FACING CHALLENGES

What are the biggest challenges we face as ophthalmologists? The daily work of an ophthalmologist is a challenge in itself and we should look to solving the problems our patients present to us when they come into our hospitals and surgeries. But this is not enough. While taking care of our patients, we learn from them about the evolution of their disturbances and needs. We should also look for alternative and innovative ways to improve the efficacy and the safety of the treatments.

Driving change
It’s important for every one of us to take a more holistic view of who we are and what we do. We can learn from the past and the present, but we must also plan for the future and prepare ourselves for the changes that will take place in the next 10 to 20 years. We can contribute to this change, in the final interest of our patients and of the general population. Actually we can drive this change. As president of the ESCRS I am pleased to see our society offering a forum for discussion and learning which ensures that international expertise is shared by ophthalmologists all over Europe. That is why the Special Focus in this month’s EuroTimes is on: “Challenges in Ophthalmology”. In our Cover Story, we examine how new and developing lens designs combined with new lenticular surgery technology hold out the promise of clearer vision for all IOL patients as well as presbyopia treatment without optical compromise. That of course is a key challenge. How do we deliver the best and safest care to our patients using the latest technology available? As trained surgeons, we should be able to meet this challenge by a mixture of expertise and access to new technology, but what of the bigger challenges facing our younger colleagues. A member of the ESCRS Young Ophthalmologists Committee, Dr Sonia Manning, looks at the challenges facing ophthalmologists in training in an excellent article in this issue. These include the need for exposure to subspecialties, surgical experience, the highest standards of teaching and mentoring and the opportunity to carry out research.

Supporting members
Of course, the standard of training will be different in individual countries but one of the challenges the ESCRS is continuing to address is to support our members all over the world through projects such as iLearn and the Observership Programme. Through these programmes ESCRS members can confront themselves with the current international care in the anterior segment of the eye, and can define their own challenges. And finally, to perhaps the greatest challenge of all. How do we make sure that we are not only good surgeons, but also respected members of society? By offering an international view of ophthalmology; by improving our knowledge; by considering innovation as normality; by encouraging us to face evaluation when submitting papers or courses – I think ESCRS is helping us a lot in this respect.