BGSC NEWSLETTER | SPRING 2023 EDITION | Welcome to the Spring 2023 Newsletter! Happy Spring! Welcome to the BGSC Spring newsletter with the latest updates on our educational programs, research, projects, publications and more. Read on for the latest news and announcements, faculty and student spotlights, featured publications and upcoming events. If you wish to be featured in our next newsletter or have any questions, please reach out to us at global.surgery@ubc.ca. | We are very excited to feature our third cohort of students graduating from the Master of Global Surgical Care (MGSC) and several students graduating from our Graduate Certificate in Global Surgical Care in May 2023! We are looking forward to welcoming this class to the BGSC alumni and to see the amazing work they will do in global surgical care in the future. Congratulations on completing the GCGSC and MGSC program! | MGSC Esther Chin Lexington Kinnear Karina Olivo Godfrey Sama Philipo Josh Wiedermann May Yau Montana Zaporzan | GCGSC Christopher Dwyer Rachel Livergant Nina Maerkl Anna Mierzwa Christina Schweitzer Casey Thorburn | | SEPTEMBER 2023 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, 2023 (international) and June 21st, 2023 (domestic). Note that there will be only one intake for 2023/24 academic year in September 2023. Learn more about our Graduate Certificate in Global Surgical Care (GCGSC) and Master in Global Surgical Care (MGSC) programs. | Interview with Senator Gigi Osler Tune in to a very insightful conversation with Senator Gigi Osler and outgoing Director of the Branch for Global Surgical Care, Dr. Brian Westerberg. During the rare and exciting opportunity to spend time with the Senator, they discuss how she became involved in medicine, and subsequently global surgical care. Dr. Osler is a dedicated advocate for global surgery and the promotion of safe, accessible surgical care. In addition, Senator Osler discusses her evolving role as a physician leader and advocate which led her to become the first woman surgeon and the first racialized woman elected President of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), and more recently her appointment to the Senate of Canada in 2022. WATCH INTERVIEW HERE | | Student Spotlight! We have continued on with our popular student spotlight series featuring our Master of Global Surgical Care students! This series was designed to raise a greater understanding of the diverse profiles and experiences of Branch for Global Surgical Care students. This series will allow alumni, current and prospective students to learn more about our community, the passion behind the students and their road to realizing their goals. We recently featured the father-daughter duo, Doug and Annie Ritter sharing their experiences on how they became involved in global surgical care, particularly in Bhutan. We also featured Brynn Aucoin who is a new student this year. She came to the MGSC to address challenges of providing surgery for remote and rural populations globally and here in Canada. VIEW SPOTLIGHTS | | Branch for Global Surgical Care Leadership Update We are very pleased to announce that effective July 1, 2023, we welcome Dr. Sam Bugis as the New Director of the Branch for Global Surgical Care. Dr. Bugis has been a faculty member of BGSC as a co-instructor of SURG 510, since 2021. Currently, Dr. Bugis is Vice President, Physician Affairs and Specialist Practice, Doctors of BC and a Clinical Professor in the Department of Surgery at UBC. We are also pleased to announce that effective March 1, 2023, Dr. Faizal Haji took on the role of Graduate Program Director and is responsible for the administration and leadership of the Graduate Certificate of Global Surgical Care (GCGSC) program and the Master of Global Surgical Care (MGSC) program; including the individual courses and the global surgical care elective housed within the Branch for Global Surgical Care. Dr. Haji is a pediatric neurosurgeon at the BC Children’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at UBC. Dr. Brian Westerberg served as the Graduate Program Director for the Master and Graduate Certificate in Global Surgical Care as well as Medical Director of BGSC since 2018. We would like to extend our many thanks to Dr. Westerberg for serving in this capacity and for his instrumental work in in establishing and ensuring the successful delivery of