ESCRS 2026: Building respectful, inclusive workplaces in ophthalmology

At the 44th Congress of the ESCRS, held September 11 to 15, 2026, in London, Imane Tarib, MD, assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins, joined a session on creating respectful and inclusive work environments in ophthalmology. Tarib said the session, featuring clinicians and industry representatives, examined how surgical settings, clinic rooms, and meeting rooms can become more inclusive, with an emphasis on empowering people to speak up about problems they encounter.

Tarib called understanding and addressing bullying and harassment pivotal to ophthalmologists' ability to flourish in their careers. Medical training already demands significant exhaustion, she said, and unresolved issues during training or later in a career make it harder for ophthalmologists to advance into leadership roles.

Calling for structured curricula and cultural change

Tarib argued that ophthalmology needs dedicated curricula, delivered during medical school or specialty training, to help clinicians recognise warning signs, address issues appropriately, and recover professionally after an incident occurs. She pointed to industry practices, including regular small-group meetings to review how teams handle difficult situations, as a model medicine could adopt.

She cautioned that workplace culture is often described as fixed, but attributed much of it to differences across countries and professional contexts rather than to a single department. Tarib invited attendees to continue the discussion at next year's session, planned for 2027 in Madrid.

Advice for early-career ophthalmologists

For trainees, Tarib recommended identifying mentors early, including some outside one's own department. She said mentors met through conferences, social media, professional forums, LinkedIn, and case-discussion email lists can complement day-to-day mentors in clinic and the OR. "It is always wrong to not speak up," Tarib said, even when raising a concern is done imperfectly.

Tarib framed structural change and mentorship as complementary. Curricula and regular check-ins address harassment when it happens, she said, while mentor relationships built both inside and beyond one's own institution help clinicians stay resilient and keep progressing in their careers.