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SANKARA EYE FOUNDATION Clinical Volunteering
Program
Thank
you for expressing your interest in the Sankara Eye Foundation Clinical
Volunteering program held at the Sankara
Eye Hospital
in Coimbatore, India
and the Clinical Volunteering and Observership program offered at the Sankara Eye
Hospital in Andhra Pradesh, India.
Sankara Eye
Foundation (SEF), USA
SEF
is a registered non-profit organization incorporated in California,
USA, and is dedicated to
supporting community eye care activities in India. Our mission at SEF is to
realize the goal of 20/20 vision by the year 2020, all over India.
Founded
in 1998, SEF has grown rapidly and is run almost entirely by a group of
over two hundred plus energetic volunteers. Since its inception in support
of its mission, SEF has more than doubled its funds raised every
year. SEF initiates and drives community eye care activities in India by working with eye care organizations
such as Sankara Eye Care Institutions, which runs the Sankara
Eye Hospital
in Coimbatore, India.
Funds
are collected towards specific programs such as Gift of Vision ($30 per
cataract procedure), Open an Eye a Month ($30 per month) and other focused
programs that include construction of hospitals. SEF provides
extensive feedback to its donors as to how their money is used and that has
resulted in a large number of repeat donors.
Funds raised by SEF, USA have played a
significant role in increasing the number of free eye surgeries in India,
up from 8,000 annually to its current rate of 56,000 annually,
just in a few short years. Last
year SEF, USA
reached a significant milestone, the inauguration of a new eye hospital in
the city of Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, and
very recently on October 28th 2005 SEF,
USA reached another
major milestone – the initiation of the construction of the Bangalore Hospital. SEF, USA is well on its way to achieving its
mission of bringing 20/20 vision by the year 2020 all over India.
There
are about 45 million blind people in India today. That is 1/5th of
the world’s blind population. Thankfully 80% of this is curable. At Sankara Eye
Hospitals, Cataract
surgeries contribute to over 80% of surgeries performed, while, Glaucoma,
Corneal Blindness, Retina, Occuloplasty and Childhood blindness constitute
the rest. The staggering
success rate of Cataract surgeries is 99%.
To
further the mission of 20/20 vision by 2020 all over India, the Coimbatore
model is being replicated in other states in India. Andhra Pradesh was
the first state in this expansion effort. Over the past year, SEF has
raised funds to build hospitals in Shimoga, Bangalore in Karnataka, and in
Anand, Gujarat. You can find
more information about SEF at http://www.giftofvision.org.
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Sankara Eye CARE
Institutions (SECI), INDIA
Founded
by Dr. Ramani under the auspices of Sankaracharyas in 1977, the 500 bed
state-of-the art, Sankara Eye Hospital
in Coimbatore has grown to be # 1 Free Eye
Care Hospital
in India covering rural
areas in Southern India. With over 45,000
surgeries annually (more than 210,000 since the beginning) the Sankara Eye
Hospital in Coimbatore has become a model institution
that blends leading medical technologies and best practices in community
eye care.
SECI
has a very active rural outreach program called Gift of Vision in which
camps are conducted weekly -- not one week has been missed in the last
25 years. At the rural camps,
individuals suffering from corneal blindness, cataract, glaucoma and other
eye ailments are identified and brought back to the hospitals for medical
and surgical treatment, free of cost.
Currently Coimbatore is the only
district in India
to have reached zero backlogs (i.e. it can sustain 20/20 vision for all
areas in the district). It is expected that Tamilnadu will reach the 20/20
goal soon.
The
institution has trained field personnel and served as a model for community
eye care hospitals in India
(Rudraprayag, Madhubani, Mount Abu) and abroad (Lagos, Nigeria).
For his pioneering work for the past 25 years in the area of community
eye care Dr. Ramani was one of the six people from all over India,
awarded the Role model award for the year 2000.
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Sankara Eye FOUNDATION CLINICAL Volunteer,
Observership and Internship Program
We
have three programs that you can apply for – clinical Volunteering
programs. If you are interested
in participating in any of these programs in India, please read the Frequently Asked Questions first and then fill out the application.
In order to be considered for any of these programs, you must reside
in the United States, Canada or England.
Frequently
Asked Questions:
The
following is a list of Questions and Answers (FAQ) that should help you
understand the SEF Volunteering program.
