Eye doctor in surgery.

Volunteer Faculty

Our world renowned Volunteer Faculty are the heartbeat of our training programs, both on the Flying Eye Hospital and in partner hospitals around the world. For more than 30 years the keystone of our work has been to teach and train eye teams to fight blindness on their own - we couldn't do it without their hard work and dedication.

Volunteer faculty member Dr Ian Fleming, in blue scrubs, talks to colleagues in red scrubs
Sudheer Sukumar providing treatment to a patient, colleagues in scrubs behind him
Nurse Ann Marie Ablett, in blue scrubs, leans over a patient lying on a bed, another woman behind her
Dr Daniel Neeley screening a young patient.
Dr Ian Fleming training Vietnamese clinicians, all dressed in scrubs
The team in front of the flying eye hospital.
Angeline Chaipa, nurse volunteer, on the Flying Eye Hospital
Doctors performing glaucoma surgery in China, led by Orbis volunteer Dr James Brandt
Dr Rudy Wagner outside the Flying Eye Hospital.
Volunteer faculty member Dr Ian Fleming, in blue scrubs, talks to colleagues in red scrubs
Sudheer Sukumar providing treatment to a patient, colleagues in scrubs behind him
Nurse Ann Marie Ablett, in blue scrubs, leans over a patient lying on a bed, another woman behind her
Dr Daniel Neeley screening a young patient.
Dr Ian Fleming training Vietnamese clinicians, all dressed in scrubs
The team in front of the flying eye hospital.
Angeline Chaipa, nurse volunteer, on the Flying Eye Hospital
Doctors performing glaucoma surgery in China, led by Orbis volunteer Dr James Brandt
Dr Rudy Wagner outside the Flying Eye Hospital.

One of the biggest problems in eye health is the lack of an adequately trained workforce. Our global network of volunteer medical professionals give up their free time each year to share their amazing skills with friends and partners in communities around the world.

In 2019 alone Orbis deployed 144 Volunteer Faculty to train local eye care teams on our Flying Eye Hospital and in local hospitals.

This is the very reason Orbis was formed - to provide ongoing training and support. Comprised of world leading experts in eye health, our global force of 400 volunteer ophthalmologists, nurses, anaesthesiologists and biomedical engineers from over 30 countries, share their skills with local teams to help improve the level of eye care for generations to come.

By talking to our partner hospitals and their staff, we create teaching programs tailored specifically for their needs. Our volunteers conduct this training and pass on the tools to undertake more complicated procedures, improve surgical outcomes and most importantly of all, restore sight to those in need of assistance.

How One Nurse and her Patient Were Reunited on board the Flying Eye Hospital

May 11, 2018

Jose was a healthy, happy five-year-old playing outside near his home in Lima, Peru when he fell victim to a chance accident. Read about Jose's story below and how he was reunited years later with the nurse who helped him recover from his surgery on the Flying Eye Hospital....
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This is the magic of Orbis and the work that we do, helping people to see again

Our Volunteer Faculty also mentor people from around the world through our telemedicine platform, Cybersight. With 89% of the globe’s blind population living in low income settings, this training is making eye care more accessible where it’s needed most.

Onboarding video for new volunteers

Thanks to your support and the help of our Volunteer Faculty, children can see their parents for the first time; an elderly man regains his vision meaning their grandchild can go to school and no longer needs to be a carer; or a mother can receive surgery and return to work to support her family.

Flying Eye Hospital

The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is unlike any plane you’ve seen before. A state-of-the-art teaching facility complete with operating room, classroom and recovery room - this amazing aircraft has been an example of the marriage between medicine and aviation since 1982.
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