Luke Dodson ‘26

Winter Term 2025

During the 2025 Winter Term, Luke traveled to India where he interned at the headquarters of the Aravind Eye Care System in Madurai. Learning from Aravind’s physicians, scientists, and patients alike, he developed a comprehensive manual on ophthalmic surgical asepsis protocols to be distributed to regional hospitals throughout the developing world. During his four weeks at the hospital, Luke began to understand how Aravind strides toward their vision of “eliminating needless blindness” through compassionate care, leading surgical techniques, and a devotion to affordability. The memories of unique medical cases during grand rounds, the gratitude of patients during Aravind’s village eye-care camps, and the sights and sounds of this bustling “Athens of the East” will certainly follow him back to Oberlin.

Charitable Eye Care Delivery in Tamil Nadu

Luke with Dr. Lalitha and Madam Ramaswamy

I visited Aravind during the winter of 2025, leaving frigid Cleveland behind and entering the brightly colored world of this “Athens of the East”—Madurai. I knew before I departed that this would be a transformative month, for better or worse. I am delighted that after only four short weeks, my memories of Madurai are of inspiring patient stories, incredible warmth and kindness from the staff, and of course, unforgettable street food. I can only be grateful for my time here and must admit that it will be difficult to pack my bags and say goodbye for good.

The majority of my time at Aravind was spent working on my project, a manual on “Sterilization and Aseptic Technique in Ophthalmic Operating Theatres”. I centered on this project with the guidance of my mentor, drawing upon my experience as an ophthalmic technician and my background as a student of the biological sciences.

Covering everything from microbial culturing of the operating theatre to the implementation of intracameral moxifloxacin prophylaxis, this project intends to share the successful asepsis protocols of Aravind with external eye hospitals throughout South Asia and beyond. Completing this project involved a combination of literature review, interviewing, direct observation, and technical writing. As per the culture of Aravind, the faculty and staff were always incredibly supportive and receptive to my, at times unending, string of questions about minute technical details. Those who I met with always made sure that I was getting the most out of my experience here, asking me to think broadly and dig deeper into my topic. Each week I could feel my understanding growing even as I realized how much more there was to know.

When I wasn’t writing the manual, I had ample time to explore the many academic offerings at LAICO. Grand rounds was among my favorites. Hosted each Thursday, this gathering of residents and senior physicians alike gave me an insight into what it means to think like a doctor. The presenting doctor would always cover a single case of interest in detail, revealing the series of questions that had to be answered in order to come to a diagnosis. After each presentation, there was always a queue of physicians waiting to ask questions and dig into every decision made in the case. I was initially caught off guard by the intense questioning that ensued. It was difficult to imagine being the presenting doctor: standing in front of your peers, having to defend the choices you made whether the outcome was positive or negative. But of course, the presenter always reacted well under this pressure, responding confidently but respectfully to defend their course of action. Although it was presumably already clear to everyone else in the room, it took me time to understand the culture of shared respect that allowed for these kinds of discussions to take place without conflict. This tension was clearly in service of advancing the frontier of ophthalmology and improving the care of future patients.

Eye camp in Aravakurichi

In my final week, I was given the opportunity to visit one of Aravind’s eye camps, an outreach program through which they provide comprehensive eye examinations, distribute spectacles, and coordinate surgeries for the multitude of rural patients who gather to receive care. The camp was being held at the Arumugam Academy in Aravakurichi, over 100km from the Madurai campus of the Aravind Eye Hospital. In the 25 years that this camp has been held (annually on Republic Day), over 14,000 patients have been seen. After a two-hour bus journey which provided views of the beautiful morning landscapes of Tamil Nadu, we arrived at the camp and were welcomed by the Aravind staff and the academy’s schoolchildren. It was at once shocking and inspiring to see the hoards of students, clad in yellow and navy uniforms, giving up their holiday to work to assist in providing vital care for the people of their community, and doing so with a smile. The entire academy had been transformed into a factory line of medical care, beginning with registration and progressing through a series of converted classrooms and offices. In each room, Aravind’s staff worked to perform their designated duties while reassuring patients and answering whichever questions arise. These camps are truly the embodiment of the ethos of the Aravind Eye Care System, demonstrating a clear commitment to going any length and traveling any distance to eliminate needless blindness.

Throughout my trip, I continued to subconsciously compare what I was seeing at Aravind to what I was accustomed to in the American healthcare system. There was one obvious principle at Aravind that set them distinctly apart: a devotion to true affordability. Critically, this was a principle that was expressed by the entire organization. During patient appointments, the physicians took time to think carefully about the price of the medications they were prescribed and the procedures that they recommended. Price lists were readily available, communicating clearly with patients as to what they would be paying—that is if they aren’t in the approximately 50% of patients who pay nothing for their treatment! When the available intraocular lenses were prohibitively expensive for the average patient, the manufacturing division of Aravind, Aurolab, was established. As any jaded American would do, I waited for the mirage of altruism to fade and reveal the quest for profits that I had come to expect from healthcare. And yet, this was not the case. Everywhere I looked, I found the moral qualities necessary to provide high-quality eye care at this scale. As I continue to work toward my goal of being a patient-centered physician, I now have something to look to for inspiration.