Training partnerships between United States and Indian eye institutions.

Abstract

Dear Editor, Since the 1970s, ophthalmologists have been leaders in global health efforts in underserved regions and physician training programs.[1] Within the USA, ophthalmology residency programs have partnered with hospitals around the world to broaden their trainees’ exposure to different cultures, clinical practices, and pathologies.[2] We sought to explore the partnerships between US residency programs and Indian eye institutions that allow US trainees to gain these valuable experiences. We screened 115 US ophthalmology residency program websites for international rotation and training opportunities for residents and fellows. Of these, 25 (22%) programs offered international rotations, and of those, 15 (60%) were associated with Indian eye institutions: Aravind Eye Hospitals (7/15, 46.7%), L. V. Prasad Eye Hospital (3/15, 20%), Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital (1/15, 6.7%), and Srikiran Institute of Ophthalmology (1/15, 6.7%). Three (20%) programs listed training opportunities in India without specifying a specific institution. Although some US programs send their residents to Latin America and China, the higher number of Indian rotation sites is particularly striking. While sharing a mutual English language, Indian training sites allow US trainees to gain exposure to a variety of pathologies that are uncommon in the US, such as malnutrition, infections, advanced glaucoma, mature cataracts, and uncorrected refractive errors.[3,4] Furthermore, US graduates benefit from the vast surgical expertise of Indian surgeons, particularly their cost-effective approaches to treatment and small-incision cataract surgeries.[5] In addition, the trainees in these programs gain cultural competency, insight into global ethics, and exposure to different health-care systems.[1] In exchange, Indian physicians are exposed to the American approaches to clinical problems through observation and dialog. Our findings demonstrate that the close collaboration between US and Indian ophthalmology departments benefits both patients and physicians. Strong ties between the two nations may aid joint efforts in tackling global health problems, in research, and build on existing programs such as the Seva Foundation, Orbis, and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). Similarly, creating rotation sites for Indian trainees in the USA may further strengthen this mutually beneficial relationship. Financial support and sponsorship This study was supported in part by the NIH grant P30 EY030413 (Bethesda, MD, USA), Research to Prevent Blindness (NYC, NY, USA), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Student Research Program (Dallas, TX, USA), and NIH award UL1TR001105. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.