ESASO FELLOWSHIPS

ESASO has campuses in Lugano, Singapore and Ankara where leaders in international ophthalmology train young ophthalmologists who want to improve their skills. Over 400 participants have attended ESASO modules and well over 100 ophthalmic leaders have been teaching them with the intention of making them the future leaders in their specialties. ESASO’s post-graduate programme consists of five one-week modules covering retina, cornea and refractive surgery, glaucoma, oculoplastics, strabismus and paediatric ophthalmology. Forty surgeons have completed their five modules and graduated, or will graduate this year, as Specialist Superiors in Ophthalmology but for some this is not enough “Young ophthalmologists who want to pursue international careers should apply for the master programme – the ESASO Fellowshipâ€, said Prof Stanley Chang from Columbia University and chair of the Fellowship Committee. “The unique part about ESASO is the international Fellowship and the network that the participants and alumni can build up,†said Prof Chang.

Evaluation process

At the end of June, the Fellowship Committee met with the applicants to hold interviews in Barcelona. According to Maurizio Battaglia- Parodi, general secretary of the Fellowship Committee, the evaluation process is very thorough. “Besides the qualifications and recommendations required, potential candidates have to state the reasons why they are seeking an international fellowship,†he said. “On the other hand, ESASO guarantees the high quality of its master programme with guidelines for the three-step education programme,†said Dr Battaglia-Parodi. Prof Chang said that this year five applications arrived from ESASO alumni. Two surgical, one medical retina and one research fellowship were available at the University Hospitals in Vienna, Munich, Milan and New York.

After completing the interviews the Fellowship Committee selected two Fellows for the coming year. Mohammed Zubair Yameen Arain from Pakistan will start his Research Fellowship at the University of Colombia. Dr Arain wants to develop a research programme in degenerative myopia. The second Fellow is Janhvi Mehta, India who wishes to improve her surgical skills to develop her own practice. She will complete her practical Fellowship at the University Hospital in Vienna. Maurizio Postorino, Italy, who was selected for a Fellowship last year is completing his retina Fellowship at the IMO in Barcelona. He said he was very impressed with the organisation of the Fellowship and the high standard of teaching. “Having the possibility of observing the different tutors including Drs Corcostegui, Mateo, Garcia- Arumi and Navarro and their techniques is an excellent 360° training programme,†he said. “I am also very impressed by IMO’s research motivation, clinical sessions and constant updating of the whole medical team,†said Dr Postorino.