An eye-opening experience
Photos courtesy of Shayna Fink January 28, 2025
UD student aids life-changing eye care mission in Grenada
Hours before the doors opened at Grenada General Hospital, hundreds of residents lined up in the dark for a chance to be seen by American ophthalmologists and treated for cataracts, a chronic eye condition that can cause blurry or hazy vision and even vision loss.
The sight brought tears to Shayna Fink’s eyes.
“In America, these patients would have appointments,” she said, but Grenada has just two ophthalmologists at its public hospital. “They stood out there all day in 90-degree heat without eating just for a chance to be seen.”
The University of Delaware senior embarked on a week-long medical mission trip with Vision Health International (VHI), which provides high-quality eye care to underserved communities worldwide. According to VHI, more than half of the 2.2 billion cases of vision impairment worldwide could have been prevented.
A lifelong dream
Fink, a medical diagnostics major with a pre-physician assistant (PA) concentration, had always dreamed of studying abroad. She’d been working alongside ophthalmologist Dr. Douglas Lavenburg at his Elkton, Maryland, practice to gain patient contact hours needed for PA school.
“I jumped at the chance to learn,” she said.
Lavenburg has volunteered with VHI to improve vision for those who lack quality eye care. In October, he was asked to join another medical mission trip.
“I started shadowing in the operating room, spent countless hours of intense training in ophthalmologic procedures, specifically cataract surgeries, and a few months later, we packed our bags to head to Grenada,” Fink said.
Without the understanding of her UD College of Health Sciences professors, the trip would not have been possible.
“I was leaving for a week mid-semester, missing classes and exams,” she said. “It was a lot to make up, but my Department of Medical and Molecular Sciences professors, especially Dr. Virginia Hughes, were so supportive and encouraged me to seize this opportunity.”
On the first day, Fink worked from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in an unairconditioned medical office, screening 125 patients for surgery. She conducted comprehensive eye exams, taking their vitals and dilating their eyes to check their pressure. Sixty-eight patients were scheduled for surgery over four days.
“Dr. Lavenburg noted he had never seen cataracts like the ones in Grenada,” she said. “The average cataract surgery takes 15-20 minutes, but these took double that amount of time due to limited eye care resources in the country.”
But what stood out even more to Fink was the patients’ gratitude.
“They were so appreciative,” she said. “They would get up from the table and hug us.”
Patients ranged in age from mid-20s to 90 years old. Some had gone 40 years without proper eyesight, which limited their ability to drive and even work.
“‘I can finally see the sea again,’” exclaimed one woman as she removed her eye patch post-cataract surgery and looked out the window of the oceanside clinic.
“She had the biggest smile. She was beaming,” Fink recalled. “It was such a special moment.”
New dreams realized
Fink had never thought about going into ophthalmology, but this experience has her strongly considering it. Helping patients in Grenada had a profound impact on Fink.
“This trip changed my life,” she said. “I feel I had an impact on these patients while honing my skills. The satisfaction, accomplishment and confidence I felt when I returned to work was amazing.”
She added the experience encouraged her to push through some of her more challenging classes.
“The medical diagnostics pre-PA curriculum is tough,” she said. “But these patients gave me the drive to want to succeed and go on to PA school to help patients and improve their quality of life.”
She noted that classes like anatomy and physiology, healthcare communication, immunology, immunohematology, hematology and body fluid analysis prepared her for this experience.
“The combined knowledge really helped me, and the skills I learned at UD helped me communicate with physicians and patients in Grenada,” she said.
While becoming an ophthalmologist would require a medical degree, Fink remains committed to PA school and may work as a PA in an ophthalmologist’s office. She still plans to take a gap year post-graduation to work and gain more experience before attending PA school on the East Coast.
“PA school is very competitive, and I now have one of the most unique experiences anyone would have at my age, which I’m truly thankful for; it was so rewarding,” she said.
She also plans to go on another medical mission trip, this time with her mother, a career nurse, so she, too, can experience the joy of helping others.
“For the first time in a long time, these patients can see — and that’s something we all take for granted,” Fink said.
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