EEC's Global Ophthalmology Director, Jacquelyn O'Banion, MD, helped develop the course, now offered by the American Academy of Ophthalmology
A new online course offered through the American Academy of Ophthalmology is answering the growing demand for practical and philosophical wisdom in the field of global ophthalmology.
The 10-part course, entitled Academic Global Ophthalmology, is free and now available to all AAO members.
Sometimes, even well-intentioned efforts to do global health outreach in other countries falls into the rut of being a fly-in, fly-out mission,
explains Emory Eye Center clinician Jacquelyn O'Banion, one of nine ophthalmologists who spent two years building the course.
We can do better. By sharing best practices and foundational knowledge in public health, we can give learners the tools to be impactful as visiting physicians.
The fly-in, fly-out
scenario that O'Banion mentioned occurs when a group of well-funded (usually Western) physicians fly into a less-resourced country, perform surgeries on local people, and then leave. If they have failed to work with the local physicians and health systems during their visit, these doctors can bring more disruption than aid.
Patients develop the idea that the outside physicians are better, or more qualified, so they don't connect with their local physicians for routine or follow-up care after the visiting doctors leave,
said O'Banion. This is one of the problems we address in the course.
O'Banion knows firsthand of what she speaks. As the director of Emory Eye Center's Global Ophthalmology (GO-E) program, she has traveled the world to deliver physician education and patient care for the better part of a decade. The Texas native has worked in Peru, Eswatini, China, Ethiopia, and Honduras, to name a few. Working closely with her colleagues in these countries, she has learned to identify culturally appropriate, sustainable approaches to healthcare delivery and medical education.
Other ophthalmologists who collaborated on this course include Grace Sun, MD, Ashlie A. Bernhisel, MD, R.V. Paul Chan, MD, MBA, Brent Finklea, MD, Peter MacIntosh, MD, Jeff Pettey, MD, MBA, Robert Swan, MD, and Richmond Woodward, MD.
-Kathleen E. Moore