Dr Ian Yeo (pictured below) is Senior Consultant of the Vitreo-Retinal Department of the Singapore National Eye Center. He is also the Deputy Medical Director (Education) and Academic Vice Chair (Education). In his words, he does "a little bit of every thing, but education is his passion."
Dr Ian Yeo's Story
Happy World Sight Day everyone!
On this special day, we share the story of a Singaporean who joined us in China in September to pass on his skills.
Combining his expertise in medical retina and his passion for education, he trained ophthalmologists to identify and treat retinal diseases while he was in Shenyang.
When asked about the difference between doctors in Singapore and China, Dr Yeo said there was no difference in the doctors. Instead, he said it was the difference in opportunities to practise their medical skills that was stark.
Training ophthalmologists to identify and treat retinal diseases is important. Due to lack of practice opportunities, the local ophthalmologists are not familiar with the conditions and fail to pick up symptoms in the early stages. This delays diagnosis and treatment, lowering the chance of preventing blindness.
After training, these Chinese ophthalmologists are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to pick up these symptoms and provide prompt treatment.
Dr Ian Yeo
Orbis Volunteer Faculty
This is my first trip to Orbis and it’s a wonderful experience so far getting to work with the local as well as the international ophthalmologists, as well as the allied health team, the nurses. This has been a great experience! The team is well-trained to work in severe environments. It is not easy to operate in a different place and I salute their ability to do so.
Thank you Dr Yeo for your time and talent. We look forward to welcoming you to another Orbis program in future. Till next time!
