The transcript below was edited for clarity.

Hi everyone. I'm Dr. Lisa Nijm, the founder of Real World Ophthalmology (RWO), and I'm so excited to tell you about our accomplishments over the past 5 years. We are celebrating the 5th anniversary of RWO, and we are thrilled that this community, created by physicians for physicians, has grown to help so many ophthalmologists transition from training to beginning clinical practice. RWO exists to help young ophthalmologists through the first decade of practice—be it in residency, fellowship, your first few years, or even your later few years—to answer all those questions that we wish that somebody had taught us sooner. We cover new clinical innovations, business aspects of ophthalmology that are not often talked about, and areas of personal and professional development. We're excited and grateful to the 6,000 members across 120 countries that we have as part of our physician community who are coming together to connect, learn, and grow together. 

I'm thrilled to invite you to our next RWO meeting on Saturday, September 26. It's entitled "The Top 10 Things I Wish I Knew Sooner: Unmasked" as a nod to our New Orleans event, which follows up a few weeks later, "RWO After Dark: The Speakeasy of Ophthalmology." These are 2 incredible events that you won't want to miss. First, at our virtual events, we are honored to have keynote speakers, Marguerite McDonald, MD, and Geoffrey Tabin, MD, MA, who are leading a faculty of 50 ophthalmologists from across the country and around the world who are coming together to share those lessons that they wish they knew. We're kicking it off with a session on choosing a job, which we know is so important during this fall season, as well as things to think about if you're considering changing jobs. And then we kick it off also with something that is pretty unique: starting your own practice.

We've heard from so many young ophthalmologists who are interested in starting their own practice but don't know where to begin and don't know where to get that information, and we have that for you here. We continue with some excellent clinicians who are going to talk about complex case management, both medical and surgical, giving you their tips about things that they wish they knew, diagnoses not to miss, ways not to miss those diagnoses, and how to handle those complications. We have a great surgical discussion where, again, we've got some wonderful surgeons who are going to come in and talk about everything from cataract surgery to glaucoma surgery to even retina surgery and give you some insight into what you should be doing to make sure that you have the best outcomes. We've got a signature business session, in partnership with the American Alliance of Orthopaedic Executives, and that talks about some of the billing and coding issues that are happening in 2026 and how you can make sure that you get paid for what you do.

And then we round out the day with some very interesting sessions on practical considerations in ophthalmology, treating and preparing your patients for surgery, working with your team and your practice, and things that are really important like ergonomics, managing surgical anxiety, and having a fulfilling career. We follow that with "RWO After Dark: The Speakeasy of Ophthalmology." We are creating the most unique experience in New Orleans on Friday, October 9th, from 8 to 10 PM. You do not want to miss this. It's actually at a private speakeasy-type club in New Orleans, and we're going to bring all of your favorite faculty and your colleagues. It's a great way to continue those conversations that we have online in person and make those connections. We also have a number of small, intimate networking lunches that we'll have to give you a chance to take a break from the convention center and enjoy some really great New Orleans food with mentors and friends alike.

We're so excited about where we've come the past 5 years, and we are looking forward to our next 5. We welcome you to join us to be a part of RWO to help give back, share your ideas, and join this incredible physician community. It's free. There's no charge. We are here, by physicians for physicians, to help each other take better care of each other and take better care of our patients. We hope to see you on Saturday, September 26, for "Top 10 Things I Wish I Knew Sooner" and in person at "RWO After Dark: The Speakeasy of Ophthalmology" on Friday, October 9, from 8 to 10 PM. Register at realworldophthalmology.com, and I look forward to seeing you there. Thank you.

Lisa M. Nijm, MD, JD, is the founder of Real World Ophthalmology; an internationally recognized corneal, cataract, and refractive surgeon at Warrenville EyeCare & LASIK in Illinois; and an assistant clinical professor at the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary in Chicago. Reach her at LNijm@RealWorldOphthalmology.com