O.D. Scene

THE ENTERTAINING SIDE OF OPTOMETRY

O.D. Scene creator, writer and editor Jack Schaeffer, O.D.

If you attended the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) meeting in Denver, Colo. last month, I’m sure you found the meeting is attended by optometrists from throughout the world. In fact, many would argue that the meeting is the global representation of eyecare professionals. Being a part of the fellowship and learning opportunities at this meeting is wonderful.

In particular, I had the pleasure of lecturing to 220 optometric residents. I was moved by the students’ level of passion and commitment to our great profession. This experience makes me confident that the future of optometry is bright.

At the always-exciting Australian after party, Lyndon Jones, O.D., famed contact lens clinician, sang. In addition, Eric Papas, O.D., a fellow contact lens expert, danced. Both gentlemen, along with Josh Josephson, O.D., are featured here in international optometrists: part two. Dr. Brien Holden is the host of the Aussie party. He will be featured in a future “O.D. Scene.”

It is hard to believe the AAO meeting could be so rewarding, given the 10° weather and blowing snow the entire week. But at the risk of sounding corny, the camaraderie the meeting provided kept us all warm. And speaking of warmth, be sure to check out Kirk Smick’s Travel, Food & Wine section, where he discusses a tropical getaway. Enjoy.

Key Opinion Leaders Weigh in…

Lyndon Jones, O.D., Hamilton, Ont., Josh Josephson, O.D., Toronto, and Eric Papas, Ph.D., BOptom, F.A.A.O., Sydney, Australia

Q: Can you describe your practice or optometric position?

LJ: I am currently a professor at the School of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of Waterloo, in Ontario. My main job is director of the Centre for Contact Lens Research, limiting my clinical role to a day a week (for about half the academic year) supervising students in our contact lens clinic. Prior to this position, I was a partner at a very busy practice in London seeing a mix of primary care patients, children and contact lens patients.

JJ: I own Josephson Opticians, a high-end multi-location store established in 1935. Also, I am chairman of the Ophthalmic Devices Subcommittee of the Standards Council of Canada, Canada’s voting expert for contact lenses and contact lens care products at the meetings of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO); and board member and founding shareholder of NoNO Inc., a private, clinical-stage biotherapeutics company dedicated to the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of common health disorders with unmet needs, including stroke, traumatic brain injury and pain.

Josh Josephson at a wine society event.

EP: I am executive director of R&D at the Brien Holden Vision Institute in Sydney, Australia. In this role, I oversee several projects that seek to develop new or improved approaches to vision correction. Among the activities current at the Institute are the development of effective myopia control lenses and ways to improve ocular comfort. I also contribute to the educational activities in the School of Optometry and Vision Science at UNSW Australia, where I am Professorial Visiting Fellow. Currently, I supervise five graduate students.

Dr. Jones performing with his band Lost Faculties.

Q: What are the educational and practice differences between your country and the United States?

LJ: Canada teaches students at the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences at the University of Waterloo and the Université de Montréal, Québec, using the same basic curriculum as all North American institutions. I think our two countries are converging every year.

The ability to perform minor surgical procedures and laser procedures in some U.S. states is the envy of many in Canada. However, I do worry that sometimes the “staples” of optometry, such as binocular vision, pediatrics and contact lenses, may be de-emphasized as a result. I am all for the expansion of our scope of practice, but we still need to keep control of the things that optometrists do best.

Dr. Josephson with chef Ashley Palmer-Watts.

JJ: They are rather similar for the most part.

EP: The main educational difference is that most Australian optometrists would start their optometry training straight after high school. Typically, they would enter university to directly pursue a five-year course leading to optometric qualification, including certification in ocular therapeutics, though there is one school offering an accelerated, intensive pathway that can be completed in 3.5 years. Though the majority of Australian optometrists would follow one of these routes, the option of a graduate entry, four-year O.D. degree has also recently become available, and this route will closely resemble the training of optometrists in the U.S. Given that I am primarily a researcher, I’m on pretty thin ice when it comes to private practice, so I’ll leave that to others to comment on.

Q: What would you like to change about optometry in your country?

LJ: The relationship between ophthalmology and optometry is still an issue in some areas, making it very difficult to have optometry and ophthalmology work closely together. It is getting better, but I would still like to see this relationship become more congenial and collaborative.

JJ: I would like to see closer cooperation with ophthalmology where there are more learning opportunities for young O.D.s to work and learn in medical practices.

