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2010s–2020s SUPPLEMENT TO EYEWORLD | 57 you could sense the economics of shutdown were crumbling so we took the risk," Mr. Speares said. Adding to the pressure, many other medical so- cieties were monitoring the Vegas meeting. "Our staff, leadership, and industry partners worked so hard to try and bring back some normalcy, and we pulled it off. I was never more proud of our organization, and never slept harder than that last night in Las Vegas." Mr. Speares said that virtual meetings taught us a great deal. One being that virtual meet- ings ultimately don't have nearly the impact as an in-person meeting. "ere is something to learning in person. It sticks more. You can ask fol- low-up questions as you're listening to someone, and you can think about how it applies to you. en you might have a question or a thought that you go … broach to another colleague," he said. Dr. Holland agreed. "I think we've already shown that there's great value in virtual meetings when we need it or as a supplement, but at the end of the day, a face-to-face meeting where you get to see your colleagues and talk to your col- leagues and meet is important. I think ASCRS did a great job, and I give Steve a lot of credit for being very aggressive." Dr. Holland also credited ASCRS and David F. Chang, MD, who put together the 20/Happy Master Class in Refractive Cataract Surgery, a virtual learning initiative that provided valuable virtual education during the pandemic. It gave a lot of people something to look forward to, he said. Recognizing some of the lessons learned from the pandemic and the value of both virtual and in-person learning opportunities for its members, in 2023 ASCRS created the Digital Clinical Committee. Technologies like the metaverse could possibly enhance digital edu- cation offerings, Mr. Speares said, adding that he thinks ASCRS has long been reliant on visual media for edu- cation. "If you're watching a cataract procedure being per- formed and you see someone get into a jam and you see how they get out of that jam, it's a great education in and of itself. Enhancements in virtual learning and what we can gather from machine learning make it easier to reach broad conclusions faster. [It can make] statistically sig- nificant changes in the way that people make decisions," Mr. Speares said. ASCRS offers many different things for many differ- ent people. Mr. Speares said when asked about the most valuable aspect of the Society, members oen give very different answers. "I love the fact that there's not a uni- versal answer because it tells you that there's value in so many of these offerings," he said. "We get people telling us the number one value is the Journal [of Cataract and Reactive Surgery], the number one value is the Annu- al Meeting, the number one value is one of the newer things that we've brought along, like the Ophthalmolo- g y Quicksand Chronicles podcast. Some people say their favorite thing is EyeWorld, a straight-shooter type peri- odical." People don't veer to one thing, he continued, adding that the younger generation of ophthalmologists are seeing the value in the ASCRS Foundation and the option to get engaged in volunteer efforts, sustainability with EyeSustain, and the Operation Sight program. ASCRS expanded its online education opportunities during the pandemic shutdown and the time following. Source: ASCRS

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