INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY
Promoting Diversity
By Mildred M.G. Oliver, MD
As Dr. Oliver points out in her article, underrepresented minorities make up 30% of the general population but only 9% of medical doctors. In ophthalmology specifically, only 2% of those who matched in US residency programs described themselves as black/African American, 3% as Hispanic/Latino, and none as American Indian/Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. Today, the Rabb-Venable Excellence in Research Program, an initiative by the US-based National Medical Association, aims to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in ophthalmology and academic medicine by exposing medical students, residents, and fellows to role models, skills needed in medical practice and teaching, research opportunities, and mentoring.
A Call for Mentors
By Sarwat Salim, MD
Mentoring benefits everyone, Dr. Salim reminds her colleagues, adding that mentors of all ages can effectively help one to develop specific skills over time. “As long as a person has the passion and is willing to be accessible, the opportunities and rewards are unlimited,” she writes. “I encourage mentees to seek guidance and advice from several mentors with diverse backgrounds and experiences and to learn different perspectives and strategies for achieving their ultimate goals.”
SURFACE MATTERS
The Interaction of Dry Eye and Ocular Allergy
By Scott Hauswirth, OD, FAAO
Describing the crossover in symptoms of dry eye disease (DED) and ocular allergy, Dr. Hauswirth says that differentiating between the two clinical entities is important in order to enhance patients’ quality of life. Although making a correct diagnosis is often challenging, doing so allows the clinician to select the appropriate therapy for the underlying cause of the symptoms.
The Science Behind Intense Pulsed Light Treatments
By Richard A. Adler, MD
By potentially reducing inflammation at the lid margin, intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy addresses the root cause of meibomian gland dysfunction and DED. As Dr. Adler explains in his article, IPL is filtered to certain wavelengths selected for their absorption by specific target tissues. To manage DED, for instance, oxyhemoglobin, a component in the walls of telangiectatic vessels, is targeted on the eyelids and lid margins. Candidates for IPL include anyone with symptoms of DED who have not responded to traditional therapies, he says.
