Live and Learn
Five personal anecdotes we would never have heard without The Ophthalmologist Power List
Following the publication of our 2021 Power List, which exclusively featured women in ophthalmology, I received a great deal of positive feedback – not only from the female frontrunners but also from their peers. The majority of readers who spoke to me saw the decision to feature only women in the way it was intended: to redress the balance of “power” in the field after years of underrepresentation. Even though it is now easier than ever for women to enter the specialty, certain challenges remain firmly in place, as Tina Felfeli and Yvonne Buys comment.
Though the 2021 Power List will remain fresh and topical in our minds for some time, we must also look to the future – the 2022 edition. And in case you missed the announcement, nominations are already open.
I hope that our special focus on equity in 2021 will bear fruit in the form of a strong representation of women and other minorities. So please, go forth and nominate the individuals you feel deserve to be recognized and celebrated. To give you a friendly push in the right direction, I will leave you with five surprising things we learned from previous lists…
- Serial Power Lister Carol Shields shared the moment she found out the baby she was treating for retinoblastoma lived in her old house in her western Philadelphia hometown
- Terry Kim (aka DJ Special K) fondly remembered his musical contributions to the biggest ophthalmic meetings in the US – DJing together with Tony Aldave (aka DJ AJA) at major clubs to crowds of over 2,000 AAO and ASCRS attendees
- David Chang humbly told the story of his young son – a keen baseball player who suddenly and inexplicably started making mistakes on the court… until a pediatrician suggested the should perhaps check his son’s vision
- Douglas Rhee described how his professional career shifted profoundly when he decided to reassess plans for a clinical fellowship abroad because his cat couldn’t travel with him (it all worked out for the best!)
- And finally, we heard the story of the surprising and timely donation that allowed Sir Peng Tee Khaw to help a key researcher, who then went on to have a rather successful career in cellular regeneration.
What stories will we unearth in 2022? Well, in part, that’s up to you.
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