Two Days of Collaboration, Inclusion, and Diversity

Karen Rodemich Roman (KRR), Editor-in-Chief:Dr. Ramsey, what did you think of this year’s International Congress of Scleral Contacts (ICSC) meeting? How did it compare to previous years’ meetings?

Adam Ramsey, OD: It was a great conference. This was my fourth year attending the meeting, and this time, ICSC Program Chairs Thomas P. Arnold, OD, FSLS, and Melissa Barnett, OD, FAAO, FSLS, FBCLA, reached out to Black Eyecare Perspective (BEP) about forming a partnership to try to bring more diversity to the attendees.

Sometimes people support diversity and inclusion initiatives, but they do it quietly, behind the scenes. That’s not Drs. Arnold and Barnett. Leading up to the meeting, they noted their support of BEP on all of their press releases, and at the meeting, they brought us up to the stage and made us feel welcome. There’s a difference between being asked to the party and being asked to dance. Sometimes people say they want diversity, but they’re not willing to go out, be bold, take a stand, and actually proclaim that diversity is important to them.

The ICSC meeting really demonstrated diversity and inclusion. They showed inclusion by putting us on stage, letting everyone present know that they supported us and were available if we needed assistance. Additionally, the vendors and industry representatives, who were unaware of the partnership between BEP and ICSC, remarked about the increased diversity at this year’s meeting. We felt welcomed and wanted.

KRR:What other opportunities have come out of this meeting partnership?

Dr. Ramsey: One of the gems of the conference and the affect that it has had is that the ICSC program chairs gave away 12 registration spots to doctors from BEP. Some of those who got a free spot convinced other colleagues to go with them. My goal for next year is to help ICSC get sponsors to donate to help others attend.

Dr. Ramsey sporting his BEP shirt at the 2022 ICSC meeting.

When Dr. Arnold approached me about partnering with BEP, my first thought was to contact a colleague in the Bahamas about coming to the meeting. She spoke with one of her colleagues in the Bahamas (there’s only seven of them on the island, so they all know each other), and they ended up coming together.

Reaching those communities is a big deal. If I need assistance with a fit, I can get a representative to come by my office without a problem, but practitioners in Africa, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, and Canada don’t always have such easy access to get the representative support, so if we can empower them to learn and feel more confident, they can do better on their own.

KRR:Have you heard anything from other BEP attendees regarding their experiences at ICSC?

Dr. Ramsey: Yes. A few had been to the meeting once before, but for most, this was their first time. Some had previous scleral lens experience, others did not. The reports have all been positive from everyone who attended (see The ICSC Experience Through BEP Eyes), and they raved about the welcome that BEP received when we were there. For example, on the first day, one of the lecturers invited all of the doctors from BEP up to the stage to have a group photo taken. That spoke volumes and showed us right away that ICSC supports the doctors here. We want to make sure we’re giving more opportunities for people in that space because we can’t say, “hey, we want more Black scleral lens experts” if we’re not also giving Black doctors opportunities to learn more about scleral lenses.

KRR:Will this partnership between BEP and ICSC continue?

Dr. Ramsey: I hope so, but that depends on sponsor support.

If the partnership continues, I would like to reach out to more doctors in disenfranchised areas and invite them to attend ICSC so they can learn skills that they can take back to their communities. What would it mean if we were able to get people from Africa, the Caribbean islands, Central America, and South America to come and all get the same training to take back to their communities and help their patients?

I would love to see a scleral lens company show interest in helping these practitioners. If we can play our part to entice doctors to go back into their communities with more advanced skills, this would allow them to fit more scleral lenses, which would, in turn, allow them to purchase more scleral lenses.

I would also like to see other conferences (eg, orthokeratology, low vision, vision therapy) include more diversity in their speaker panels. You have to give the doctors an opportunity to learn about the topics in a more advanced way so they can be the next speakers 5 and 10 years from now because of the seeds planted today.