Packing for Impact: What It’s Like to Prepare for the Flying Eye Hospital

When fifth-year ophthalmology resident, Dr. Cody Lo, got the call to join Orbis’s Flying Eye Hospital project in Ghana, he did what most first-timers do: he started collecting questions. What does a typical day look like on the plane? What should you pack? How do you get selected in the first place? To get ready, Dr. Lo sat down with Dr. Sheetal Pundir, a McGill University ophthalmology resident and Orbis Volunteer Faculty member, who participated in our Flying Eye Hospital training project in Bangladesh. Their conversation turned into a practical guide for anyone curious about what it's like to participate in an Orbis project.

Below is a distilled look at what to expect, how to prepare, and why the experience can change the way you train and teach forever. 

The Flying Eye Hospital is a fully equipped, state-of-the-art teaching facility on board an MD-10 aircraft. It includes an operating room, classroom, simulation spaces, and a recovery area. The plane flies to the host country, is meticulously converted to "hospital mode", and then becomes a hub for simulation training and, in later weeks, hands-on surgical teaching. There's also important training that happens off the plane with our local partner hospitals.

Myth busting: Volunteers typically don't fly on the Flying Eye Hospital – they travel to the project location on commercial flights. Only the Flying Eye Hospital crew and medical team fly on the plane. They arrive a few days early to convert the plane into hospital mode and prepare for the weeks of training ahead. 

A typical Flying Eye Hospital training project runs for three to four weeks. Volunteers usually join for one or two weeks at a time, depending on the match between their skills and local training needs.

Week 1 often focuses on simulation and classroom teaching. This includes things like indirect ophthalmoscopy, laser simulation, wet-lab practice, case discussions, lectures, and reading imaging.
Weeks 2-3 focus mainly on hands-on surgical training where local patients are selected for treatment so local eye care teams can learn the advanced skills they need to treat countless other patients in the future. 

A parallel training team often works in local partner hospitals providing additional training for eye care teams in their own hospital environment. 

“Every day felt like learning and teaching in motion,” Dr. Pundir shared. “You are surrounded by specialists from around the world and enthusiastic trainees who are eager for hands-on mentorship.”

Expect to spend most of your time teaching. That can include:

• Running simulation stations for lasers and indirect ophthalmoscopy
• Leading case-based discussions, guideline talks, and leading journal clubs
• Reviewing imaging with local residents and fellows
• Helping with wet-lab sessions and pitching in at other stations as needed

One insight Dr. Pundir emphasized is that many local eye health professionals have strong theoretical knowledge but fewer chances for hands-on practice. The role of Orbis's Volunteer Faculty and Associate Ophthalmologists is to bridge that gap, make skills feel tangible, and leave behind practical approaches that can be used right away.

Equipment: Don't overpack! The plane is stocked with lenses, simulators, and artificial eyes, and there is a biomedical engineer on hand to keep stations running. If you have unused or overstock training supplies at your institution, you can ask the Flying Eye Hospital team whether bringing them for teaching purposes would help.

Suitcase strategy:

• Leave space for local art and cultural items. Supporting local artisans is a highlight for many volunteers.
• Get your vaccinations and travel meds in order well ahead of time.
• Pack some culinary curiosity. Teams often share meals and explore local cuisine together.
• Bring a teaching mindset. Save de-identified images and cases throughout your residency. They become gold in your slide decks while on the plane.

• Breakfast and daily huddle to review schedules and roles
• Transport to the airport with a prearranged pass for plane access
• Teaching blocks on the aircraft or at partner hospitals
• Media moments are common. The Flying Eye Hospital draws attention, so expect local press and lots of cameras
• Evening social time with the team, and sometimes planned outings to explore the host city

The biggest surprise for Dr. Pundir was how seamless the logistics felt. Flights, accommodation, ground transport, security procedures, daily flow, and supplies were all carefully organized. That structure lets volunteers focus on teaching.

Volunteers often come home with a sharper sense of gratitude for their own training environment and a renewed commitment to teach deliberately. Routine tasks start to look like teaching opportunities. You begin collecting de-identified cases, refining explanations, and thinking about how to transfer skills to different settings. Many also speak about the joy of cross-cultural collaboration and the long-term relationships that form with colleagues abroad.

Preparing to join the Flying Eye Hospital is equal parts logistics, learning, and letting yourself be surprised. You arrive ready to teach. You leave with new colleagues, new skills, and a deeper understanding of how education multiplies impact long after the plane takes off.

If you are a trainee or early-career ophthalmologist who is curious about getting involved, explore Orbis’s training and volunteer pathways and start building the strengths you want to share on board. The world’s brightest classrooms are not always in buildings – sometimes they have wings!