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A student’s journey to the Alistair Fielder Prize in Ophthalmology by Suleiman Ayoub

From working in a Glaucoma clinic to attending a very well organised placement at Pantheo as a medical student, I have had always had ophthalmology at the forefront of my favourite specialties. Despite all of this, nothing quite did the job like attending and presenting a case in the Pantheo Annual Congress. There isn’t an environment more suitable for a medical student to present a case such as the one I experienced at this congress. The hall was flooded with well-established doctors who were all amiable, approachable, and willing to engage in conversation with someone who is still at the beginning of the road, such as myself. On top of that, the support and guidance from the Pantheo staff will unquestionably be the most constructive that I have received, and I will carry their advice and energy with me throughout my professional career.

Further contributing to this enriching experience, the presentations given by these doctors were filled with advances in ophthalmology that I expect to saturate the field in the coming years. From pharmacogenomics to circadian rhythms to artificial intelligence, these experts somehow managed to relate everything to ophthalmology. Regardless of their vast expertise and the complexity of these cases, many of the speakers were inclusive towards medical students by taking time out of their presentations to explain the basics. This kept all of us engaged throughout the day and even had some medical students grabbing the microphone to ask questions by the end of the talks.

To conclude, this past weekend has been the highlight of my time at medical school thus far. I would urge any student with even a hint of interest in ophthalmology to attend this conference in a later year, as it is a brilliant reflection on the field and the leaders within it.

Suleiman Ayoub

Medical Student

University of Nicosia Medical School