Flying Eye Hospital update: Week one complete!

With simulation training, doctors can practice difficult techniques multiple times to hone muscle memory, before progressing on to human patients. This leads to better outcomes for patients and increases the skills and experience of local teams.

Our Flying Eye Hospital landed safely in Mongolia thanks to FedEx volunteer pilots and longtime Orbis volunteers, Captains Cyndhi Berwyn and Gary Dyson.

During week one, more than 70 local residents and ophthalmologists had the opportunity to practice their surgical skills on both artificial eyes and on specialist virtual reality equipment. Rotating through the subspecialties of cataract, glaucoma, retina laser, and strabismus, those taking part received hands-on experience in complex surgeries that they can use to better treat their communities.

Orbis staff on board the plane have also been hard at work training the next generation of Mongolian eye doctors. Dr. Omar Salamanca, Lead Ophthalmologist on board the Flying Eye Hospital, says, “The most rewarding feeling is when I see the confidence emerge among residents over the course of a training week. Hand movements and dealing with the surgical instruments. After a few days, you also notice subtle expressions of satisfaction, even smiles on their faces."

Flying Eye Hospital Director, Maurice Geary, believes simulation is a good way to prepare participants for the rest of the project. He says, “It was a great week. Simulation really sets up the surgical training weeks because it gives the residents a foundational learning, which sets up the live surgical training so successfully. I’ve been given feedback from the residents here in Mongolia, that they really appreciate the simulation equipment—technology they normally don’t have the opportunity to use”.

As we continue into the live surgical portion of the project, Maurice believes the participants are well prepared. He says, "A few of our Volunteer Faculty shared that their training participants were already at solid level and, as trainers, they could already see improvement over a short period of time".

Like all Flying Eye Hospital projects, this one sets out to train the entire eye care team, from ophthalmologists to nurses, anesthesiologists, and biomedical engineers. "Another standout was the anesthesia and nursing workshops that came together toward weeks’ end— a group exercise which I think is a great new addition to our training platform”, Maurice said.

We’d like to thank Orbis supporters, volunteers, and partners for enabling us to enhance the skills of Mongolian eye teams using state-of-the-art simulation equipment.

Week one of our Mongolia training project would also not have been possible without Title Sponsor FedEx. FedEx has supported Orbis for more than 30 years, most recently donating equipment and expertise for our triple engine upgrade to our Flying Eye Hospital. Volunteer FedEx pilots Captains Cyndhi Berwyn and Gary Dyson safely guided the plane to Mongolia and continue to train future pilots to fly our MD-10aircraft.

We want to thank FedEx for their support these past three decades and for helping bring quality eye care to Mongolia and around the world.