ESCRS videos help to share knowledge

ESCRS EuroTimes broadcast its first audio podcasts in 2008, as part of a new service to members, especially young ophthalmologists in training. The series was very successful and popular but as technology developed, so have the expectations of ESCRS members and the wider ophthalmological community. “In 2015, ESCRS recorded its first Eye Contact video interview at the XXXIII Congress of the ESCRS in Barcelona, Spain and since then we have posted more than 380 videos on the ESCRS player,” said Oliver Findl MD, secretary of the ESCRS and chairperson of the ESCRS Young Ophthalmologists Committee. In addition to the EuroTimes Eye Contact videos, the video suite has been expanded to include the Video of the Month series, featuring some of the most popular videos developed by ESCRS members and young ophthalmologists’ videos presented at the Young Ophthalmologists Programme at the annual congress every year. One of the reasons that the video series has proven to be so successful is that it allows ophthalmologists to learn about the latest surgical procedures and technologies from some of the key opinion leaders in their chosen specialties. “My colleagues have been very generous in sharing their time and expertise with us,” said Dr Findl, “and we have had the privilege of hearing from Zoltan Nagy, Rudy Nuijts, José Güell, Marie-José Tassignon, David Spalton, Dan Epstein, Thomas Kohnen, Boris Malyugin, Soosan Jacob, Paul Rosen, to name but a few. “I am also very happy to see some of our younger ophthalmologists including Sorcha Ní Dhubhghaill, Claire Quigley and Leigh Spielberg, featuring in our videos. Dr Ní Dhubhghaill, Dr Quigley and Dr Spielberg are all previous winners of the John Henahan Prize for Young Ophthalmologists and they have shown themselves to be excellent communicators.” Fifty new videos will be recorded at the 36th Congress of the ESCRS in Vienna on topics as diverse as toric IOLs, biometry, cross-linking, IOL power calculations, traumatic cataracts, FLACS and presbyopia. “I remember when we launched our first videos, it was seen to be quite a daunting challenge as many of our members were not used to the environment of the television studio, which can be quite intimidating “said Dr Findl. “But with experience, and with the assistance of our excellent television crew, our leading ophthalmologists look like natural performers in front of the camera.” The Eye Contact and Video of the Month videos can be viewed on the ESCRS player at http://player.escrs.org