WIO 2024: Skills labs and more

Photo courtesy of Nicole Bajic, MD

Nicole Bajic, MD, an ophthalmologist from the Cleveland Clinic, and a member of Modern Retina's editorial advisory board shared a bit about the skills labs at the Women in Ophthalmology Summer Symposium, the value that this meeting provides, and what she is looking forward to at this event. The WIO meeting is being held in Carlsbad, California August 22-24, 2024.

Interview Transcript:

Editor's note: The below transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Sydney M. Crago: So my first question is, can you share a little bit about what you'll be discussing at the WIO meeting and the skill labs that will be there?

Nicole Bajic, MD: So, I'm predominantly helping with the skill labs. I'm going to be helping with the phacoemulsification course to help people brush up on their skills with cataract surgery. One of the things that I really love and utilize frequently in the operating room is the "flip and chop" method for cataract disassembly, and I think it's fantastic for a lot of reasons. It can really cut down on the amount of energy needed for the eye. I think it's a very safe technique, one of the safest when done properly, and it's something that every surgeon should have in their skill set.

I'm also going to be helping out with the MIGs Lab, which is the microinvasive glaucoma surgery lab. That's something that I frequently do in the operating room, as well for my glaucoma and ocular hypertensive patients, because it's a fantastic addition. It makes sense, when someone's getting cataract surgery, if we have a chance to help lower their pressure, maybe even get them off drops, I think it's a fantastic idea to do so. It helps, definitely, with compliance as well, because it's something that you're typically one and done, right? It's something that I encourage, and I hope that all interior segment surgeons should be able to do it, and I would encourage them to do it for patients that are good candidates.

Sydney M. Crago: As an attendee, are there any sessions that you are looking forward to at this meeting?

Nicole Bajic, MD: First and foremost, I'm really excited about networking with my colleagues, but all of the sessions, especially where these fantastic female surgeons are sharing their surgical and clinical pearls, I think that they're always very valuable. I really love the communications workshop on Sunday, and I wish that more people knew and took advantage of it, because I think it is the most useful skill that any person on this Earth can learn. We all could be better communicators, and it can be so helpful, especially in our careers. So, I think that's something that everyone should highlight on their agenda list. It's by Sheila Devon, and she's truly an expert in her field, and it's been extremely valuable for me, and I know many others as well.

Sydney M. Crago: So, speaking to that, there are a lot of scientific components to this meeting, but there's a lot of other areas, practice, management, equity and, of course, communication. Are there any particular sessions along those lines that you're looking forward to?

Nicole Bajic, MD: All of them! I wish that they weren't so many conflicting sessions, because I want to go to everything. I think one thing that I, personally, find challenging is with increased technology, which is fantastic in so many ways, one of the challenges that results is, there's so many different ways for someone to get a message to a person, and there's so many different ways that physicians get these messages. We've got our electronic medical record system, and there's, I think, 10 different ways to send a message on there to your doctor, and and then there's different various chats, Microsoft Teams, then email, and then maybe you have a personal email, then there's social media, and there's so many ways to get a message across, and it can be overwhelming, because you're getting, especially as you advance in your career, you get this avalanche of communications. It can be overwhelming to sift through that, to stay on top of everything. I am very excited to hear the pearls on how other women keep themselves on top of all this and organized. That is something that I personally find very valuable.

Sydney M. Crago: Is there anything else you'd like to highlight about this meeting that maybe sets it apart from others or things you're looking forward to?

Nicole Bajic, MD: I think one thing that's very special about WIO is there is a deeper shared camaraderie amongst the attendees. You don't have to know the other people in the room, but there is almost an instant rapport amongst everyone else, because we all have a similar shared experience. Of course, all our experiences are different, but in in some ways, it is a unique experience being a female surgeon. We all have our fair share of stories, or sometimes horror stories, about challenging situations that come up, and how you deal with it, particularly, you know, from the viewpoint of a female in this field. I really appreciate being in that kind of environment and just connecting with colleagues, networking, meeting new people, it's really a special meeting, and it's one that I enjoy.