EnVision Summit 2025: Furthering optometric and ophthalmic collaboration

Optometry and ophthalmology tracks will continue to collide at this year's EnVision Summit, being held in Puerto Rico from February 14 to 17, 2025. Cecelia Koetting, OD, FAAO, Dipl ABO, cochair of EnVision Summit, remarks of previous success from the 2024 conference and what is getting her excited about this year's event. She cites comanagement, a focus on discussion-based panels, and the conference's family-friendly approach as features to look forward to this year.

Video transcript:

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

Jordana Joy:

Hi everyone. I'm here today with Cecilia Koetting, cochair of EnVision Summit. She's here to chat about the coming year's event, which will be held in Puerto Rico from February 14 to the 17. So welcome. It's a pleasure to have you here today.

Cecelia Koetting, OD, FAAO, Dipl ABO:

Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.

Joy:

Awesome. Of course, it's always a pleasure. So first, could you give us an overview of how last year's EnVision Summit went? What were some of your takeaways, and what about last year's event makes you excited for this year's event?

Koetting:

So last year was my first year ever being at EnVision, and it was actually the first year for optometry to have its own track as well. So I was really excited to be there, one: just to experience everything that I kept hearing from everybody about how special it is, as far as the camaraderie, the very inviting environment as far as for family and very inclusive. It really just it lived up. It was phenomenal. I was really happy. Now, as far as for the optometry track, it was first year we were a little smaller, a little bit more homey, and getting to have really good discussions, which actually was great. So it went very well.

Joy:

It's all exciting. So in that introduction for the optometric [track], what plans for expansion are you looking forward to in the coming years?

Koetting:

So I'm excited this year with the program that we're developing. It's still coming along. I've got a great faculty that we've we've got confirmed, we've got Ashley Wallace Tucker, we've got Sherrol Reynolds, we've got Jessica Steen, and Katie Rashon. So we've got a nice powerhouse. I'm going to jump in there. You know, I don't sit on the sideline, so I'll jump in and and help with panels, and we're going to bring over some ophthalmology. But with our group, we really want it to be a lot of discussion based and panels, so that we can all be part of it. And that's really where I'm hoping to see this grow is it being a little bit more, even if it's more intimate, more discussion based, and getting those who are in the audience involved too because I think we all learn from each other when we're in these environments.

Joy:

Absolutely. What do you hope that attendees are able to get out of this conference?

Koetting:

So if nothing else, I think that obviously we want really good education. We want collaboration between optometry and ophthalmology. And for me, that's always one of the big things that I want is a lot more collaboration, because we should be working together. There's no reason; at the end of the day, we're all trying to work to help our patients. And that's a big thing for me, and why I jumped in last year is helping to develop this program, is in the hopes that watching more of our conferences come together with optometry and ophthalmology in seeing a broader, brighter future as far as collaboration between the two. So that's my personal hope.

Joy:

Absolutely. So what are you personally looking forward to? Any old colleagues you're looking to be able to chat with? Any new education opportunities?

Koetting:

So secretly, I'm hoping that they have me come back and do the yoga again for the kids. I did the yoga for the kids program for a couple days. So that was my personal hope. So I'm looking forward to that. Otherwise, I'm looking forward, yes, exactly, seeing colleagues, honestly, again, working collaboratively with the ophthalmology portion of the program, to just have good conversations. I like when it puts all of us who are like minded in one spot so that we can chat, and then also, because it is such a family oriented and just inviting environment, I like meeting people's spouses and their kids. It's nice to see who people are outside of what we do.

Joy:

Thank you very much, Dr Koetting, it's been a pleasure to chat with you today.

Koetting:

You as well.