EP: I would like to see continued improvement in relations between optometry and ophthalmology and more funding for research in general and vision research in particular.

Q: What is your favorite U.S. optometry meeting and why?

LJ: The AAO meeting. When I lived in the U.K., I made it to the AAO meeting virtually every year. Initially, I went for the excellent CE and then for the mix of CE and Science. I have been involved in the AAO for many years and have served on several committees, most notably on the Research Committee and the Editorial Board for the Academy journal, Optometry & Vision Science. I feel that the mix of camaraderie, CE and science are unrivalled, and I love the new initiatives, such as Fellows Doing Research, in which clinicians in private practice get together to look at a particular epidemiological issue and gather data in their own practice for dissemination in peer-reviewed journals. Such a great idea!

JJ: The AAO meeting because it is an opportunity to meet face to face with experts and scientific presenters.

EP: I really enjoyed the last Global Specialty Lens Symposium meeting, which was in Las Vegas. The enthusiasm the attendees show for their “art” is very infectious, and it’s good to interact with people who are still trying “stuff ” out to see whether it can work better than the standard approaches.

Eric Papas in Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat, in Bolivia.

Also, I like the AAO meeting. From a business perspective everyone is there, so it’s the ideal opportunity to see collaborators, colleagues and contacts face to face. In addition, the AAO meeting is a learning opportunity for my students and me. I encourage my students to attend so they can compare their activities with those of their counterparts in the U.S. and elsewhere and meet potential employers and collaborators.

Q: What is your favorite International meeting and why?

LJ: I always attend The British Contact Lens Association meeting in the U.K. every May, which I consider to be the major contact lens meeting for science-related contact lens presentations. Another (bi-annual) meeting I always make time to attend is the Netherlands Contact Lens Congress meeting, which always attracts great speakers and has a mix of great CE, science and some “fun” presentations on contact lenses.

JJ: ARVO. I feel that it provides the most wide-ranging exposure to all aspects of ocular research worldwide in the fields of ophthalmology, optometry and all of the sciences related to these fields.

EP: The Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society meetings are a highlight for me. They take place every third year, which gives time for the field to significantly change so what you hear is not just repetition from the last time. There is also a very good mix of content from clinicians, basic scientists and new researchers and students. It also doesn’t hurt that the meetings are often in great locations, such as Sicily.

Dr. Papas in Atacama Desert in South America.

Q: Who is your optometric mentor and why?

LJ: I have several, though they would not necessarily be that well known to your U.S. readers. In the U.K. it’s Keith Edwards (recently deceased), Brian Tighe (Aston University), Ian Davies (J&J), and in Canada it’s Jake Sivak and Des Fonn (University of Waterloo).

JJ: Donald Korb, O.D., because I have great respect for the detail and depth of Don’s knowledge and range of experience. When I think I know something well, Don is perhaps the only person who can make me stop and reconsider and rethink my observations and conclusions. For example, it was Don who inspired my first observations of corneal epithelial infiltrates in 1975. It was Don who inspired my first observations and photos of the lipid layer of the preocular tear film in 1975.

EP: I benefitted enormously from being taught by Anton Whiteley in the optometry school at the University of Manchester, Institute of Science & Technology in England. He was an outstanding clinician but was widely feared by students because of his (apparently) abrasive style. As I came to know him, it was clear that this [his abrasiveness] was a strategy to make sure students didn’t forget important things … and it really worked for me. From a research perspective, the person who really convinced me that this was something I would like to do was Richard Abadi, again in Manchester. Unfortunately, his main field was eye movements, which, as it turned out, wasn’t exactly my forte. Nevertheless, the things I learned while working in his lab definitely set me on the pathway toward a research career.

Q: If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would it be and why?

LJ: Bobby Charlton, a famous English soccer player who was a legend in the ‘70s in the U.K.

JJ: Harold Niman, one of Canada’s foremost family lawyers and a very well-read and highly cultured individual, and/or David Mirvish, one of Canada’s most highly regarded impresarios, formerly, one of the world’s most highly regarded gallerists in contemporary art, owner of the most important theatres in Canada and developer of the most important Frank Gehry building project in Canada.

Dr. Jones at a meeting in Seattle.

EP: The guy on the grassy knoll, because if he didn’t turn up you would know for sure …!

Q: Who are your family members, and what do you like to do for fun?

