The year was 1975, and an American rock band called the Talking Heads, known for pioneering post-punk and new wave music, was discovered in New York City. Of their three musical hits that made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s top 500 songs that shaped rock and roll, “Once in a Lifetime” is one of the most memorable among baby boomers and maybe even recognizable by millennials.In ophthalmology, there are many “talking heads,” or key opinion leaders (KOLs), who help drive many of eye industry’s directions in terms of pharmaceuticals, surgical devices, diagnostic testing, clinical studies, surgical techniques, marketing strategies and, ultimately, ways to optimize patient care and outcomes. Whether it be in the form of formal advisory boards, round table sessions, smaller regional meetings or larger national eye meetings such as the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and American Academy of Ophthalmology, or just simple one-to-one discussions in the hallways or at mealtimes, KOLs have paved the way for present and future success for both eye care professionals and their patients. I look at eye care professionals as a whole as talking heads, leaders among themselves and their private, group and/or academic practices and their patients. Every day in the slit lamp trenches of clinical eye care or surgical suites or scientific laboratory settings, we are all leaders in trying to achieve the best for our patients, which stems from the fact that “Once in a Lifetime” we all did take the infamous Hippocratic Oath.
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