Vista Eye Care’s two founding doctors, Dr. Abert and Dr. Pedroza, attended the annual American Academy of Optometry meeting in San Francisco, California. The meeting gave the doctors a chance to learn new techniques, recent studies, and recent technological advances associated with eye care.
“It was a great meeting,” said Dr. Abert. “We had the opportunity to attend seminars in contact lenses, glaucoma, pharmacology, dry eyes, AIDS/HIV, and macular degeneration among others. This is the most informative eye care meeting in the world, and it’s fortunate that it was held in such a fun city!” The annual Academy meeting gives doctors a chance to learn what’s new in the world of eye care, and is held in a different city every year.
Dr. Pedroza found the meeting’s highlight to be a seminar on new technologies used to diagnose macular degeneration. “It’s neat to see what’s available to help patients,” Dr. Pedroza said. “Macular degeneration affects 1.8 million people in the United States, which is a huge number.” The seminar emphasized that early detection is key to preventing macular degeneration from affecting eye health and vision.
While a great deal of time was spent in the classroom, Drs. Abert and Pedroza also had the chance to experience San Francisco. They had a few great meals, rode the cable cars, and even managed to ride bicycles across the Golden Gate Bridge. The meeting also allowed the doctors to visit with their colleagues. “The things I learned at Academy are things I can take back to Vista Eye Care,” said Dr. Abert. “Our patients will benefit from us attending these meetings and staying current in our field.”
Both Dr. Abert and Dr. Pedroza are planning on attending the 2011 Academy meeting to be held next October in Boston, Massachusetts.