‘Any questions?’ may be a familiar refrain at the conclusion of a presentation at most eyecare conferences, but at Ophthalmology Updates!, it takes on new meaning.
As convenor Professor Adrian Fung explains, one of the main focuses of the two-day conference is discussion and Q&A, to which it dedicates more time than most conferences.
“We want all attendees to be able to ask questions. Sometimes the discussion might go on a tangent, but that’s fine. We want to ensure there is enough time to have a discussion, either with the speaker or the chair, or as a group,” Fung said.
“Keeping attendance between 200-250 is very conducive to discussion and doesn’t feel intimidating to anybody to ask a question.”
Started in 2016, it is returning as a stand-alone event this year, following a hiatus in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID, and was combined with RANZCO’s NSW conference in 2022.
Taking place at Fullerton Hotel in Sydney this weekend (26-27 August), Ophthalmology Updates! will bring together the brightest minds from each ophthalmic subspecialty to update attendees on their field.
With ABC’s Dr Norman Swan as special guest speaker, the event is designed for general ophthalmologists who want to consolidate their knowledge and learn about new advances in a range of subspecialties; for subspecialty ophthalmologists who want a refresher on other subspecialties; and for registrars preparing for RANZCO examinations.
Invited speakers prepare a three-part presentation, each lasting 15 minutes, on a common subspecialty condition, a ‘frontier’ topic on a topical subject (but not in trials or experimental), and a case-based discussion.
“Common conditions are not necessarily covered a lot in conferences because they’re assumed knowledge but as we progress in our careers, the field can move on, frontier topics change from year-to-year depending on what is topical in that year,” Fung said.
“We try to keep it clinically applicable for current ophthalmologists, so even though there might be treatments in the pipeline, we tend to focus on therapeutics – or imaging or diagnostics – which are TGA-approved and PBS-listed because we want it to be something that is practical and useful to the clinician.”
Speakers and their presentation topic include:
- Professor Robyn Guymer – medical retina
- Associate Professor Michael Lawless – cataract
- Associate Professor Anthony Hall – uveitis
- Professor Dinesh Selva – oculoplastics
- Professor Justine Smith – toxoplasmosis and leadership
- Dr Elsie Chan – cornea
- Dr Nathan Kerr – glaucoma
- Dr Craig Donaldson – paediatrics
- Dr Mali Okada – vitreoretinal surgery
- Professor Celia Chen – neuro-ophthalmology
- Dr Li-Anne Lim – ocular oncology
- Dr Geoffrey Parker – radiology
- Dr Norman Swan (special guest speaker) – medicine and the media
More reading
A front row seat to ophthalmic subspecialties at Ophthalmology Updates!
Frontier-thinking at Ophthalmology Updates!
Medicine in the media – who controls the narrative?
