“OMG, almost forgot about OCT.” That rap line keeps rattling around my head. It was a line I wrote up while in a taxi headed to my lakeside destination in Hangzhou, China’s storied beautiful city. Donned in my typical conference uniform, I strolled around the lakefront – or rather hopped, and dropped it like it was hot. My ophthalmology rap, that is.
Why rap about ophthalmology?
Well, when I wrote my first ophthalmic sentence in 2003 for an anterior segment magazine, I found the subject to be exceedingly dry. If you’re not an ophthalmologist, reading about ophthalmology is dry. If you are an ophthalmologist, it’s still dry.
Perhaps as an ophthalmologist, you find that mental sparks fly when considering whether to use a 25- or 27-gauge needle. But surely, from time to time, having read through 13 pages of a peer-reviewed journal, you might nod off. We’re all human, after all. We all know what’s overtly scintillating, and what’s not.
PIE Magazine’s eyeVLOG came upon me one weekend while watching Casey Neistat, my favorite YouTube Vlogger. Casey is a whiz at producing beautiful, entertaining and informative vlogs. And I’m sure he knows nothing really about the human eye.
But I do. And I admire Casey’s style. So I set about creating a big of a Casey-esque vlog for ophthalmology.
What it lacks in production value, it – hopefully – makes up for in humor. If you’re a follower of the eyeVLOG, you’ll notice I’m not against waking up, or even singing on camera.
The life we lead, after all in ophthalmology, is a life. We go to conferences, we learn new things, and we laugh along the way – often to inside jokes that aren’t readily told publicly. Why this all has to be cloaked in a supreme suit and tie affair is beyond me. Believe me, I know how to live. I’m simply inviting others – doctors and industry professionals alike – to recognize the human side of what we do and how we learn, and to enjoy that part of the ride as well.
When I peer into the future of our industry, this is what I see: I see millennials coming up in our field, which is why we have successful meetings now called things like Millennial Eye. I saw one instance of virtual reality communication in 2014 – at the Alcon booth at EURETINA – and this year I saw it take over booth communications at ASRS in Boston, with an example of mixed reality as well using Microsoft Hololens. Our own experience providing ophthalmic communication through Google Glass with Bayer and through Augmented Reality with Abbott showed the magic that happens – also intellectually – when new communication methods partner with scientific content. I see skits like X-Rounds at ASCRS, where a flashy session combined with ophthalmology’s top speakers, makes for entertaining and scientific fun. And I notice what people wear, namely myself, and experience how people come out of the woodwork to have meaningful ophthalmic conversations. We connect through our humanity, and our common desire to grow, not through our armor and cynicism.
Yes, the eyeVLOG is experimental. And I’m not expecting for anything to go viral anytime soon, since I cover ophthalmic innovation rather than cats playing keyboards. If I sang and all the ophthalmologists in the world watched, I sadly still wouldn’t make the Billboard Hot 100.
On the upside, show-stopping innovation is shown on the eyeVLOG and in quick spurts, so you don’t have to drool through booth lectures or even be present to get some interesting insights into ophthalmic innovation show floors globally.
So I hope you youngster ophthalmologists and industry professionals – and hipsters at heart – enjoy my take on ophthalmic meeting reporting.
Even if you don’t, know that through this and other efforts, we at PIE Magazine are looking at ways to make ophthalmology fresh, creative and constantly relevant to our evolving audience from been-there-done-that to … wow!
Most of all, I have to say I’m proud to be doing it in Asia. Our region is full of humor, is immensely vibrant, and has only begun to lead the way on innovation.
So, the next time you feel put off – by one of my rap lyrics or some absurd dress – consider that my world is one that exists in 2050 and beyond. Always thinking about the future of content in our industry, essentially, I come to you from it. And, I come in … peace!
Don’t miss the eyeVLOG on YouTube: Search for “Pie Magazine” to visit our channel and view our vlogs!
