International Rotation
UNC has a unique opportunity for each resident to pursue a 2-week international elective during the PGY-3 year. The Office of Global Health and the Lions Club provide funding for the trip. You may choose to join a trip planned by one of our faculty members or tread your path anywhere in the world.
Our residents have gone to the following locations with UNC faculty members:
Jan Niklas Ulrich, China
Kenneth Cohen, Vietnam
Donald Budenz, Ghana
Our residents have created their own elective opportunities:
Bryan Strelow, Glaucoma in Thailand
Karishma Habbu, Uveitis at the Aravind Eye Center in India
Oleg Alekseev, Retinal Genetic Disease in Belgium
Ryan O’Melia, General Ophthalmology in Rural Peru
Sailu Bondalapati, General Ophthalmology in India
About their experience:
“Traveling to Tema, 
was an eye-opening and truly enriching experience that shaped my perception for ophthalmology on a holistic level and revealed to me how lack of resources causes such hardship on the local population. It was shocking to me that there are only approximately 90 ophthalmologists in one of the more advanced countries in Africa and emphasized to me the importance of giving back to those who are in need. This humbling cultural exchange has instilled in me a passion for international medicine that I wish to pursue upon completion of my training.”
– Basil Mathews, Class of 2022, Trip to Ghana
“Having the opportunity to remove myself from American culture and the US healthcare system provided not only unique perspectives on the practice of ophthalmology internationally, but enriched my own personal sense of living as a global citizen, and provided a humbling cross-cultural exchange that allowed me to feel grateful for my experiences and motivated to give-back to the international community.”
– Bryan Strelow, Class of 2021, Trip to Thailand
“My international rotation was career defining – I traveled to South India to work with a world renowned expert in infectious uveitis. My experience there solidified my decision to pursue a career in uveitis and gave me both lifelong mentors and friends.”
– Karishma Habbu, Class of 2021, Trip to India
“It’s really great for residents to see healthcare delivered in a setting with reduced resources. We take so much for granted in the American healthcare environment but most of the world practices with much less. I think the main benefit of the rotation, though, is to provide future ophthalmologists with a vision of what they can do by volunteering for similar trips when they finish their training.”
– Donald Budenz, Glaucoma Specialist and Chairman, Trip to Ghana
