Out of the Blindspot

Today on the podcast, I have Drs. Alexandra "Ola" Pietraskiewicz and Amy Durand, two young physicians who are at the cusp of beginning what will hopefully be long and fulfilling careers in neuro-ophthalmology. We’ll hear what motivated them to pursue careers in our field, help break some of the common myths that dissuade many trainees from considering neuro-ophthalmology as a viable career choice, and we’ll hear some sage advice about the mindset that can help overcome apprehension about choosing a career in Neuro-ophthalmology.Dr. Alexandra "Ola" PietraskiewiczDr. Amy Durand

With overall relatively low exposure to and recruitment of trainees to the field of neuro-ophthalmology, I feel that we as a specialty must be able address the misconceptions about who we are and what we do by telling our own stories. We need to spread the message more widely about how great our specialty is and how much of a positive impact we can have on our patients, colleagues, and communities by the specialized care and expertise we are able to offer to our patients and communities. This has been the main goal of this podcast, which started with an episode featuring an invited talk to the ophthalmology student interest group at McGovern medical school. This episode is a rebroadcast of that conversation in which I exposed medical students to our field and addressed some of the misconceptions about neuro-ophthalmology to their young impressionable minds. 

In the previous episode, I began a conversation with Drs. John Chen, Fiona Costello, and Heather Moss, about the 50th anniversary NANOS meeting.  In this episode, we continue our conversation about what’s new and exciting in NO and how to take the momentum from the meeting and use it to grow more practical interest in our specialty.NANOS 2024John J. Chen M.D., PH.DFiona Costello, M.D, FRCPCHeather Moss, M.D., PH.D

The 50th Anniversary NANOS Annual Meeting was held in Honolulu, HI from March 2 through March 7 2024. it was a wonderful meeting that has been claimed  by many to be of the best annual meetings ever with respect to location, venue, content, organization, and atmosphere. It was one of the the largest NANOS meetings ever, drawing a diverse, international audience from all over the globe. The meeting covered a wide range of neuro-ophthalmologic content including cutting edge research, and some of the latest in diagnostic and treatment paradigms in our specialty. Today, we begin a series of episodes in which I speak with world renowned neuro-ophthalmologists Drs. John Chen, Fiona Costello, and Heather Moss, about the 50th anniversary NANOS meeting. Each played an important role in the meeting and its success and we had a wonderful conversation about their experiences in Hawaii, the new and cutting edge topics that came out of the meeting, and how to take the momentum from the excitement of the meeting and use it to grow the specialty of neuro-ophthalmology.NANOS 2024John J. Chen M.D., PH.DFiona Costello, M.D, FRCPCHeather Moss, M.D., PH.D

The young Neuro-ophthalmologists committee of NANOS or YONO was established in 2012 in an effort to meet the needs of trainees and neuro-ophthalmologists in their formative years of training and practice. The YONO committee is currently co-chaired by Drs. Nailyn Rasool and Andrew Melson who are passionate about the support and mentorship of those early in their neuro-ophthalmology journeys. In this episode of OOTBS I'll speak with them about the importance of YONO and the wonderful resources it provides, and how to YOLO as a YONO. NANOS YONO PortalDr. Nailyn RasoolDr. Andrew Melson

In this episode, we continue our conversation with Dr. Stephen McLeod, the CEO of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, addressing the importance of creating spaces where diversity can thrive, the Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action and how it affects AAO, and what the academy is doing to support the cognitive specialties of ophthalmology, including my field of Neuro-ophthalmology. 

Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to bring important and hopefully thought provoking conversations through the sight for site eyes podcast highlighting the world of DEI in ophthalmology. I’ve also been able to highlight the unique field of Neuro-ophthalmology through the out of the Blindspot podcast. I’m particularly excited for the conversation that will be featured in the next couple of episodes in the first of its kind cross over event for the two podcasts I produce. That’s because I had the incredible opportunity to speak with Dr. Stephen McLeod, the chief executive officer of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Dr. McLeod is an extremely accomplished leader of leaders who brings an inspiring perspective from his many years of leadership service at all levels of academia and within the American academy of Ophthalmology.We spoke about his paths to ophthalmology and leadership, and his leadership philosophy and style. We also spoke about what the CEO of the academy does and what DEI means to him and its importance to the academy and its mission. Finally I had the opportunity to ask him what the academy is doing to support my field of neuro-ophthalmology and the other cognitive specialties of ophthalmology that are at risk of becoming severely undermanned if actions are not taken to address their pipeline and retention issues.Dr. Stephen McLeodAAO Staff Leadership

In our last episode, we began a series on the North American Neuro-ophthalmology society or NANOS, the largest organization in the world dedicated to supporting and promoting the field of Neuro-ophthalmology. In this episode, we speak with Drs. Kathleen Digre and Larry Frohman about the history of NANOS and how its legacy has been intimately intertwined with the development of the field of Neuro-ophthalmology as we approach the 50th anniversary of the organization. Their multiple and invaluable contributions to NANOS from its early days have helped form and grow it into the amazing organization and resource that it has become today.Dr. Kathleen DigreDr. Larry Frohman History of NANOSNOVELSusan CarlowHistory of the Walsh Society

Today, we begin a series featuring the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS), the largest organization in the world dedicated to supporting and promoting the field of neuro-ophthalmology.In the first episode of the series we’ll speak to Drs. Prem Subramanian and Peter Quiros, the current and immediate future presidents of NANOS to learn about what NANOS is, what it does, and their vision for the organization moving forward.nanosweb.orgFind a Neuro-ophthalmologistPatient Information Journal of Neuro-ophthalmology

In the last episode we began a conversation with Dr. Jane Edmond, a unicorn of sorts with unique life experiences and achievements at the crossroads of neuro-ophthalmology and leadership that set her apart. These include being a super specialized pediatric neuro-ophthalmologist and the inaugural and current chair of the Mitchell and Shannon Wong Eye Institute at UT Austin’s Dell Medical school and  the president elect of the American Academy of ophthalmology to begin her tenure in January 2024. We learned about her pathway to leadership, and some great ideas about how to use her platform as the next president of AAO to support her passions for the cognitive specialties of ophthalmology and to address health disparities and inequities in ophthalmology. In this of episode we focus more on Dr. Edmond’s leadership experiences. What motivates her as a leader, her style of leadership that sets her apart, and her advice for the next generation of ophthalmologists. Jane Edmond, MD - https://dellmed.utexas.edu/directory/jane-c-edmond2023 AAO President-Elect Nominee: Jane C. Edmond, MD