco, Singapore and Brazil who have been so active not just in their national societies, but here at the Academy. I was amazed to hear of some of these individuals hosting YO-specific conferences with content tailored to them.
The challenges we all face transitioning from training to practice is not unique. There is ample opportunity for us to learn from each other and support each other. The Academy’s annual meeting can be surprisingly lonely in a conference center of tens of thousands of ophthalmologists.
But having the YO Lounge to come to and meet others in similar life stages and positions was a great way to connect and make the meeting feel more personal. The YO Power Hour was a fantastic way to end the day, and I now have colleagues to reach out to in numerous other countries!