Augsburger Wins Award for Mentorship of Ophthalmology Trainees

Adeel Shaikh, MD, a third-year ophthalmology resident at UC, says he’s decided to take his education a step further with sub-specialty training in the retina.

But this idea didn’t completely form on its own.

"Dr. (James) Augsburger has been an inspiration for me to pursue this training,” says Shaikh, who has matched in the retina fellowship at UC for 2012. "He has mentored me through research projects, residency training and as a teacher since 2007. He is a dedicated and honest clinician, an outstanding teaching and a role model for any aspiring ophthalmologist.”

Shaikh is not the only mentee with these feelings, and now Augsburger is being awarded for his efforts by recently being named a 2012 Silver Fellow by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO).

ARVO fellowships are awarded to individuals who serve as role models and mentors for those pursuing careers in vision and ophthalmology research.

Eligibility for the designation is determined by a point system established by the ARVO Board, under which members are awarded points for participation.

ARVO has more than 12,500 members from all over the world. Membership is multidisciplinary and consists of both clinical and basic researchers.

"I have always believed that a clinical faculty member’s principal responsibility is to give trainees the opportunity and encouragement to learn from supervised patient evaluations and treatments," Augsburger says. "I hope that the clinical trainees I supervise will achieve a level of competency and expertise that exceeds my own and ultimately provide better patient care than I was ever able to provide. I am grateful to ARVO for this acknowledgement of my teaching and mentoring efforts.”

Shaikh says Augsburger is quite "deserving” of this title.

"Despite a busy schedule, he has always had an open door policy and will take time to discuss any personal or professional concerns and offer honest advice,” he says. "In short, (Augsburger) serves as a role model in his role as clinician, teacher and human being.”