Instructor Appreciation

We wish to acknowledge the significant contributions of Dr. Jane Lea, co-instructor of SURG 518: Surgical Care in Canada’s Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities with Global Comparisons. BISC would like to recognize Dr. Lea for her outstanding contribution in creating an enriching learning environment for our students as she is moving on next year. We wish her all the best in her future endeavours!

VIEW ANNOUNCEMENT

Dr. Lea was also nominated as a Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS) Culture Change Champion for her contribution to a positive learning environment at UBC!

Student Spotlight

Dr. Godfrey Sama Philipo is a medical doctor from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania currently enrolled as a student in our MGSC program. Passionate about global surgical care, he developed a deep understanding of the topic, joining the largest medical student association related to surgery, InciSioN, completing an MPH in China and ultimately working as a research coordinator at his alma mater, Muhimbili University. He speaks about the challenges of studying a new field, where employment opportunities are not clearly defined and where funding can be difficult to obtain. 

VIEW MORE

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. 

Three MGSC students, David Isa, Regan Guilfoyle and Lorenz Yeung, have recently completed their reports which are now available on our website.

VIEW MORE

YouTube Features

Did you know that BISC has a YouTube channel? We have recently posted video interviews with outstanding surgical care professionals from low-resource settings. Check out some of our features below.

VIEW MORE

Bethune Roundtable 2021

The Canadian Network for International Surgery (CNIS), in association with McGill University, is very proud to announce the Bethune Round Table 2021!

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 21^st Bethune Roundtable will be held from May 28-31 with the theme of Strengthening Health infrastructure in Under-Resourced Communities.

REGISTER HERE

BISC is honoured to host the 2022 Bethune Round Table on June 16-18, 2022 at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC with the theme: Decolonizing Global Surgery. More details coming soon - stay tuned on our landing page!

BISC Advisory Committee Meeting and Strategic Planning Retreat: May 2021

BISC is beginning work on developing a new five-year Strategic Plan for the Branch from 2022 – 2027.

The first planning session to discuss future priorities of the Branch took place on February 18. A special session with the BISC Advisory Committee was held with guest, Dr. John Meara. Original author of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery and Founder and current Director of the Harvard Program for Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), Dr. Meara spoke to his journey in global surgery and, more importantly,his vision for PGSSC, which we hope will inspire our discussions for BISC’s future priorities.

A facilitated Advisory Committee retreat was held May 2, 2021, facilitated by Dr. Jugpal Arneja, Clinical Professor in the Department of Surgery and Plastic Surgeon at BC Children’s Hospital. In May 2021, the BISC Advisory Committee met for its annual Spring meeting and BISC instructors also participated to discuss our educational programs and operational priorities.

READ MORE

More details on the Strategic Planning process and BISC’s future priorities will be shared in upcoming newsletters.

PUBLICATIONS

• Joos, Emilie MD, MSc, FRCSC, FACS^a,; Zivkovic, Irena BSc^b; Shariff, Farhana MD, MSc(HPE), FRCSC^c Virtual learning in global surgery: current strategies and adaptation for the COVID-19 pandemic, International Journal of Surgery: Global Health: January 2021 – Volume 4 – Issue 1 – p e42 doi: 10.1097/GH9.0000000000000042 (LINK)

• Philipo GS, Vuhahula E, Kimambo A, Mmbaga EJ, Loon KV, Ng DL. Feasibility of Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy and Rapid On-Site Evaluation for Immediate Triage in Breast Cancer Screening in Tanzania. JCO Global Oncology. 2021. PMID NUMBER: 33493018 (LINK)

• Greive-Price T, Mistry H, Baird R. North-South surgical training partnerships: a systematic review. Can J Surg. 2020 Nov 30;63(6):E551-E561. doi: 10.1503/cjs.008219. PMID: 33253513; PMCID: PMC7747846. (LINK)

• Arulanandam B, Dorais M, Li P, Poenaru D. The burden of waiting: wait times for pediatric surgical procedures in Quebec and compliance with national benchmarks. Can J Surg. 2021 Jan 7;64(1):E14-E22. doi: 10.1503/cjs.020619. PMID: 33412000. (LINK)

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Bethune Round Table 2021 Gala,Canadian Network for International Surgery (LINK) – Virtual on YouTube  May 28, 2021, 10:30 am PST
• Bethune Round Table 2021: Pre-Conference Workshops (LINK)

1.  – Virtual, May 27, 2021 | Topic: Building a Consensus Around Sustainability Criteria for Global Surgery Partnerships, moderated by Dr. Emilie Joos (BISC Associate Director) and Dr. Nicole Jedrzejko
2. – Virtual, May 27, 2021 | Topic: Indigenous Health in Global Surgery, moderated by Dr. Melanie Morris (BISC Instructor)

• BC Rural Health Conference, Rural Coordination Centre of BC (LINK) – Virtual, May 29-30, 2021