Sankara
Eye Foundation is pleased to provide three programs – clinical
volunteering, observership and internship programs.
The
area of activity and the nature of work would vary depending on the
applicants existing qualification and experience. For example, a medical student gets
exposed to such a variety of disease pattern and the most modern
treatments available. The
volume is so much that he/she would take years to get the same exposure in
the United States. Intern and clinical observership
participants can make use of the library and participate in the regular
teaching programs apart from various other activities in the
Institution. They are welcome
to watch the huge collection of videos on operative and other procedures.
FAQ List
Q: What types
of opportunities does Sankara Eye Hospital offer? What are the time requirements?
Q: I
am not a college student, or medical student. I am interested in doing volunteer
work. Can I participate?
Q: I
am interested in participating in one of the programs offered. What background do you look for to
participate in the programs?
Q: What are the typical
number of people you can accommodate in the clinical volunteering programs
in a given timeframe?
Q: When
are programs conducted at Sankara Eye Hospital?
Q: Where can I find out
more about Sankara Eye Foundation?
Q: At what hospitals are
clinical programs granted?
Q: Where are the hospitals
located?
Q: Where can I find
information about the hospitals?
Q: Do I need to take any
immunization shots before starting my internship?
Q: Do you provide a salary or financial
support for either the clinical observership or internship programs?
Q: Do you provide accommodations and
food?
Q: Are there any charges for the
clinical volunteering programs?
Q: Do you have any orientation packets
for the clinical volunteering programs?
Q: Do you have map of Sankara Eye Hospital,
Coimbatore and Guntur?
Q: Will I be picked
up at the Airport?
Q: What is the dress code?
Q: What is the policy for alcohol and
smoking
Q: What are the deadlines for
submitting the application?
Q: What types of opportunities does Sankara Eye Hospital
offer? What are the time
requirements?
A: Sankara Eye Foundations provides
clinical volunteering, observership and internship programs at our Sankara
Eye Hospitals in India.
1.
Clinical Volunteering –
Requirements:
Those interested in volunteering should have
an interest to serve the needy and should be in a position to assimilate
and adapt to the local culture and practices. Knowledge of the local
language would be beneficial (not a must) as this would allow you to
interact with patients directly.
At present with the institution scaling its
operations, we would prefer to have professionals with administrative
backgrounds preferably volunteering. Key areas such as marketing, web
design, Public Relations / Patient Relations (PRO), Housekeeping, and
Quality Control would be relevant skills we would benefit from. Public Relations / Patient Relations
would broadly look at external and internal marketing predominantly through
patient care, feedback surveys and anything new the volunteer can envisage.
If high school students wish to
volunteer the minimum requirement is 10th grade or higher (finished with 9th grade and waiting for
school to start is acceptable). High School students wishing to participate in this program must have
their own accommodations and transportation.
High School students may participate in the following
activities. This is not an
exhaustive list, but should provide examples of what a high school student
can get exposure to.
1.
Patient satisfaction surveys
2.
Perform case studies
3.
Review and report on the patient wait time through observation and
attachment in OPD unit
4.
Help to arrange library and index them
5.
Teach local staff spoken English
6.
Teach local staff basic computer skills
7.
Study the process for inpatient and out-patient area by working
closely with the sister in charge
8.
Observe the steps in camp organizing
9.
Conduct exit poll at camps
10.
Chaperoning patients (be their guardian while they are with us)
On a case by case basis, we could locate
appropriate activities for the volunteer based on background.
Program Outline:
Those who are currently working with
organizations would get the experience of working in a different work
atmosphere. We are a unique
blend of a non-profit trying to streamline our working environment and
services on corporate principles.
You would get exposure to the local culture
and experiences of doctors in India. This would definitely be
a value addition to you on return to their primary occupation.
People may get opportunities to attend eye
camps, observe doctors and nurses attend to patients, and help in tasks
that require no medical background.
Essentially, you will be doing a lot of
observing and learning while you are volunteering at Sankara Eye
Hospital.
When attending eye camps, you will work with doctors, nurses and other
volunteers in helping setup the eye camp, and getting people processed
throughout the day. We have eye camps in surrounding rural areas
every weekend. The goal of the eye camps is to identify the poorest
of poorest people who need eye procedures so they can live a normal
life. Typically, at the end of the day, we bring these people back to
the hospital in Coimbatore
where we provide them room and board, food, medicine and conduct eye procedures
so they can resume a normal life. This is all done FREE of charge.
