EnVision Summit 2025: Education for all ages and levels of expertise

The EnVision Summit boasts more than just excellent education for optometrists; it also has a family-friendly youth program to keep kids engaged while their parents earn CE credits. Bonnie An Henderson, MD, the cofounder and program director of EnVision Summit, shares some of her favorite parts of the youth program, which is designed for children of all ages, as well as some details about the trainee program, which offers free registrations to residents, fellows, and students. Sheryl Stevenson of the Eye Care Network questions her about the unique qualities of the programs and how they set the EnVision Summit apart. This year's Summit will take place in Puerto Rico, February 14-17, 2025.

This video is part of a series with Henderson. Watch Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 to learn more about the EnVision Summit. If you're interested in attending, visit the registration page.

Video transcript

Editor's note: This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Sheryl Stevenson:
You mentioned earlier the inclusion of a family-friendly approach, right? What can you tell us about the youth program that is planned for this year?

Bonnie An Henderson, MD:
The youth program is, in my view, the highlight of the meeting, and I know it's it's such a favorite place and space and agenda. So if you haven't been to EnVision, the youth program is really different. It's not just a program for youngsters; it's actually an experience. We try to build the youth program [so] that [it] is connected to the main lecture hall so that the parents and the children are not really separated by space. So there's a door that leads back and forth, and it's monitored to make sure that people are safe, so they can't enter and exit without supervision.

What we try to build is age-appropriate activities for everyone, from even really young toddlers all the way up until they're about 18. So we have things that are physical. So for example, we have sports camps, we have yoga, we also have arts and crafts of all different types. We also have games inside the rooms, everything from board games even physical things like basketball hoops and air hockey and ping pong.

We have educational lectures too. So we talk about different things that affect different age groups. So if it's teens, we can talk about social media. We can talk about, you know, applying to school. We could talk about how, how best to utilize your time and not procrastinate. So we have different types of activities like that.

And then we also have fun, educational entertainment. So we have a magician that comes in and teaches how to do magic tricks and really fun activities that really keeps the children engaged.

It's really fun to see the evolution of the Youth Program Year after year because the young children that came in the first year, now they've made friends with the children of the other physicians, and they actually come back every year, and they look forward to seeing the same children, and they're growing up together. So now they're really good friends. So they get there and they say bye to the parents. They don't even want to see them. They actually just want to play with their friends. And it's really adorable to see how this group of children are really growing within EnVision Summit. So it's a really unique aspect of the meeting,

Stevenson:
And maybe [there are] even some future ophthalmologists or optometrists [in the youth program].

Henderson:
That's right! You never know. I mean, they're sitting in the lectures, and a lot of them are fascinated.

I also [want to] talk a little bit about the the trainee program. So we have seen year after year, a huge growth in the number of residents, fellows, and even medical students who actually attend our meeting. And it's free to trainees, so it's free for residents, fellows, and students. And we have seen a real explosion of interest amongs these young people. Obviously, the free registration is a big draw, but also, I think it's really the casual nature, the ability to talk to the attendings that are there, and you'll see a lot of people in academia there. There are chair people there, there are residency directors, as well as practicing physicians in high volume practices. So these young trainees can really rub elbows and have a conversation that's meaningful with these doctors. And I think that's also unique.

It's really growing and exploding within this population. And you can see, I think we had about 100 or so residents and fellows come last year, and the amount of posters that they're submitting, the talks that they're submitting, are really growing. And it's incredible. The quality of the talks that they're giving is really amazing. I'm really so impressed by these young trainees, year after year.