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  • Supporting You on Your Path to Success With Expanded Member Benefits

    Member Benefits
    Diana R. Shiba, MD, Academy fellow since 2010, shares an uplifting moment with her patient. Dr. Shiba is one of the Academy’s 32,000 members who are protecting sight and empowering lives.

    The American Academy of Ophthalmology provides the highest-quality ophthalmic education, offering resources to stay current on the latest research and techniques; manage an efficient, profitable practice; and provide the best care for patients. Our 32,000 members contribute to our mission: to protect sight and empower lives by serving as an advocate for patients and the public, leading ophthalmic education and advancing the profession of ophthalmology. Watch our inspiring video to see how we are protecting sight and empowering lives.

    2017 Member Survey Results

    The Academy conducts a membership survey every two years to capture practice environment statistics and gain a better understanding of member needs. These findings enable the Academy to develop programs and services that are truly responsive and relevant to the ophthalmology community. This year’s takeaways include the following:

    • U.S. members’ satisfaction with ophthalmology as a career is at an all-time high. Despite evolving changes with the regulatory environment and physician payment, nearly 90 percent of members are “extremely satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their career choice.
    • U.S. members-in-training reported an all-time high in satisfaction with their residency programs. Among these ophthalmologists, 80 percent rate their residency training as “excellent” or “very good,” compared with 71 percent in 2015. The top challenges and concerns of residents are surgical complications, understanding business activities, being prepared enough to practice independently and finding the right job.

    New Member Benefits

    The Academy expands member benefit offerings each year, and in 2017, we developed something particularly valuable. A 2017 Medscape survey found a 43 percent rate of burnout among ophthalmologists. We want to significantly reduce that number, so we created a series of online wellness resources and events to help you cope with stress, restore your own well-being and preserve the joy of protecting sight.

    And to help you transition to the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), the award-winning EyeNet® Magazine published the MIPS Manual 2017. It features a range of ophthalmic-specific tools and materials to help you successfully submit quality measures and avoid penalties. This five-part series makes for a valuable reference resource all year long.