You will get a chance to see how you are changing and affecting peoples
lives throughout your time at the hospital.
Duration of
volunteering:
We would recommend a minimum period of 2
weeks to a maximum of 2 months. (Note:
Accommodation could be an issue at some of our centers as they do
not all have accommodations)
2.
Clinical Observership –
Requirements:
This program is specifically for those
involved in health care. Those attending the program could be
·
Residents in Ophthalmology
·
Medical Graduates (M.D. degree achieved)
·
Sub Specialty training in Ophthalmology
·
Undergoing Sub Specialty training in
Ophthalmology
·
Geriatric medicine / general medicine Sub
Specialty
·
Optometrists
·
Optometry students
·
Public health / hospital administrations
students
Program Outline:
For residents in ophthalmology, you would
get to observe the functioning of the outpatient clinic and observe various
eye surgeries. You could partake in the academics in campus and would be
encouraged to use the library facilities and interact with our doctors.
You would get to attend our Reach screening
programs which would allow you to not only understand the functioning of a
community eye care organization, but also assimilate the unique India that
resides in our villages.
Optometrists would benefit from exposure to
outpatients procedures and could teach classes to our students (depending
on their experience). Depending on your specific interests you could be a
part of the pediatric screening team etc.
Administrators would not only observe the
functioning of the organization, but could be a value addition with
suggestions from his/her experience in working in the US or other countries. You
would be encouraged to teach interactive sessions to our post graduates.
People may get opportunities to attend eye
camps, observe doctors and nurses attend to patients, and help in tasks
that require no medical background.
There is great flexibility for the participant to observe as many or few of
our programs as desired. The constraints of observership time and faculty
availability ultimately dictate the experience. Hands on experience
may not be possible as you are not trained in Ophthalmology. However,
you may be able to do some tasks that don't require training in
Ophthalmology.
We have a variety of departments. They range from routine Eye
Outpatient Services, Outreach (camp) department, Eye Bank, Ophthalmic
diagnostics, Clinical Laboratory, X-Ray dept (only at Coimbatore). Surgical theatres, IT dept,
Optical shop and fitting lab and support services (cafeteria, house keeping
etc).
Your time at Sankara
Eye Hospital
will enable you to interact and observe some of these departments. Your
schedule would be worked with your interest and your future plans in mind.
Duration of observership:
1 week to a maximum of 3 weeks.
3.
Clinical
Internship – (available only at Sankara Eye Hospital, Coimbatore
and Bangalore).
Requirements:
·
Residents in Ophthalmology
·
Optometrists
·
Public health administrators
Program Outline:
Residents would be exposed to various
diagnostic and therapeutic modalities in eye care. You would participate in
discussions in diagnosing eye ailments and with the permission of patients,
you could examine them.
You would be allowed to observe surgeries in
the operation theater. Where
available, you would be allowed to use the wet lab facilities. Present
Government of India rules do not allow foreign certified doctors to operate
on patients. You could however scrub up and assist the operating surgeon to
observe and learn the nuances of intraocular surgery.
Optometrist would be allowed to use the
various diagnostic devices in treating patients. Depending on your experience, you
would be allowed to participate in screening programs and also participate
in teaching our students.
Health administrators would be given
specific projects which they would be required to submit for their
internship completion certificate. They would be required to send a
detailed CV/resume and also indicate their area of interest. They would in
addition observe the day to day functioning of the hospital.
People may get opportunities to attend eye
camps, observe doctors and nurses attend to patients, and help in tasks
that require no medical background.
Depending on your qualification and level of
experience in ophthalmology and community health care, you can get involved
in the day to day medical activities and get more concrete value out of it.
For any professional of medicine to get a thorough orientation of the kind
of work and also to get acclimatized to the weather conditions in India, it
would take a week or so and subsequently they can switch over to four
departments, one week per department and the final week they could compile
the material in the log book and make a presentation prior to him/her
returning back to U.S.A.
We have a variety of departments. They range from routine Eye
Outpatient Services, Outreach (camp) department, Eye Bank, Ophthalmic
diagnostics, Clinical Laboratory, X-Ray dept (only at Coimbatore). Surgical theatres, Optical
shop and fitting lab and support services (IT dept, cafeteria, house
keeping etc).
