Busan Opening Ceremony

Zdenek Gregor, Stefan Seregard and Gabriel van Rij at the APAO/SOE Opening Ceremony

The APAO/SOE Congress began with an opening ceremony celebrating Korean culture with music and dancing.

SOE President Stefan Seregard addressed the audience with the following Welcome speech,

“Professor Kwak, Professor Tham, Professor Martin, Professor Lam, Prof Spivey, Colleagues and Friends,

It is indeed my pleasure and a privilege to address this Joint Congress of the APAO and the SOE.

The scientific Committee led by Prof. Clement Tham has produced an impressive number of top quality scientific sessions. World renowned speakers from all over the world will make this not only a top regional meeting but a true world meeting of unsurpassed quality.

Interestingly, our two societies, APAO and SOE have a bit in common; the societies are of the same age, being founded in 1956 and 1958 in Brussels. We are now both in our mid-50s. We both have children, a boy and a girl. The YO section and the LDP, I am not going to tell you who is who.

Both societies started with a meeting every 4 years, then every 2 years and now you have an annual meeting. So there are a number of parallels and you may almost believe that our societies are siblings.

Yet this is our first Joint Meeting. A great initiative from APAO that makes us realises how much we have in common. Your initiative is well received and much appreciated and one we hope to be able to reciprocate in Europe in the near future. Meanwhile, we invite you all to join the next congress of the SOE which will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark in June next year.

Finally I would like to pay tribute to the Korean Society of Ophthalmology led by Professor Hyang-Woo Kwak, who is graciously hosting this meeting. Korean culture combined with Korean skills and meticulous planning will ensure that this meeting runs smoothly. The few days I have spent in Korea before this meeting have been a highlight and something I will long treasure. We have all come to highly value the Korean culture and way of life.

On behalf of the European contingency I would therefore like to end by paraphrasing General Douglas MacArthur upon leaving Corregidor 70 years ago, ‘We shall return!’

The EuLDP Class 2011/2013 completed its first module on leadership from 5.-7.3.2012 in Innsbruck, in conjunction with the Management Center Innsbruck (www.mci.edu/en).
23 participants from 13 European countries as well as Israel and Jordan attended the module.
The first day focused on interactive lectures on the essential elements of leadership and strategic management held by Hans Hinterhuber. Siegfried Walch talked on Time- and Self Management and the first day concluded with a lecture and extensive discussion on taking responsibility, strategic planning and leadership from Wolfgang Nairz, the leader of the first Austrian Mount Everest Expedition in 1978.
On the second day of the module Stelios Stavridis a successful manager of several large companies and currently CEO of a private company talked interactively on how to build a great place to work, having himself founded and chairing a company that has been awarded several times as being the Best Workplace in Europe for many consecutive years. Julian Hadschieff, a visually impaired founder and CEO of the largest Austrian private Hospital and Rehabilitation consortium, as well as former Member of the Austrian Paralympics Team, talked on Entrepreneurship and leading large Organisations even having a handicap himself being visually impaired by a macular dystrophy. All lectures where reflected by the participants during the last day of the Innsbruck module, by whole group interaction tools and by developing guidelines and a prototype for a great place to work in ophthalmology.

WOC 2012 – is hosted in the region by the Middle East Africa Council of Ophthalmology for the first time – is providing this platform for young ophthalmologists to nurture the talent of tomorrow, with education being the main topic under scrutiny.

Dr. Abdulaziz AlRajhi, President of WOC 2012, said: “It is vital that we pay heed to properly supporting young ophthalmologists. WOC 2012 is a fantastic platform for those beginning a career in our sector to find – and be given – peer support, enhance their knowledge bank and take advantage of the networking opportunities the conference presents.

“The young ophthalmologists’ session is also testament to the hard work that ophthalmology professional bodies are putting in to develop strong support networks for the future of our profession.”

The session is a collaboration between the young ophthalmology groups from the Middle East and Africa Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO), the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and the European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE).

Dr AlRajhi said the session will follow a ’chat show’ format and will discuss the challenges and possible solutions of continuing education in a rapidly changing world.

“Topics include how the European Board of Ophthalmology aims to harmonise education throughout Europe, how the Arab Board aims to structure training in the region, and the particular difficulties in surgical training faced by all regions,” said the President of WOC 2012.

“The increasing role of social media provides new opportunities but also potential pitfalls, and these will also be discussed. We hope to provide an engaging platform for discussion,” he added.

The AAO’s young ophthalmologist (YO) group has been established for many years, and its role within the overall structure of AAO has grown considerably.

Inspired by its success, an SOE YO and, more recently, a YO Group within MEACO have been established to address the local needs of young ophthalmologists. Each region has its own challenges for trainees, and those starting independent practice.

Passing the EBO examination was a goal I set when I started my last year of training in Ophthalmology in Greece after completing 3 years of Ophthalmology in the UK.
The EBO exam is becoming more and more popular with Greek trainees and I thought it would be a challenge and great opportunity for me. It is not obligatory in Greece at present but highly recommended.
It gave me the amazing chance to read through basic sciences applied to the eye and the most important topics in ophthalmology. Unless a trainee has the pressure of an exam coming up there are certain details which one cannot read through carefully and remember.
The written part is a bit stressful with regards to the negative marking. The 52 MCQs are reasonable but require a good preparation for this sort of test. Some questions are difficult and and there will always be certain questions a candidate will be unsure of. The main tip is not to panic, to read carefully and to allow time to concentrate and think carefully.
The second part which comprises of 4 separate stations each one with 2 examiners is the oral part. Each station has a different topic. There is no time to prepare your answers as questions are asked in the form of a clinical scenario based on images/patients tests shown on a screen. The examiners are friendly and one can choose to be examined in their own language. I chose to take the oral exam in English but if a candidate feels safer in their own language, there are options of other languages for the oral part.
The examination days ends with a nice dinner accompanied with music and results are announced on the next day followed by the Diploma Award Ceremony. The pass rate is very good so don’t stress and panic.
The organisation and administration is excellent and the two days run very smoothly for participants. The Palais de Congres is a lovely venue too.
The EBO website is a great resource for the exam along with the usual literature such as the AAO series, Kanski and books for basic sciences applied to the eye.
Paris is lovely at this time of year so after the exam is over its nice to reward yourself with a walk around this gorgeous city.
Altogether I highly recommend this exam to my colleagues across Europe regardless of whether it is compulsory for them or not. It is the best way to refresh your knowledge, revise and learn and above all a rewarding experience. Don’t miss this opportunity!