BGSC NEWSLETTER | FALL 2022 EDITION

Welcome to the Winter 2023 Newsletter!

Happy New Year! To our returning students, faculty, alumni and community, welcome to a new term and a new year. We hope you had a wonderful break over the holidays.

Read on for the latest news and announcements, faculty and student spotlights, and updates on our strategic priorities and upcoming events.

If you wish to be featured in our following newsletter or have any questions, please reach out to global.surgery@ubc.ca

CONGRATULATIONS!

We would like to extend a warm congratulations to the following students who completed their program requirements in December 2022 and will graduate in May 2023:

  • Karina Olivo (MGSC)
  • Chris Dwyer (GCGSC)
  • Anna Mierzwa (GCGSC)
  • Christina Schweitzer (GGGSC)
  • Casey Thorburn (GCGSC)

We welcome you to our alumni and look forward to hearing about your future global surgical care endeavours!

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 is June 14th, 2023 (international) and June 21st, 2023 (domestic).

Note that there will be only one intake for the 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.

 

MORE INFO

OUR COMMUNITY

 

 Instructor Appreciation

BGSC would like to recognize the significant contributions of Dr. Robert Baird and Dr. Charles Mock.

Dr. Bard and Dr. Mock are co-instructors of SURG 542 – Directed Study in Global Surgical Care.

Thank you, Dr. Baird and Dr. Mock, for your valuable contributions to the course and your commitment and dedication to our learners!

VIEW ANNOUNCEMENT

 

 

 

Student Spotlight

Dieudonné A. Lemfuka is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo and currently lives and works in Monrovia, Liberia. Read on to find out more about Dieudonné, his background and experiences, what lead him to the Master of Global Surgical Care, and more!

VIEW SPOTLIGHT

 

 

NEWS AND UPDATES

BGSC Strategic Plan and Organizational Updates

BGSC’s new strategic plan for 2022-2027 is built upon our foundational five-year strategic plan for 2016-2021. The plan was developed based on discussions at brainstorming sessions with our Advisory Committee and stakeholder consultations to gain feedback from the global surgical care community. The feedback received focused on building capacity in surgical care through equitable, diverse, inclusive, socially responsible, ethical, innovative, sustainable, and planetary-conscious educational programs, research, collaborations and partnerships.

Feedback was incorporated and the new strategic plan is now being launched! 

Thank you to everyone who was instrumental in contributing to the vision for the Branch which will guide us for the next five years.

As part of the new Strategic Plan, the Branch has seen changes to our organizational structure as we incorporated the Global Surgery Lab. The Global Surgery Lab is an interdisciplinary, inclusive, and diverse group that aims to improve knowledge of and access to surgical care in underserved communities through innovative, anti-colonialistic, and equitable educational platforms and research projects. The Lab, lead by BGSC Associate Director, Dr. Emilie Joos and Dr. Shahrzad Joharifard, received funding to support its continued research and advocacy efforts, with many new collaborations and projects planned for 2023.

We are searching for a new incumbent to serve as the Graduate Program Advisor to help guide our educational programs, Masters of Global Surgical Care and our Graduate Certificate in Global Surgical Care for the next several years. This important administrative role is key to supporting our learners in these two exciting education programs.

We would like to thank Dr. Brian Westerberg for serving in this capacity since 2018. He has been instrumental in establishing and ensuring the successful delivery of both programs.

We are also planning to launching a survey of our current students and alumni in 2023 to help us better shape our programs going forward and address any gaps in our current offerings. Alumni and current students, please watch for the survey in your inbox later this year. Your help in responding and providing your feedback is much appreciated.

VIEW BGSC STRATEGIC PLAN 2022-2027

Bethune Roundtable 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 Canadian Network for International Surgery (CNIS), in association with the University of Toronto, is very proud to announce the Bethune Round Table 2023!

The 23rd Bethune Roundtable will be held in person at the Hospital for Sick Children, the University of Toronto, Canada Toronto, Ontario and virtually from May 27 - 29 2023 with the theme Sustainability in Global Surgery.

Scholarships to fund the costs of travel to the meeting are available for selected clinicians practicing in qualifying low and middle-income countries.

Late-breaking abstracts will be accepted up until February 28, 2023 and should be submitted to bethune2023@utoronto.ca

LEARN MORE

PUBLICATIONS

  • Falk, R., Topstad, D. & Lee, L. Surgical Task-Sharing in the Western Canadian Arctic: A Networked Model Between Family Physicians with Enhanced Surgical Skills and Specialist Surgeons. World J Surg 46, 1629–1636 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-022-06524-x

  • Philipo, G.S., Bokhary, Z.M., Bayyo, N.L. et al. A Journey Undertaken by Families to Access General Surgical Care for their Children at Muhimbili National Hospital, Tanzania; Prospective Observational Cohort Study. World J Surg 46, 1643–1659 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-022-06530-z 

UPCOMING EVENTS