Hello from the co-medical editor of New Retinal Physician. My fellow medical editor Dr. Hemang Pandya and the planning committee of the American Retina Forum (ARF) put on a great fourth national meeting of our group in August of 2024. As always, our meeting is very different from any other meeting, with no suits, no podiums, and no egos. It was a meeting of the minds where we gathered to discuss the clinical challenges that we see every day.
One of the wonderful things about working in such a small field (there are fewer than 3,000 retinal physicians in the United States) is that everyone is smart, accomplished, and very approachable. It is possible to get to know almost everyone on a personal level and meetings like this remove the artificial barriers that separate the “talking heads” from everyone else.
Our meeting also provided a chance to meet the families of our colleagues and break bread with them. Around half of the attendees brought their families. There was a kids’ room with games and activities, as well as adult supervision to make sure the kids were OK while their parents were either learning or socializing. We made a trip to the Carlsbad Lagoon for water sports, the beach, and refreshments on a beautiful southern California day. There were other opportunities to socialize and meet our colleagues in a relaxed environment, including a talent show. The Mehta family started it off with a dance, we had jokes by DJ Schisis (Dr. Sarwar Zahid), there was a moving spoken word performance by Dr. Rishi Doshi, Dr. Russ Richardson and family sang and played guitar, and we had our famous trivia night. For the first time, we had a poster session, with the best poster award going to Minali Prasad from Boston University School of Medicine.
The next American Retina Forum national meeting will be held during the summer of 2026, at a location yet to be determined. But check our website for updates and plan to come in 2026 with your family. Cheers, everyone! NRP
