Orbis held a training programme on board its Flying Eye Hospital in Can Tho, Vietnam, with local eye care professionals in May as part of Volunteers’ Week (June 1-7).
Led by long-term Orbis medical volunteer Larry Benjamin, local ophthalmologists were trained to use a full-suite of cutting-edge simulation tools including virtual reality, prosthetic eyes, and life-like manikins.
‘The trainees were able to practise things that are difficult to do on real patients and ask questions as we went along. They all ended up doing things they had never tried before and felt that they had accomplished a lot. Leading simulator training is harder than it sounds as it is important to tailor each session to the individual needs of the surgeons with different experiences.
‘One of the very impressive things with Orbis is their philosophy of teaching local people how to do the surgery rather than just doing it themselves. The principle really is to leave something behind that can grow.’
Each year, 400 volunteer ophthalmologists, nurses, anaesthetists and biomedical engineers from over 30 countries share their skills with local teams as part of volunteer teams for Orbis.