Pearls for Pediatric Ophthalmologists at the AAO Annual Meeting

by Aaron Miller, MD, MBA
Houston, TX

Pediatric ophthalmologists attending the Annual Meeting tend to have a wide variety of activities to choose among. There is a robust curriculum to choose among if your interest is in gaining CME. The exhibit hall is full of vendors eager to demonstrate their latest vision screening program and latest strabismus surgical equipment. And if you are there looking for a new practice location opportunity, attending the Career Fair is a must.

If you are interested in educational courses, it is important to assess your prior and future meeting plans. If you are a regular attendee of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) Annual Meeting, you will quickly realize that many courses offered at the AAO Annual Meeting are repeats from this meeting. If this is the case, I would encourage you to take the opportunity for you to get acquainted with areas in ophthalmology outside your usual practice. Find out about the latest macular degeneration treatments and cataract surgical techniques. This is your chance to get caught up on the latest within the field. If you do not regularly attend the AAPOS Annual Meeting, focus on the “starred” courses representing popular classes from prior years.

When perusing the exhibit hall, stop by the instrument vendors and ask to see their pediatric ophthalmology surgical instruments. Despite a fairly constant surgical technique by most pediatric ophthalmologists, I continued to be surprised by the new instruments that become available to help us get to a common surgical endpoint. Something that can save you 5 minutes per case in the operating room could add up to the capacity to do an extra case per surgery day.

Lastly, take advantage of the alumni meetings if available. Maintaining a relationship with your training programs and prior academic institutions are important because they are who made you the physician that you are. It can be very rewarding to meet the current residents, and you never know when you may meet that potential future partner.