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World Ophthalmology Congress 2014 fast approaching
With reports of freezing temperatures in various parts of the world, we are certainly looking forward to the coming of spring, along with the World Ophthalmology Congress 2014, the most anticipated event in ophthalmology in 2014.
Images: Lam DSC
Held in conjunction with the 29th Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress and the 118th annual meeting of the Japanese Ophthalmological Society, WOC 2014 is expected to bring together 13,000 delegates from all parts of the world. As of today, more than 11,000 delegates have already registered for the WOC. Highlights of WOC 2014 include the Annual Review Day, which is held in collaboration with the Asia-Pacific Journal of Ophthalmology, the official journal of the APAO. Delegates will be able to keep abreast of the most cutting-edge research in ophthalmology in four back-to-back sessions on April 4, covering the progress of 16 subspecialty areas over the past year. Each of the 20-minute presentations will be based on the annual reviews published in the APJO. Speakers of the Annual Review Day at WOC 2014 include Rand Allingham, Emilio Campos, Shuyi Chen, Jasmine Francis, Karl Golnik, Maria del Rocio Herrero-Vanrell, Santosh Honavar, Sanjay Kedhar, Kanwal Nischal, Nathan Radcliffe, Donald Tan, Kazuo Tsubota, Abhay Vasavada, Marco Zarbin and Eberhart Zrenner. They will focus their presentations on the most important discoveries in the past year, the key innovations and the most important take-home points that attendees should know in their area of expertise. To access the APJO annual review series, please visit www.apjo.org. Free access is granted to members of APAO’s member societies. Please contact the journal office for more information.
Another major highlight of WOC 2014 is the ICO World Ophthalmology Quiz. Coordinated by Drs. Santosh Honavar and Rashmin Gandhi, the ICO World Ophthalmology Quiz is made up of questions based on a picture, video clip or sound clue. Teams of three residents and fellows will compete against each other in an elimination round. Then, the semifinalists will participate in a decisive rapid fire round on April 5, consisting of 10 questions asked and answered by each team in 3 minutes. The four finalists will advance to the final quiz to compete for the World Ophthalmology Championship. Please register your team by March 1. If you are interested in the competition but are unable to form a team, you can register yourself and you will be assigned to a team at the quiz. No extra fee is required to participate in this fun, energetic and most thrilling event of ophthalmology. To register for the quiz, please go to www.formstack.com/forms/ICO-woc_quiz.
WOC 2014 is surely an event too good to miss. Reduced registration rates are available until March 3. Register now at www.woc2014.org/contents/register.html to make the most out of the Congress and Tokyo in the bloom of cherry blossoms.
APAO Visiting Scholar Program
In view of the increasing needs of world-class ophthalmology training in less developed nations in the Asia-Pacific region, the APAO is planning a new initiative, the APAO Visiting Scholar Program. With the aim to provide clinical ophthalmic training and education of the highest international standard to ophthalmologists, fellows and residents in APAO’s member nations, the APAO will proactively invite international leading experts with good international reputations and expertise to participate in the program.
With the joint efforts of APAO’s national member societies, the APAO Visiting Scholar will organize a 3- to 5-day training program comprising didactic lectures, grand rounds with case presentations, seminars and possibly surgical sessions in the selected member nation with specific service needs.
As part of the outreach efforts of the APAO, a representative from the APAO leadership will also join the program whenever possible to introduce the work of the APAO and our new initiatives, as well as to help us better understand the needs and expectations of the particular member nation. It is hoped that future collaborations in clinical ophthalmic services, training and research can be forged between the Visiting Scholars’ institutions and APAO’s member societies and nations to further advance ophthalmic expertise in the host countries.
Singapore Society of Ophthalmology
The Singapore Society of Ophthalmology was established in 1963 and serves as a platform for the local ophthalmology fraternity to interact and socialize. Aside from hosting the biennial Singapore-Malaysia Joint Meeting in Ophthalmology, where ophthalmologists and trainees from both Singapore and Malaysia gather together to acquire the latest updates and techniques in ophthalmology, the society also organizes continuing medical education talks with pharmaceutical companies and mission trips to third-world countries.
In 2011, the society organized its first Residents and Young Ophthalmologists Night to promote interaction and collaboration among all ophthalmologists in Singapore, as doctors no longer move across institutions with the introduction of the residency program.
The Society reached a significant milestone in 2012 when it co-organized the 28th Singapore-Malaysia Joint Meeting in Ophthalmology in conjunction with the 19th International Neuro-Ophthalmology Society meeting in Singapore, the first time that meeting was held in Southeast Asia. More than 600 delegates and speakers from the region and beyond attended the 4-day meeting.
A charity subcommittee was formed in 2012 to increase and assist volunteerism by members undertaking blindness programs in Singapore and overseas. The society also co-organized the 14th National Eye Care Day, an annual free eye screening event, together with the Singapore National Eye Centre and eye departments of other restructured hospitals in Singapore on Nov. 9, 2013. Three thousand senior citizens and children participated in the event with the theme “Eye Care Day for the Family” on children’s myopia and other age-related eye conditions. In January, the society screened 200 needy patients in Chinatown with plans to organize more screenings of this kind in the future.
