Sitting Down With… The Past: Ravi Goel

Back when Ravi Goel, ophthalmologist at the Wills Eye Hospital, was in medical school, there was an increasing effort to push aspiring medical students into primary care. This was at the start of Bill Clinton’s presidency and followed many years of such specialties being de-emphasized.

Faced with many decisions, Goel’s eventual path to eye care was influenced by his brother, who was a first-year resident at the time. This sibling connection provided Goel with valuable insights into the discipline and helped him realize that ophthalmology was where he wanted to dedicate his future.

In this interview from 2019, he discusses the trends of tomorrow, diversity and equality, and his advice for young ophthalmologists.

On the future:
 

“I’d like to decrease the cost of cataract surgery around the world to the extent that we can make it available to anyone who needs it. That in turn will enable patients and their dependents to lead more fulfilled and productive lives. That’s the dream!”

…Allied to that is a wish to continue to train ophthalmologists around the world to deal with a broad variety of diseases, including glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. These patients have severe needs and quality of life issues, especially in the later stages. The ultimate dream, of course, is 20/20 vision for everybody, but that is a very distant goal.”

On diversity and equality:
 

“I remember the movement on social media called “I Look Like an Engineer?” That was about female engineers posting photos of themselves, their interests, passions and hobbies. This was followed by two female residents in general surgery who launched “I Look Like A Surgeon.”  The #ILookLikeASurgeon has generated more than 1 billion impressions on social media. It became a powerful hashtag for thousands of colleagues.

But there’s still so much more to do; for example, I recently criticized a surgical device company on social media because their advisory panel comprised six men – what is often called a “manel!” Zero of their 60 educational videos on eyetube channel included female experts. Since my call-out, a dozen of 88 videos now include female colleagues.

…We must all be cognizant of implicit bias and do what we can to promote diversity and equality, including challenging and changing where necessary. I know men who are flying around the world all the time to speak at ophthalmology conferences, and I wish they would step up and refuse to sit on a panel unless it is truly diverse. My own view is that thoughts should prevail, and that thought leaders who wish to take the profession forward should not be stopped by a glass ceiling. We must continue to work together to enable that to happen.”

On career advice:
 

“First of all: finish your training. Do a fellowship, if that’s what interests you. But know this: in a few years’ time, some issue will arise that will affect you as a physician, as a surgeon, and as a member of your community. And when something happens that affects your patients and your ability to perform medicine and surgery, maybe you should look for – and take – opportunities to address that issue, rather than hiding away in your office or your clinic. So, when the need arises, spend time going to your state house, engage in social media, and do what it takes to build a coalition to advocate for your patients and the profession. In brief, my advice to those starting out in ophthalmology is – get active!”

Read the full article, first published in October 2019.