His missions in Myanmar are still an eye-opener for ophthalmologist E-Shawn Goh.
For the past five years, Dr Goh, 33, who is with Tan Tock Seng Hospital, has been visiting Sagaing Hills in the north-western part of the country.
Each time, he and his fellow medical volunteers have to improvise, given the limited medical resources and expertise to tap on.
His group makes annual trips of about a week each time, with the aim of bringing affordable eye care to the villagers.
The conditions are far removed from those he works in in Singapore.
There is no array of medical supplies and equipment.
'You just make do with whatever you have and work within your boundaries," said Dr Goh. 'You push yourself to the edge."
Despite the challenge as well as the gruelling hours - being on his feet from about 7.30am till sundown - he values these experiences.
'It reinforces what I do as a doctor and reminds me why I wanted to be one," he said.
His group's initiative, The Eye Institute Voluntary Ophthalmic Team, is better known as the Cataract Camp - aptly so, since the team mainly performs cataract surgery on the hundreds of Myanmarese who turn up each time.
They operate out of Sitagu Audana Hospital, based in Sitagu Monastery in Sagaing Hills. It is a Buddhist hospital that provides subsidised health care to patients from all over Myanmar.
Working with the local team has inspired DrGoh to return year after year.
'Everyone works towards a common goal, sharing a common journey. It is such a humbling experience for me," he said.
'Though I'm emotionally and physically drained after every trip, I know I would want to go back again the next year."
Given the lack of modern facilities, there have been setbacks. However, he has learnt to pick himself up quickly, aware that there are many patients awaiting treatment.
Once, when he was operating on a man in his early 60s, the patient's cataract flipped 360 degrees - the thin ligaments suspending it had been weakened over time.
This is highly unusual in cataract surgery but he had to remain calm and switched to another procedure that requires the complete removal of the lens and the surrounding lens capsule in one piece. This method is known for its higher rate of complications but the outcome in this case was good.
The incident set him thinking about how fortunate trainee surgeons in Singapore are to receive excellent surgical training that allowed them to deal effectively with such unexpected developments.
Beyond learning from such improvisations, he finds such 'in the wild' medical missions meaningful for being 'above all other pursuits'. 'You bring medical care to the people and help those who are unable to help themselves," he added.
