ASCRS News: Annual Meeting Preview
July 2021

Terry Kim, MD, served as ASCRS president for the past year, a year full of unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. He reflected on his year as president, the challenges and how ASCRS addressed them, important initiatives, and more. 

EyeWorld: What was it like coming on as ASCRS president at the beginning of the pandemic? 

Dr. Kim: It was somewhat of a surreal environment, especially after losing my father to COVID-19 a month before my term started. As I was taking on my role as president, I never imagined I’d face the immediate challenges that our organization had to face, but I was prepared to take on that challenge. 

I was extremely thankful to have a strong and supportive organization in terms of the ASCRS staff, executive director, Executive Committee, and Governing Board to help navigate through all these difficulties. For everyone dealing with this crisis, it was a dynamic, ever-evolving situation; it was never just one thing. There were adjustments that were constantly being made in terms of our clinical care protocols, educational offerings, governmental relief initiatives, and communication with members. 

EyeWorld: What were the goals you set out to accomplish as president? 

Dr. Kim: My major goal was to expand our membership, both on a domestic and international level, but it’s hard to do that when you’re not able to be in front of your colleagues in person.

I think one of my strengths is working and interacting face to face, and I think a lot of us are realizing that there are elements of this personal interaction that are missing on Zoom and other virtual platforms. 

My goal was to show everyone the importance of an organization like ASCRS, why every cataract and refractive surgeon in the U.S. should be a member, and how they can benefit from being a part of something that’s going to help not only their day-to-day clinical practice but also their profession as a whole. Members can also get involved in philanthropic efforts with the ASCRS Foundation, which is working to improve access to care in underprivileged communities in the U.S. and abroad. 

I also planned to strengthen our relations with other national and international ophthalmic societies and broaden our collaborative efforts. That’s hard to do when you’re not able to go to meetings and network with others.

I do think there are positives that came out of this year. We’ve worked more closely with AAO than ever before, with a lot of dialogue about tackling this pandemic in terms of governmental relations and initiatives, as well as communicating timely updates of protocols and safety measures for reopening practices and ORs. We’re learning we don’t have to duplicate everything we’re doing but instead can work together in a more efficient and collaborative fashion, which we’ve done with the Eyecelerator program.

EyeWorld: What important ASCRS initiatives stand out to you over the past year?

Dr. Kim: The 2020 Annual Meeting was a huge transition for us, as we were the first major domestic ophthalmology meeting to go virtual. I think it was a very effective initiative with CME credits, hundreds of hours of excellent educational content, and sessions highlighting the COVID-19 crisis and how to help our members through the recovery process.

Our next major initiative was investing in virtual CME programs, like “20/Happy in 2020” and “Glaucoma Building Blocks,” which were extremely successful and involved a host of prominent faculty. Both programs were recorded so they could be available on demand in their entirety for registrants. “20/Happy in 2020” was especially timely as members were looking to implement new technology into their practices, and ASCRS could serve as a helpful educational conduit while industry access was limited as a result of the pandemic.

We also launched three major programming initiatives: ASCRS Grand Rounds, ASCRS Journal Club, and the Ophthalmology Quicksand Chronicles podcast.

Grand Rounds and Journal Club offer the opportunity to earn CME credits. My co-moderator Sumitra Khandelwal, MD, and I work hard to make Grand Rounds an innovative means for presenting lively, interactive, case-based discussions around interesting and unique anterior segment cases. Residents and fellows are active participants, presenting to faculty at their own institutions along with expert panelists from around the country. With Journal Club, co-moderators Nick Mamalis, MD, and Leela Raju, MD, organize the discussions around hot topics that are published in the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery. This program has been an effective way to deliver the journal club experience in a virtual capacity. 

The non-CME Ophthalmology Quicksand Chronicles podcast has been extremely popular. Elizabeth Yeu, MD, and Nicole Fram, MD, host monthly episodes where guest faculty discuss their often humbling “quicksand moments” in the OR and the valuable learning that results. I think this expansion of clinical content offerings is something that our members yearned for, especially with the shutdown of meetings and programs. 

EyeWorld: What are the biggest challenges facing ophthalmology going forward?

Dr. Kim: With the bipartisan push in government to move physicians away from fee-for-service models, one of the major challenges ophthalmology faces is to propose and advocate for new alternative payment models that will protect our members and their practices, especially as we emerge from this pandemic. Another challenge will be the role that telehealth plays in our practices and the future change that might result as technology improves. Is there going to be a better way for anterior segment surgeons to capture clinical images and information from our patients through some new device or technology? In terms of daily clinical practice, are we going to have crowded waiting rooms like we had in the pre-pandemic era? What changes will remain in our clinics and ORs as we emerge from the pandemic? 

EyeWorld: What are your thoughts on the Annual Meeting this year?

Dr. Kim: A lot of us are eager to gather once again at an in-person meeting. We’ve learned that Zoom, while helpful, has its limitations and can’t duplicate the experience of live learning and networking.  

I think people realize how many pearls and benefits they get from actually going to a meeting. A lot of that comes from side conversations and chance meetings with friends, colleagues, and industry. Seeing live surgical demonstrations and holding/testing instruments is impossible to replicate through virtual platforms. I think the 2021 ASCRS Annual Meeting is going to be outstanding with many of our members yearning to resume in-person and face-to-face didactic education, skills transfer labs, networking, and social interaction. 

I think confidence is going to grow as time passes, and people are going to embrace the fact that we’ve provided a safe, collegial environment. I’m excited to have this live, in-person meeting, and I hope that people have the confidence to attend the meeting and reconnect in Las Vegas. 

EyeWorld: What is the future of ASCRS, and how will you be involved after transitioning off as president?

Dr. Kim: I plan to continue as an active member as I have been since first joining ASCRS as a resident. I think it’s the best organization out there in terms of the education and resources for any cataract, refractive, cornea, and glaucoma surgeon. I will stay on the Executive Committee for 2 years as immediate past president and past president. 

In terms of ASCRS’ future, I think it’s very bright. Like any successful organization, we’ve had to adapt to the changes that have occurred and that’s what ASCRS will continue to do.

The future of ASCRS is going to evolve as we focus on how to become the most useful organization for our members. We look forward to the feedback we receive from members, and we’re going to see our organizational leadership become more diverse in terms of ethnicity, race, and gender. 

Some things will always remain true of ASCRS. We’re always going to be an organization focused on the innovation and cutting-edge technology that is showcased in our educational meetings, programs, and publications. ASCRS has been and will continue to be the primary source of clinical information, published research, humanitarian eyecare, and regulatory efforts on behalf of anterior segment surgeons and patients domestically and around the world. Together with our leadership, members, and industry partners, we will continue to make ASCRS stronger and better. 

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About the physician

Terry Kim, MD
Professor of Ophthalmology
Duke University School of Medicine
Chief, Cornea and Refractive Surgery Division
Duke University Eye Center 
Durham, North Carolina

Contact 

Kim: terry.kim@duke.edu