Virtual Outreach sessions continue in Papua New Guinea
In partnership with The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ, Specsavers held the third virtual outreach session on Friday, September 24th. This virtual session was livestreamed to students studying the Postgraduate Diploma of Eye Care at the Divine World University in Papua New Guinea. These sessions aim to provide training to students so that people in Pacific regions can receive quality eye care.
This virtual session was hosted by Rowena Fuller and Nihaama Narayananan, both optometrists from Specsavers Ballarat.
Rowena presented a case study to the students on keratoconus, which occurs when the cornea thins and bulges outward in a cone shape.
“I wanted to focus on keratoconus in general, but also emphasis the things you can do to diagnose, monitor and treat an eye condition like this when you don’t have access to RGPs, ophthalmologists, or topographers, which is the case for most of these students.”
Rowena enjoyed the experience, having volunteered in the past, however it is the long-term impact that this outreach program has on the broader community in Pacific regions that provides the most reward.
“To me the program is really impactful because it sets people up with the knowledge to manage eyecare, within local communities. I believe that this is much more proactive than just sending in an outreach team to service the area.”
Stay tuned for more virtual outreach updates, with the next session being livestreamed to students at the Fiji University in Fiji, studying the Postgraduate Diploma of Eye Care.