Duration of internship:
This would be a fixed period of 3 weeks.
Q: I am not a college student, or
medical student. I am
interested in doing volunteer work.
Can I participate?
A: Yes, you can. You should fill out the application
(see below) for a clinical volunteering program. Please refer to the different
programs we offer to see if you qualify.
Q: I am interested in participating in
one of the programs offered.
What background do you look for to participate in the programs?
A: People with varied backgrounds can
participate in either of the programs offered. For example, Optometrists and
Refractionists are skilled paramedical staff and are vital for any
ophthalmic Institution. The training imparted to them in US is of a very
advanced nature and their participation would be of immense value to our
paramedical staff. Similarly,
surgical theatre assistants and Bio-Medical Engineers who are trained in
maintenance of equipments, Hospital Administrators, Computer Technologists
who are experienced in EMR (Electronic Medical Record) are the other kind
of personnel who should participate.
Similarly a student of computers, a student of management, a student
of finance or a student in HR are also most welcome because their inputs
would be of great value for an expanding institution like ours.
Q: What are the typical number of
people you can accommodate in the clinical volunteering programs in a given
timeframe?
A: Sankara
Eye Hospital,
Coimbatore and Guntur are capable of handling up to 4
participants at a given time. As
the Bangalore, Shimoga and Anand hospitals are in their infancy, the number
of candidates that can be handled is small. This number will go up as we bring
on more hospitals and as the existing hospitals mature.
Q: When
are these programs conducted at Sankara
Eye Hospital?
A: These programs are conducted
throughout the year. The one
period discouraged is between November 15th and January 15th. From a climatic point of view, it is
recommended to avoid the Guntur
Hospital during April
and May as this is the peak of the summer.
Q: Where can I find out more about
Sankara Eye Foundation?
A: You can find information on Sankara
Eye Foundation (SEF) at http://www.giftofvision.org/.
Q: At what hospitals are clinical
programs granted?
A:
·
SEH Coimbatore - Clinical Internships, Clinical
Volunteering and Clinical Observership
·
SEH Shimoga – Clinical Observership
·
SEH Guntur - Limited Clinical Observership and
Clinical Volunteering;
·
SEH Bangalore – Clinical Internships, Clinical
Volunteering and Clinical Observership
·
SEH Anand – Clinical Volunteering, Clinical
Observership
Q: Where are the hospitals located?
A: Addresses and contact information
for each hospital can be found at http://www.sankaraeye.com/contactus.html.
Q: Where can I find information about
the hospitals?
A: You can find information on the
Sankara Eye Hospitals at http://www.sankaraeye.com/.
Q: Do I need to take any immunization
shots before starting my internship?
A: Sankara Eye Foundation has a
hospital licensing regulation which requires that anyone who has patient
contact provide proof of immunity to measles, mumps, Hepatitis B and
rubella. You will need to
submit an immunization history, as well as documentation of personal health
insurance prior to your start date.
Q: Do you provide a salary or financial
support for the clinical volunteering programs?
A: The programs offered by Sankara Eye
Foundation have no salary support. Obtaining the correct visa, making
travel arrangements are the participant’s responsibility. Since we do not charge any
tuition to clinical observership or internship participants, we are unable
to provide any type of financial assistance for travel, accommodations, or
any other expenses related to relocation to the United States.
Q: Do you provide accommodations and
food?
A: We do provide accommodations and
food at the Sankara Eye Hospitals (in Coimbatore only). We have an on-campus facility that
houses volunteers and doctors.
Accommodations are provided at the PG Hostel (for Coimbatore). The accommodations will be
on twin sharing basis and is at cost
of $5.00 per day to the volunteer.
Note:
High School students wishing to participate must have their own
accommodations and transportation.
Here
are some frequently asked questions regarding the rooms.
Q.
What is the cleanliness of the room?
A. The rooms are perfectly maintained,
as clean as one would expect. Ultimately, the approach of the occupant's
also matters.
Q.
What is available in the living quarter?
A. It is a two bed facility with
attached toilets.
Q.
How clean and safe is the water inside the room? Is it drinkable?
A. Water is safe and pure. Further,
purified mineral water is available in the cafeteria at the hospital
campus.