LJ: My wife, Debbie, also an optometrist and current associate director at the School of Optometry at the University of Waterloo, our daughter, Rebecca (19), who is a medical sciences major at the University of Western Ontario, my son, Ben (15), who wants to become a professional ice hockey player, and we have a labradoodle (Chloe). For fun, I enjoy listening to all sorts of music — except opera and rap — I sing in a band called Lost Faculties (which just played at the Australia party at the AAO Meeting) and playing soccer.

JJ: I have a life partner, Elaine, and two daughters (Lisa and Kate.). Lisa, my oldest, is a resident of Vancouver and an urban planner about to have her first child. My youngest daughter is finishing her third Masters degree and is presently in Boulder, Colo.

Josh Josephson with his fellow epicureans.

For fun, I enjoy good food and wine, extensive travel and collecting antiquities and fine art.

EP: My partner Suzanne and I don’t have kids, but we do have nieces and nephews spread around the world. I can’t play soccer anymore because my brain tries to make my body do things that are bad for it, so I have to be content with watching sports. I’m a fan of the Sydney Swans Australian Rules Football Club, so I go and see them play most weeks during the season. If you haven’t seen Aussie rules, imagine a cross between basketball and gridiron played on an area three times the size of an American football field. I also like cycling (its great exercise), and we take the opportunity to travel whenever we can.

Dr. Papas enjoying a glass of Thwaites.

Q: What is your favorite book, movie, band and adult beverage?

LJ: Book: I rarely read anything except journals; Movie: The Blues Brothers; Band: Genesis and AC/DC (I love classic rock); Adult beverage: Tanqueray No. Ten and tonic.

JJ: Book: “Being There” by Jerzy Kosinski; Movie: Star Wars; Band: The Beatles; Adult beverage: A great, very old scotch or rum, or very good glass of red wine.

EP: Book: Probably Armadale by Wilkie Collins. If you haven’t read his work, he could be called the grandfather of suspense. Don’t be fooled by the fact that he was writing during the 19th century; all his books are gripping. Also, I can’t wait for the next Game of Thrones book; Movie: Singin’ in the Rain; Band: I’m an old soul man, so something R&B; Adult beverage: Thwaites Original Bitter (beer from the brewery in the town where I grew up in Lancashire, England.)

Dr. Jones’ children, Rebecca and Ben.

Travel, Food & Wine

Atlantis — A Family Affair

Kirk L. Smick, O.D., F.A.A.O., Morrow, Ga.

With winter upon us, those of us who practice in frigid areas may be looking for a tropical respite. Enter Atlantis Paradise Island in Nassau, the Bahamas. Last summer, my family and I flew from Atlanta to Nassau, where we took a 20-minute taxi ride to the Atlantis resort.

Here’s an overview.

Hotels

We stayed at The Reef, which is a family oriented hotel, though several other lodging options exist. They are The Beach Tower, The Cove Atlantis (which is made up of suites and houses Dolphin Cay, enabling you to swim with dolphins and sea lions), Coral Towers, Harborside Resort (which is comprised of villas) and Royal Towers, which houses the $25,000-a-night Bridge Suite and several open-air marine aquariums known as The Dig. In fact, The Dig boasts angelfish, barracudas, jellyfish, manta rays, sharks, stingrays and wreckage to serve as the famed “Lost City of Atlantis.”

Attractions

Atlantis Paradise Island also features a large casino, several excellent restaurants and an array of water parks.

In terms of the restaurants, there’s a Nobu location, Café Martinique (from Jean-Georges Vongerichten — one of our New York favorites), Mesa Grill Bahamas (from Bobby Flay), Olives (from Todd English) and the Seafire Steakhouse (my favorite). I should also mention that outdoor dining facilities are numerous and offer the usual kid favorites, such as hot dogs, hamburgers and fish sandwiches.

My grandchildren (ages six, eight and 10) were in perpetual heaven at the water parks. With The Current (a long river ride with lots of rapids on a large inner tube), the Mayan Temple slides (three racing slides and one where you drop before entering a tunnel through a shark tank), the Power Tower (four elaborate water slides) and The Lazy River (self-explanatory), no one had any trouble falling asleep at night.

Grandfathers are granted exceptions from some of the “scary” water slides, but there are several pools where lounging takes place in scenic environments. The Baths Colonnade Pool, the Cascades Pool (for guests of the Reef and Cove Atlantis only), the Grotto Pool, the BLU Pool, the Lap Pool, the Mayan Temple Pool and the Royal Baths Pool are just a sample of the ones where I hung out.

Atlantis Paradise Island also incudes the Marina Village, a market-style shopping center.

For a wonderful family vacation I highly recommend the Atlantis resort.