Eyeworld

EUROTIMES Full interactivity featuring: ...and more! Search for 'ESCRS EuroTimes' INTERACTIVE! SLIDESHOWS PODCASTS VIDEO /EuroTimesNews @eurotimestweets Dr. Feilmeier at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana, teaching corneal transplantation to the team. Source: Michael Feilmeier, MD independence could be provided to a patient with a mere $20, 5-minute cataract surgery. Lightening strikes like the ones I experienced are happening all over the world, and as a result, global ophthalmology is gaining momen- tum everywhere we look, from the 1-week medical mission to the large- scale academic global ophthalmolo- gy programs. Because of this upsurge in interest and increased globaliza- tion, we are seeing the quality of eyecare improving and the technolo- gy gap shrinking in even the poorest countries in the world. But we still have a long way to go. To get there, we dedicate ourselves to the path less traveled and leave the comforts of home to give. To the outsider, this work is seemingly selfless. We abandon our families, our jobs, our patients, and our responsibilities at home, and travel to far off and typically poverty stricken locations to work grueling hours on difficult cases in adverse environments. For these reasons, the work can be mentally and physically challenging, but we all do it for the same reasons we do most things in our lives. We do it because it makes us feel good. Many of us also feel a profes- sional and moral obligation to the global community to share our knowledge and transfer our skills for the betterment of patient care. Through engaging in this work, we achieve an incredible sense of satisfaction as well as personal and professional development. These experiences give us a clear and re- freshing perspective on our lives. It is deeply transformative and some- what addicting. We are excited to introduce this column to spotlight some of the amazing efforts and stories of those individuals who are committed to global volunteerism and outreach work. Our hope is that this column will inspire like-minded ophthal- mologists to initiate or grow their volunteer efforts, provide insight on how to be a successful volun- teer, and connect those who share an interest in global volunteerism, hopefully spawning new collabora- tive efforts. Most importantly, we want you to enjoy these inspiring individuals and the stories they live. EW Contact information Feilmeier: mfeilmeier@midwesteyecare.com Pletcher: stan@globalsight.org

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