both programs since their inception and in particular, the launching of the Master of Global Surgical Care (MGSC) and seeing the first cohorts graduating in 2021 and 2022. Dr. Westerberg is leaving his role as Graduate Program Director and Medical Director to take on new and exciting responsibilities including Head of the Division of Otolaryngology in the Department of Surgery at UBC. Dr. Emilie Joos will continue on in her key roles as Associate Director of BGSC and Director of the Global Surgery Lab. Please join us in thanking Dr. Westerberg and warmly welcoming Dr. Bugis and Dr. Haji! VIEW ANNOUNCEMENT | Global Surgery Lab Update Since its creation in January 2021, the Global Surgery Lab has steadily grown and built relationships, collaborations and programs to improve access to quality surgical care inunderserved areas. With more than 50 members, a part-time program manager and key partners in different disciplines, our Lab now has the capacity to build innovative and sustainable platforms for surgical education, benefitting providers in the most isolated regions in the world. Our next steps include: creating longitudinal and rigorous research capacity with a Global Surgery Lab Research Fellow, obtaining funding to digitize our Essential Skills (ESS) training platform; rolling out the ESS program in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa; and adapting our educational offerings to the needs of rural Canada. Click below to read some of the key highlights and outputs of the Lab over the past 6 months. READ FULL UPDATE HERE | Bethune Roundtable 2023 The Canadian Network for International Surgery (CNIS), in association with the University of Toronto is very proud to announce the Bethune Round Table 2023! 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 23nd Bethune Roundtable will be held in person at the Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and virtually from May 27 - 29 2023 with the theme Sustainability in Global Surgery. CLICK FOR MORE INFO AND TO REGISTER | 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. MGSC students, Richard Bresler, Esther Chin, Lexington Kinnear, Godfrey Sama Philipo, Josh Wiedermann, May Yau and Montana Zaporzan recently completed their reports which are now available on our website. VIEW MORE | | PUBLICATIONS -
Falk R, Topstad D. Surgery in the western Canadian Arctic: The relative impact of family physicians with enhanced surgical skills working collaboratively with specialist surgeons. Can J RuralMed 2023;28:66‑72. (LINK) -
The first Indigenous female surgeon in Canada is battling for health justice by Mackenzie Prillaman. Nature 610, 435-436 (2022) NEWS FEATURE 19 October 2022 (LINK) -
Salehi, Mina and Zivkovic, Irena and Mayronne, Stephanie and Letoquart, Jean-Pierre and Joharifard, Shahrzad and Joos, Emilie, The Evaluation of a Surgical Task-Sharing Program in South Sudan. (LINK) -
Livergant RJ, Fraulin G, Stefanyk K, Binda C, Maleki S, Joharifard S, Hillier T, Joos E. Postoperative morbidity and mortality in pediatric indigenous populations: a scoping review and meta-analysis. Pediatr Surg Int 39, 129 (2023). (LINK) UPCOMING EVENTS - Bethune Roundtable 2023 - Sustainability in Global Surgery. Toronto, ON & Virtual, May 27 - 29, 2023 (LINK)
| -
Philipo GS, Bokhary ZM, Bayyo NL, Bandyopadhyay S, Pueschel MG, Bakari RA, Lakhoo K. A randomised control trial using soap in the prevention of surgical site infection in Tanzania. J Pediatr Surg. 2023 Feb;58(2):293-298. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2022.10.029. Epub 2022 Oct 21. PMID: 36384935. (LINK) -
Haji FA, Lepard JR, Davis MC, Lien ND, Can DD, Hung CV, Rocque BG, Johnston JM. (2021). A model for global surgical training and capacity development: the Children’s of Alabama–Viet Nam pediatric neurosurgery partnership. Child’s Nervous System, 37(2), 627-36. (LINK) -
Richard Mark Bresler, MD, Elizabeth Barksdale, MSIS, Erik Nels Hansen, MD, Pediatric Burn Care in the Developing World: Where Are the Gaps in Research and What Can Be Done?, Journal of Burn Care & Research, Volume 43, Issue 6, November/December 2022, Pages 1286–1293 (LINK) | | Interested in learning more about our educational programs, the Global Surgery Lab and how to become involved? Contact us Branch for Global Surgical Care: global.surgery@ubc.ca Global Surgery Lab: globalsurgery.lab@ubc.ca | | | | |
(1).png?1681418861775)
