ESCRS Young Ophthalmologists Focus Group
Budapest 2010
by Fiona Cuthbertson 
The ESCRS winter meeting in Budapest formed the background for the first meeting of the Young Ophthalmologists’ focus group. Participants were drawn from 20 different European countries, and were brought together to both share their perceptions and experiences of ESCRS, and to discuss how the Society could better target Young Ophthalmologists within their country. The day was spent in two smaller groups, initially identifying the issues affecting Young Ophthalmologists, and then finding ways in which ESCRS could offer support.
Areas identified in which Young Ophthalmologists would appreciate support included access to education through attending meetings, access to online meeting materials or other educational aids, and the establishment of training courses within Europe. Surgical experience was one common area of need, and the possibility of improving wet lab provision was discussed. A related proposal was to establish the infrastructure and funding for Young Ophthalmologists to visit centres of surgical excellence within Europe to further their experience.
Areas identified in which Young Ophthalmologists would appreciate support included access to education through attending meetings, access to online meeting materials or other educational aids, and the establishment of training courses within Europe. Surgical experience was one common area of need, and the possibility of improving wet lab provision was discussed. A related proposal was to establish the infrastructure and funding for Young Ophthalmologists to visit centres of surgical excellence within Europe to further their experience.
The financial cost of meeting attendance and access to online materials was discussed. Many members felt that having paid a meeting fee, they would like free or reduced cost access to all the online material relating to that meeting. There are already reductions in registration fees for those from Eastern European countries, which was successful in improving attendance at the Budapest meeting.
An additional area of discussion was the programme that is already in place at ESCRS meetings for Young Ophthalmologists. This consists of a number of basic courses and sessions which were felt to be helpful for those beginning in the field. It then jumps to a much more advanced level, however, with very little provision in between. It was felt that more emphasis at the intermediate level, such as dealing with surgical complications, would be helpful.
In the UK we have our own Young Ophthalmologists’ section of UKISCRS, and through that we are already addressing some of the issues that were identified as problems throughout Europe. We are unique within Europe in having good access to surgical training, and high requirements for numbers of cataract operations completed during the training period. Furthering our trainees' experience, and providing increased access to wet labs and sessions at the intermediate level is an aim we have identified. We look forward to building on the foundations we have recently laid to improve our own Young Ophthalmologists’ Programme, and to working with ESCRS in increasing access to similar programmes throughout Europe.
