Dr Goggin, one of the two ophthalmic surgeons in Ashford Advanced Eye Care, recently returned from Cambodia having been invited to participate in a teaching program for local eye doctors in training.
Dr Goggin, one of the two ophthalmic surgeons in Ashford Advanced Eye Care, recently returned from Cambodia having been invited to participate in a teaching program for local eye doctors in training. This program is funded by Australia’s Fred Hollows Foundation, a large charitable organisation dedicated to furthering eye care and fighting blindness in the developing world. This is Dr Goggin’s 3rd invitation to participate in Cambodia having also taught in Burma in recent years. Administrative support has recently been provided for this project by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.
Dr Goggin spent a week in Phnom Penh, on this occasion, providing practical teaching in ophthalmology to a group of local trainees. In collaboration with local senior ophthalmic surgeons and some other visiting surgeons, this project aims to increase the numbers of trained ophthalmic surgeons as rapidly as possible to meet the huge demand for eye care in Cambodia. He has directed teaching and learning for the trainees on such subjects as clinical optics, corneal disease and cataract, both on this occasion and on his 2 previous visits.
In human terms, these trips have provided Dr Goggin with great personal satisfaction, enabling him to witness the progression of young ophthalmologists from junior trainees to useful members of the medical community in Cambodia. At the end of this visit, despite several previous trips to Cambodia, he was able to find time to visit the extraordinary temples at Angkor Wat, an experience he described as “incredible – one for the bucket list”.