Mentorship that matters: Building ophthalmology’s future one relationship at a time
Key takeaways:
- Young ophthalmologists have a community ready to support them.
- The CEDARS/ASPENS Mentorship Program will provide mentorship sessions at OSN New York.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that nobody becomes successful in this field alone.
Ophthalmology is built on relationships — between mentors and mentees, teachers and students, colleagues and collaborators. And the most impactful relationships often start in the most unexpected moments — over coffee between sessions, during a panel discussion or in the hallway after a presentation.
That’s exactly why the CEDARS/ASPENS Mentorship Program was born. What started as a small adjunct to the MillennialEYE Live meeting in 2018 grew to become an integral part of the Caribbean Eye meeting and is considered one of the most meaningful and influential programs for young surgeons in our specialty. And I have to give full credit to the trailblazing physicians who founded it, Drs. Sheri Rowen, Dee Stephenson and Jim Katz. These are mentors who didn’t just climb the ladder — they built new rungs for others to step on.
Their vision was simple but powerful: create real opportunities for the next generation of ophthalmologists to engage with leaders, grow as communicators and build the confidence they need to lead. It wasn’t about fluff — it was about substance, service and support.
As the program grew, so did its reach. In partnership with the American-European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgery, we were able to bring the mentorship experience to even more young surgeons who were hungry for guidance but didn’t quite know where to look. And now, in another exciting evolution, we’re expanding again — this time in collaboration with Healio | OSN during OSN New York. This step will allow us to meet mentees right where they are: early in their careers and eager for connection.
These mentorship sessions aren’t your typical “sit-and-listen” lectures. We dig in. One of the cornerstones of our workshops has been speaker development, led by the incomparable Marsheila DeVan. For many of our mentees, this is the first time they’ve received direct, expert coaching on how to own the stage — how to take their scientific expertise and deliver it with clarity, confidence and authenticity. And let me tell you, watching that transformation is inspiring every single time.
Read the full article here: https://www.healio.com/news/ophthalmology/20250730/blog-mentorship-that-matters-building-ophthalmologys-future-one-relationship-at-a-time.
For more information:
Gary Wörtz, MD, an ophthalmologist at Commonwealth Eye Surgery in Lexington, Kentucky, can be reached at [email protected].