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A new chapter in the development of the APAO
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The 28th Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress, held in conjunction with the 71st All India Ophthalmological Conference on Jan. 17 to 20, was a great success. Both the scientific and the social programs were very well received by the delegates. Co-sponsored by the International Council of Ophthalmology, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Academy of Ophthalmology, the meeting attracted more than 9,000 delegates from more than 50 countries.
Not only did APAO-AIOS 2013 have the third-highest attendance record in the history of the APAO, it also marked a new beginning for the APAO, with the election of office bearers. Rajvardhan Azad, MD, FRCS, succeeded Frank Martin, AM, FRACS, FRANZCO, as president of the APAO, while Clement C.Y. Tham, MD, succeeded Dennis S.C. Lam, MD, FRCOphth, as secretary-general. Prof. Lam was elected president-elect. Both Makoto Araie, MD, PhD, and Hyung-Woo Kwak, MD, PhD, will serve another term as vice presidents, whereas Nadeem Butt, FRCS, will serve as treasurer. Dr. Martin will continue to offer the APAO his good counsel as the Advisory Standing Committee Chair. It is believed that the leadership of the APAO will continue the long traditions of the Academy to further the development of ophthalmology in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
Moreover, the future developments of the APAO were thoroughly discussed in the 28th APAO Council Meeting, held on the day before the APAO Congress. After much deliberation, it was resolved that the APAO should have its Central Secretariat set up permanently on the premises provided by the courtesy of State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of the Sun Yat-sen University in 2015. The APAO Council believes that with sufficient space and manpower, the APAO can surely reach new heights, assisting in the development of ophthalmology of all its member societies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Finally, the APAO Council also endorsed membership applications from five subspecialty societies in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Asia-Pacific Glaucoma Society, the Asia-Pacific Society of Ocular Oncology and Pathology, the Asia-Pacific Society of Ophthalmic and Plastic Reconstructive Surgery, the Asia-Pacific Strabismus and
Paediatric Ophthalmology Society and the Asia-Pacific Vitreo-retina Society. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of every member society, along with international collaboration, the APAO will continue to be a major driving force of ophthalmic development in the Asia-Pacific region.
G.O.H. Naumann Award 2013
The APAO is pleased to announce that Council Member Gullapalli Nag Rao, MD, MBBS, PhD, was selected for the International Council of Ophthalmology’s G.O.H. Naumann Award 2013 in recognition of his leadership in global eye care. Dr. Rao was the founding chairman and director of the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, which is a WHO Collaborating Centre and one of three global resource centers for Vision 2020: The Right to Sight. Dr. Rao’s standing in the field of eye care and prevention of blindness is epitomized by his appointment as secretary-general of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (1998 to 2004) and as chairman of the board of trustees, president and CEO (2004 to 2008). Dr. Rao is the first leader to be entrusted with all these responsibilities and played a key role in initiating, coordinating and mobilizing activities for Vision 2020. Dr. Rao provided exemplary leadership to turn the vision of many into reality.
AAO Leadership Development Program
Prin Rojanapongpun, MD, was recognized at the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s joint meeting with the APAO in Chicago for his participation in the year-long Leadership Development Program XIV, Class of 2012. Dr. Rojanapongpun was nominated to participate jointly by the APAO and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists of Thailand and joined a group of 17 ophthalmologists nominated by U.S. state, subspecialty and specialized interest societies and chosen via a competitive selection process.
In January 2012, Dr. Rojanapongpun took part in a 2.5-day interactive session in San Francisco covering a wide variety of leadership and association management topics. The meeting also included a visit to AAO headquarters to hear from David W. Parke II, MD, the AAO executive vice president and CEO, and AAO vice presidents on key priorities for the AAO as well as collaborative efforts in the global arena, including with APAO. During the final session at the joint meeting in Chicago, Dr. Rojanapongpun heard from leadership of the AAO and the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology on global collaborative efforts and was encouraged to put leadership skills to good use. Look for good things from Dr. Rojanapongpun in the future.
Images: Lam DSC
Both the APAO and the AAO look forward to welcoming NamTran H. Pham, MD, from Ho Chi Minh City, who will jointly represent the APAO and the Vietnam Ophthalmological Society in the Leadership Development Program XV, Class of 2013. Dr. Pham will participate in her first session this month in San Francisco.
APAO Leadership Development Program
Ophthalmology training is intensive and long; by the time specialists graduate, they have acquired extensive medical knowledge and honed their surgical skills.
However, modern health care is becoming increasingly complex. Doctors also need to be good administrators, managers, team leaders and advocates.
Some people are born leaders and will naturally have or acquire from experience the skills required to lead. However, there is an even greater number of talented, intelligent, motivated individuals whose impact and effectiveness can be greatly enhanced by teaching them the skills that are not formally covered in already crowded specialty-training programs.
Following the success of the AAO’s Leadership Development Program, established by Michael W. Brennan, MD, and Paul Sternberg Jr., MD, and now in its 15th year, the APAO launched its own Leadership Development Program (LDP) in 2009 under the direction of Philip Lam, MD. Since 2010, the program has been convened by APAO Vice President Tjahjono Darminto Gondhowiardjo, MD, PhD, with Program Director Catherine Green, MBChB, FRANZCO, MMedSc.
The APAO is a unique organization with 19 member countries covering a large area of the world, with a wide diversity in language, culture, access to education, access to eye care, resources, geographical area, organization size and political systems. The annual APAO Congress provides an opportunity for participants to meet, but it is difficult to run a dedicated program concurrently because participants have other competing commitments during the congress.
Since 2011, the key component of the LDP has been a 2- to 3-day intensive program consisting of workshops and interactive sessions that encourage discussion, provide practical skills training and challenge ideas. The first mid-term forum was held in Kuala Lumpur in 2011 and hosted by the Malaysian Society of Ophthalmology. In 2012, the APAO Council committed to ongoing support of this component of the LDP, recognizing its value in investing in the next generation of ophthalmic leaders in the APAO region.
The 2012 APAO LDP Mid-tem Forum, hosted by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists of Thailand (RCOPT) in Bangkok and convened by Dr. Rojanapongpun, Manchima Makornwattana, MD, and Yutthaphong Imsuwan, MD, was the most successful program held to date. All APAO LDP participants attended, along with around 20 guest participants from the RCOPT. Invited faculty included Dr. Green, Dr. Gondhowiardjo, Dr. Brennan, Hunter Yuen, MD, Sundaram Natarajan, MD, and Linda Tsai, MD, as well as AAO LDP representative Sidney Gicheru, MD. Highlights of the program included interactive sessions presented by Simon Abbott from Allergan on managing meetings and Marsheila DeVan on presentation and communication skills. The stimulating and challenging program allowed participants to expand their skills and provided an opportunity for sharing of ideas and discussion of common problems in ophthalmology in our region. A generous social program, hosted by RCOPT, extended the opportunity for participants to get to know each other in an informal setting, establishing important connections that will last into the future.
The 2012 APAO LDP Mid-term Forum in Bangkok.
The 2012-13 LDP class graduated from the program this month in Hyderabad, India, with presentation of their projects. – by Dennis S.C. Lam, MD, FRCOphth, Frank Martin, AM, FRACS, FRANZCO, Rajvardhan Azad, MD, FRCS, and Catherine Green, MBChB, FRANZCO, MMedSc