BGSC NEWSLETTER | WINTER 2022 EDITION

Welcome to the Winter 2022 Newsletter!

Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful break over the holidays. This January, we are welcoming a new cohort of students joining our graduate programs, the Graduate Certificate (GCGSC) and Master of Global Surgical Care (MGSC). To both new and returning students – welcome! We are looking forward to seeing what you achieve this term.

Read on for the latest news and announcements, faculty appreciation and upcoming events. If you wish to be featured in our next newsletter or have any questions, please reach out at surgery.international@ubc.ca.

Announcing our New Name!

Branch for Global Surgical Care

The Branch advocates for timely access to high quality, safe, affordable and appropriate surgical care globally while minimizing its environmental impact.

Following discussions at our Fall Advisory Committee, we are excited to announce the renaming of the unit from the Branch for International Surgical Care to Branch for Global Surgical Care effective immediately.

The term “global” is all encompassing, reflecting of both “worldwide” and “planetary” aspects and captures our aim of incorporating planetary health, and surgical care in rural, remote and Indigenous communities in Canada and other High Income Countries as outlined in our new Strategic Plan.

SEPTEMBER 2022 INTAKE – APPLY NOW!

Are you passionate about global surgery? Join the next cohort of our Graduate Certificate in Global Surgical Care (GCGSC) and Master of Global Surgical Care (MGSC).

Our online programs are for interdisciplinary surgical care professionals focused on addressing challenges and contributing to solutions in low-resource settings. We welcome surgical care clinicians, trainees in surgical care, and allied health professionals of all disciplines.

Applications are now open. Deadline June 14th, 2022 (international) and June 21st, 2022 (domestic). Note that there will be only one intake for 2022/23 academic year in September 2022.

Learn more about our Graduate Certificate in Global Surgical Care (GCGSC) and Master in Global Surgical Care (MGSC) programs.

APPLY NOW

BGSC STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE

Here at BGSC, we constantly strive to innovate, strengthen, and grow to create sustainable improvements in the delivery of surgical care in the world's most disadvantaged countries to build capacity within the field of surgery on the provision of care in low-resource settings.

BGSC’s new strategic plan for 2022-2027 is built upon our foundational five-year strategic plan 2016-2021. A draft plan has been developed based upon discussions at a brainstorming retreat with our Advisory Committee in May 2021 with a revised Vision, Mission and three Strategic Pillars with related goals and metrics for each pillar.

BGSC held stakeholder consultation to gain feedback from the global surgical care community on our draft plan in early September 2021.

We will be incorporating comments and launching the new strategic plan in 2022 so stay tuned to our website and future newsletters!

OUR COMMUNITY

Instructor Appreciation

BGSC would like to recognize the significant contributions of Dr. Emily Schaeffer.

Dr. Schaeffer is a new BGSC faculty member and an instructor for SURG 517: Clinical Research Methods for Surgical Procedures with Global Comparisons.

Thank you, Dr. Schaeffer, for your valuable contributions to the course and your commitment and dedication toour learners!

VIEW ANNOUNCEMENT

 

Student Spotlight

Welcome to new MGSC student, Dr. Mandeep Pathak! 

He is the Director of Trauma and Surgeries, Nyaya Health Nepal, in the Far West region of Nepal. His hospital catchment area of 600,000, is one of Nepal’s most rural and remote regions.

Read his feature on our website.

VIEW MORE

NEWS AND UPDATES

SURG 560 Student Reports

In SURG 560, students complete a field practicum placement grounding their knowledge and skills attained in the other courses of the MGSC. A high-level written report is produced as the final graduating requirement.

Two MGSC students, Anise Barton and Maria Brinza, completed their reports which are now available on our website.

VIEW MORE

 

GRAND ROUNDS

BGSC, in collaboration with our partners, the Office of Pediatric Surgical Evaluation and Innovation (OPSEI), and the Global Surgery Lab, held two virtual events this fall.

The Global Surgery Lab – leveraging the passion of a multidisciplinary, diverse and inclusive group to improve knowledge and access to surgical care

(October 13th, 2021 7:00am – 8:00am | US/Pacific

  • Presenters: Emilie Joos, MD, MSc, FRCSC, FACS and Students from the Global Surgery Lab

VIEW RECORDING

(Note: requires a UBC Campus Wide login)

 

OPSEI Academic Rounds – BGSC Graduate Students

(Dec.7, 2021 @ 7 am)

VIEW RECORDING

SAVE THE DATE!

Bethune Roundtable 2022

BGSC is excited to host the 2022 Bethune Round table on June 16-18, 2022 with the 22nd theme as "Decolonizing Global Surgery." The conference will be fully virtual to be as inclusive as possible.

The Bethune Round Table (BRT) is an annual interdisciplinary meeting aimed at addressing the challenges of providing accessible, high-quality surgical care to marginalized patients in low-resource settings.

The call for abstracts is now open! Submit your abstract today here. Deadline is April 15th, 2022.

For more information, view the conference landing page and stay tuned to our social media!

DOWNLOAD PRELIMINARY PROGRAM HERE

PUBLICATIONS

  • Baird R, Kisa P, Muzira A, Wesonga AS, Sekabira J, Butterworth S, MacNeily AE, Duffy D, Blair G. Training low-middle-income (LMIC) pediatric surgeons in a high-income country (HIC) program. Pediatr Surg Int. 2021 Sep 30. doi: 10.1007/s00383-021-05027-5. PMID: 34591153. (LINK)

  • Pasieka, J.L. Inspirational Women in Surgery: Dr. Nadine R. Caron, Canada. World J Surg (2021). (LINK)

  • Hiebert J, Chen L, Hwang, H. Are we producing general surgeons who are ready for community or rural practice? Can J Surg 2021 September 1; 64(5). doi: 10.1503/cjs.014119 (LINK)

UPCOMING EVENTS

  • CGSTA McGill presents: Careers in Global Surgery (LINK) Virtual, February 1, 2022

  • UBC Global Health Conference, 42 Days: Reimagining the Postpartum and Postnatal Period, (LINK) Virtual, March 31, 2022

  • CUGH Annual Conference, (LINK) In-person & Virtual, Los Angeles, California April 1-3, 2022

  • 2022 BC Rural Health Conference, (LINK) - Penticton, British Columbia/Virtual Sessions, May 13 – 15, 2022

  • Bethune Roundtable 2022. (LINK) - Virtual, June 16 - 18, 2022

  • The Network: Towards Unity for Health TUFH 2022 Canada, Moving Forward Together: Unity for Health for All, (LINK) Vancouver, BC & Virtual, August 16-19, 2022