From the Editor

150 Years (More or Less) Later

BY WILLIAM J. FISHKIND, MD, FACS
CHIEF MEDICAL EDITOR

On Dec. 7, 1854, as dean of the new faculty of sciences at the University of Lille Nord de France, Louis Pasteur presented an opening speech in which he said, “In the fields of observation, chance only favors the mind which is prepared.” Pasteur was speaking of Danish physicist Hans Christian Ørsted and the almost “fortuitous” way in which he discovered the basic principles of electromagnetism.

Last month at ASCRS, we had the opportunity to converse with and learn from a hero we can all relate to — Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger. After all, every one of us imagines the unimaginable while putting our faith in another human being.

On Jan. 15, 2009, Captain Sullenberger shepherded all the passengers on Flight 1549 to safety during a perfect water landing in the Hudson River in New York City. What could have been a tragedy of enormous proportions became instead a seemingly miraculous success and the stuff of legends. Underpinning that miracle were Captain Sullenberger’s years of disciplined training, practice and study. He spent most of his life preparing himself for that moment, knowing not when, where, how or even if it would come, only that he should be ready if it did.

In his book, Making a Difference, Captain Sullenberger reflects that Charles “Lucky Lindy” Lindbergh was successful crossing the Atlantic Ocean consequent to his exceptional pilot preparation. Lindy and Sully are the ultimate examples of chance favoring the prepared mind.

In this issue, we address topics that embrace the new — facilities in which we perform and serve our patients, technologies that improve the surgical care we provide and procedures that extend our resources to more surgeons and the patients they serve, adding vibrancy and vitality, and enhancing the efficiency of our ophthalmic ASCs.

Inherent in our positive embrace of the new is an underlying faith and commitment to the very lessons taught by Pasteur so many years ago, and so courageously demonstrated by Captain Sullenberger — a philosophy and steadfast belief that judgment must go hand in glove with, and never be replaced by, the tools of our endeavors.

Standing on the shoulders of a prepared Pasteur and a diligent Ørsted, Captain Sullenberger reminds us of the virtues that stimulate our quest for surgical skill and successful outcomes and that resonate with our surgical intellect.

Indeed, chance favors the prepared mind.

In the words of Captain Sullenberger, “One of the greatest qualities a leader can have is a positive outlook grounded in reality and rooted in competence.”

Thank you, Captain Sullenberger. ■

William J. Fishkind, MD, FACS, is Chief Medical Editor of The Ophthalmic ASC and past President of OOSS. He is Director of the Fishkind, Bakewell & Maltzman Eye Care and Surgery Center in Tucson, Ariz.