2025 WAEPS Annual Meeting

Physician Scientific CME Program

Meydenbauer Center
11100 NE 6th St
Bellevue WA 98004
March 13-14, 2025

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The Washington Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons presents an annual meeting which is attended by approximately 180 ophthalmologists as well as approximately 700 ophthalmic personnel, practice managers and coding professionals. The physician program, which begins on Thursday night, March 13 and continues with a full day program on Friday, March 14, is rich and diverse.

Faculty

The 2025 line-up of outstanding guest faculty for the physician program is as follows:

• Heather O’Donnell, MD | Cataract, Cornea and Refractive Surgery
• Gaurav Shah, MD | Retina
• Andrew Lee, MD, MD | Neuro-ophthalmology
• Manjool Shah, MD | Glaucoma
• Daniel Briceland, MD & Aaron Weingeist, MD of OMIC | Malpractice Prevention

Heather O’Donnell, MD

Dr. O'Donnell is a high-volume cataract surgeon & general ophthalmologist in Vancouver, BC, Canada. In addition to her practice in downtown Vancouver, since 2016 she has served the remote coastal community of Bella Bella, BC where she has been working with community leaders to improve local access to visual field and OCT testing, reducing hundreds of visits required out of the community.

As a Clinical Assistant Professor at UBC, she is actively involved in resident surgical teaching. She is a passionate educator and has amassed hundreds of hours teaching and lectures to family physicians, emergency physicians, and medical students. In 2020 and 2021, she served as the physician co-director for clinical planning for the New St. Paul’s hospital with a broad portfolio outside ophthalmology, from mental health and substance use, the centre for healthy aging, outpatient care and surgery. She also lectures on the topic of wellness and resilience to medical students.

Gaurav Shah, MD

Dr. Shah, MD practices with the West Coast Retina Medical Group. He is a graduate of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois College of Medicine. He did his internship at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Santa Clara, his residency at University of Minnesota, Department of Ophthalmology, and his Fellowship: Diseases and Surgery of the Retina and Vitreous, Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, PA.

Dr. Shah has won numerous awards and honors, including Charter Inductee of the Retina Hall of Fame, OSN Top 150 of Retina Specialist 2016, American Academy of Ophthalmology Senior Achievement Award, American Academy of Ophthalmology Senior Achievement Award, American Society of Retina Specialists’ Senior Honor Award 2004, and the Academy Lifetime Achievement award. He has over 200 publications and 17 book chapters. He will be president of ASRS in 2027 and is currently on the Executive Board.

Andrew Lee, MD

Dr. Lee is the Herb and Jean Lyman Centennial Chair in Ophthalmology and is the Founding Chairman of the Blanton Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology at Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. He is Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medicine and an adjunct professor of Ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine; Texas A and M College of Medicine; University of Iowa and the University of Buffalo; and Clinical Professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas and the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center.

He is a graduate of the University of Virginia (UVA) undergraduate and UVA School of Medicine. He was an ophthalmology resident and chief resident at Baylor College of Medicine and a clinical neuro-ophthalmology fellow and Fight for Sight postdoctoral research fellow at the Wilmer Eye Institute, the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Dr. Lee has served in numerous leadership roles at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and has received the AAO Achievement Award, Senior Achievement Award, Secretariat Award (three times), and Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a past President, a past Chairman of the Board, and Senior VP for Advocacy of the North American Neuro-ophthalmology Society.

Manjool Shah, MD

Dr. Shah completed his residency training at the Casey Eye Institute and fellowship training in Glaucoma and Advanced Anterior Segment Surgery at the University of Toronto. He is active in teaching residents and fellows, as well as through his work on various clinical committees with the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ASCRS), American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), and American Glaucoma Society (AGS).

Furthermore, Dr. Shah is passionate about global ophthalmology, and has lectured and taught surgery in Nigeria, Peru, Nepal, Kenya, and Jamaica. His specialized interests include performing and teaching MIGS surgeries as well as traditional glaucoma surgeries, as well as the management of complex anterior segment challenges such as dislocated IOL’s, subluxated or complex cataracts, and pupil and iris anomalies.

OMIC Presentation:

Daniel Briceland, MD & Aaron Weingeist, MD

Dr. Briceland was elected American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Senior Secretary for Advocacy in 2015. He is a graduate of the Academy’s Leadership Development Program, LDPII, class of 2000. Dr. Briceland also serves on the Academy’s Executive Committee. Dr. Briceland previously served as the Academy’s Secretary for State Affairs, and as an Associate for Secretary for State Affairs. Additionally, he previously was a member of the Academy’s Nominating Committee, Awards Committee and Committee on Aging. He served for six years as director of the Academy’s Leadership Development Program, overseeing the development of future leaders of state, subspecialty, and specialized interest societies and continues to be involved in this effort.

Dr. Briceland has been an Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company Director since 2012, with leadership roles on the Executive, Audit, Reinsurance, and Claims Committees.

Board-certified ophthalmologist Dr. Aaron P. Weingeist obtained his medical degree from The University of Iowa, Roy J. Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City, Iowa in 1993. He completed an internship in internal medicine followed by a three-year residency in Ophthalmology at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, Washington.

Dr. Weingeist specializes in refractive and cataract surgery. He is board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and is certified in iLASIK surgery. He also treats eye diseases such as diabetes, glaucoma, macular degeneration, as well as performs refractions for glasses and contact lenses. Dr. Weingeist is on staff at CHI Highline Medical Center in Burien.  

Schedule

Thursday evening, March 13, 2025: Physician dinner with CME program: 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Friday, March 14, 2025: Physician program continues 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5:10 p.m.

Total CME credit (pending): 8.0 hours

Thursday, March 13, 2025

Physician Dinner Meeting / CME Program: 7:00 - 9:30 PM

Friday, March 14, 2025

Physician Program Continues: 8:00 AM – 5:10 PM

Accreditation Statement

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of The University of Washington School of Medicine and WAEPS. The University of Washington School of Medicine is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The University of Washington School of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 8.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Registration Fee

Note: In order to take advantage of the significant member discounts on registration fees, the member's 2025 dues must be paid prior to registration.

Register Online

Hotel accommodations

A discounted room block is available at the nearby Seattle Marriott Bellevue, 200 110th Avenue N., Bellevue, WA. The rate is $215 per night. Space is limited. Rooms can be booked until February 12, 2025, or until all rooms in the block are filled.

Book Your Room

Parking

Underground parking is available at Meydenbauer Center. For other parking options in the area, click here: Area Public Parking Map

Reciprocal society members

WAEPS has reciprocal arrangements with ophthalmology societies in Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, and British Columbia. Physicians, providing proof of membership in their respective state and province societies, may register at the Active WAEPS Member rate. Please contact our office for details if you would like to take advantage of this opportunity: [email protected]

Cancellations

Cancellation requests must be submitted in writing. There is a $50.00 fee for cancellation before February 28, 2025. There are no refunds for cancellations after February 28, 2025. No Exceptions.

For more information or questions

Please contact the WAEPS office at 206-956-3648 or email [email protected]

For Information about each of the other components of our annual meeting click below:

Ophthalmic Coding, Documentation, and Reimbursement Seminar

Ophthalmic Medical Personnel Program (Tech Program)