Q.
Does the room have Indian style or American style toilet?
A. The toilets are Western style with
closet.
Q. Showers – Does the room have
stand up showers or sit down?
A. The room has stand up showers.
Q. Does the room have air conditioning?
A. The standard room does not have air
conditioning. It has only ceiling fans. If someone is very particular, we
have to air conditioning in one room. This can be requested. However, there will be a cost
associated with this due to the use of the facility and electricity
charges.
Q. Does the room have a TV?
A. There is no TV in the standard room.
If someone is very particular, we can provide one at extra cost.
The
Sankara Eye Hospital in Guntur, Anand, Shimoga and Bangalore do not have
accommodations on campus. A person
wanting to do a clinical observership at these hospitals will need to find
his/her own accommodations.
The
Sankara Eye Hospitals have a strict philosophy of adhering to vegetarianism
and non-vegetarian food is not permitted inside the campus. If a participant wants to have
non-vegetarian food, he/she may have to go outside to restaurants. The best place to eat off campus is
5 star hotels (good quality food) where the food will be quite expensive.
Still they have a choice to go for non-vegetarian food at a star
hotel. Cafeterias are available
at the hospitals. If you are
interested in eating on campus, this can be arranged for an approximate cost of about $2.00 per day
(includes breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner). This amount needs to be paid at the
Institution by the participant.
Q: Are there any charges for the
clinical volunteering programs?
A: Participants will be charged
approximately $5.00 per day for accommodations and incidental expenses such
as laundry, electricity, etc…
This amount needs to be paid at the institution. (if you are staying at Sankara Eye
Hospital, Coimbatore)
Note: High School students wishing to
participate must have their own accommodations and transportation.
Q: Do you have any orientation packets
for the clinical volunteering programs?
A: One of our recent interns created a
Word Document that gives you a good orientation to Sankara
Eye Hospital,
Coimbatore. You can find it by clicking here.
Q: Do you have map of Sankara Eye
Hospital, Coimbatore
and Guntur?
A: One of our recent interns created a
PowerPoint Document that gives you a good layout of the Sankara Eye
Hospital, Coimbatore. You can find it by clicking here.
You can find pictures of Sankara
Eye Hospital,
Guntur at http://www.giftofvision.org/SEFInternProgram/Guntur%20Pictures.
Q: Will I be picked up at the Airport?
A: Yes, arrangements can be made to be
picked up at the airports in both Guntur and
Coimbatore.
Q: What is the dress code?
A: Salwars and/or professional trousers
(dress pants) are the preferred dress code.
Q: What is the policy for
alcohol and smoking?
A: All Sankara Eye Hospitals are NO
SMOKING, NO ALCOHOL zones. If
anyone is caught smoking and/or drinking/distributing alcohol, Sankara Eye
Hospital at its discretion will terminate the internship (Clinical
Volunteering, Clinical Internship, Clinical Observership).
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APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
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1.
Download the application form by
clicking here.
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2. Fill-in all
required personal data on the form and make a copy of the completed
application for your records.
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3. At the time you
submit the application form, you must also include a cover letter, a
copy of your CV (i.e., resume), proof of immunization (measles, mumps,
Hepatitis B and rubella) and travel insurance and a photograph. Please provide all information in
English. Applications will not be considered until all of this information
is provided.
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4. Applications
and all related material are accepted via email only. Please follow the guidelines for
submitting the application (see above and/or the application).
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APPLICATION
ACCEPTANCE AND RESPONSE TIMEFRAME
Applications are accepted at different times based on when you
are applying for our programs.
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Applying
Period
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Applications
Accepted
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January
through March
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Month of
September
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April
through May
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Month of
December
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June
through August
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Month of
February
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September
through November 15
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Month of
May
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Note: No early or
late applications will be accepted.
Note: Application
processing will start at end of application period. You should expect to hear back
within 4 weeks after
application deadline.
Note: We do not
have volunteering, observership, or internship opportunities between
November 15th
through January 15th (this
is not a change from today).
Note: Sankara Eye
Hospitals have a hospital licensing regulation which requires that anyone
who has patient contact provide proof of immunity to measles, mumps,
Hepatitis B and rubella.
Email Submission:
Subject: Sankara Eye Foundation Clinical Volunteering Application
To:
sefintern@giftofvision.org
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