The idea of CEDARS/ASPENS was born from the concept that collaboration among colleagues to improve patient care should be not only rewarding, but also fun. CEDARS (which is an acronym for Corneal External Disease and Refractive Surgery) was the first branch of the group, and was first developed by a group of male ophthalmologists who enjoyed working together professionally, but also shared a strong bond of friendship.
As their collaborations in the field grew, they realized there would be many benefits in forming an official society. I entered the ophthalmology meeting scene in 2013, and after learning about this great group of ophthalmologists I was really impressed by the support and guidance they gave each other and how much they learned from one another.
I realized how beneficial this could be to female ophthalmologists, and was inspired to create our own similar group. I was fortunate enough to know many great pioneering and successful female ophthalmologists, and by collaborating with Sheri Rowen and Alice Epitropoulos, and many other others, we set about creating the ASPENS (American Society of Progressive Enterprising Surgeons). While we were not officially related to CEDARS at that time, we began to work together as two synergistic groups. With time, both groups came to the conclusion that we needed each other, and so we formalized our relationship and merged the societies to what is now known as CEDARS/ASPENS. Together, we form a not-for-profit society of surgeons that is passionate about advancing the anterior segment area of expertise.
The society is made up of pioneers in the field, who practice, give lectures, conduct clinical research, and write papers. We highly value the opportunity of networking within the group, as well as using our collective strength to foster excellence in the wider anterior segment sphere. We believe that industry relationships are critical to moving the field forward, and introducing new technologies and treatments – ultimately, to benefit our patients.
And so we are actively engaging in discussions with the industry, participating in clinical trials, and testing the latest innovations. But these partnerships work both ways – industry leaders often ask for our opinion or develop innovative products or procedures based on our ideas and recommendations.
Teaching is extremely important to CEDARS/ASPENS. A few times a year we offer mentorships and seminars for up-and-coming ophthalmologists – recent graduates, residents. We have new specialists joining our society every year, and we currently have around 85 members, including the biggest names in the anterior segment. We host an annual two-day conference, where the first day is focused on academic discussions and industry involvement, and the second day is a physician member meeting, where members discuss techniques to improve patient care and practice management.
It seems to me that, over the last few years, a small idea has grown into a great organization. We have strength in numbers, but also a family feel; I feel comfortable discussing concepts and ideas with our group that I might not be willing to share at large. It helps me foster innovation in my own practice, and create collaborations to achieve goals that would not be possible if I was working alone.
My vision for the future? To grow as a society that helps advance patient care, to collaborate with industry on technology innovation that improves surgical and medical outcomes and to continue to support the next generation of ophthalmologists in becoming leaders in the field. We have already come far. We’ve proved that the formula works really well for our field – and for all the individual members. The momentum is there, and I am very excited about the future of CEDARS/ASPENS.
