Sen. Rand Paul, who practiced as an ophthalmologist for 17 years before entering Congress, is back at home performing free eye surgery for patients Tuesday.

The Kentucky Republican said it’s “an amazing thing to see someone sit up and be able to see better,” but he’s also keeping up his skills so he can eventually return to the medical field.

“I think that we need to have people who are willing to reclaim their place in regular life after politics and not just say, ‘You go into politics and that’s what you’re going to do forever,'” he said in an interview with CNN. “So I envision myself coming back to Kentucky and practicing medicine at some point.”