BGSC NEWSLETTER | FALL 2024 EDITION | Welcome to the Fall 2024 Newsletter! Welcome to the Fall 2024 BGSC newsletter! This September, we are excited to welcome 11 new students in our graduate programs, along with our current students and faculty starting a new academic year. If you wish to be updated on our communities’ work and accomplishments, consider taking a look at our social media accounts! Read on for the latest news and announcements, faculty and leadership updates, featured publications and upcoming events. We are excited to feature news and updates from our academic programs and the Global Surgery Lab in this newsletter. If you have any topics that you would like to see featured in our upcoming newsletters, please let us know at global.surgery@ubc.ca. | We are very excited to feature students graduating from the Master of Global Surgical Care (MGSC) in November 2024! 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. Roy Hilzenrat Serena Kassam Congratulations on completing your course requirements and graduating in November 2024 from the Master of Global Surgical Care! To read more about our November graduates click on the Read More button below. READ MORE | 2025 ADMISSIONS INTAKE FOR EDUCATION PROGRAMS | 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 April 1st, 2025 for international and domestic applicants. Note that there will be only one intake for 2024/25 academic year in September 2025. If you are an alumni of our program or a current student or faculty member and you know of anyone who may be interested in our programs, please forward this info on! Learn more about our Graduate Certificate in Global Surgical Care (GCGSC) and Master in Global Surgical Care (MGSC) programs. | Thank You, Dr. Peter O'Brien and Dr. Dan Poenaru Please join us in extending sincere thanks and gratitude for Dr. Peter O’Brien’s and Dr. Dan Poenaru’s contributions to the Branch for Global Surgical Care over the years. They have been instrumental in helping guide our learners on their understanding of designing and implementing a global surgical care research project and alleviating the global burden of surgical disability. Dr. Peter O’Brien was a co-instructor of SURG 560 – Global Surgical Care Field Practicum since 2019, along with Dr. Emilie Joos. Dr. Poenaru was a co-instructor of SURG 512- Global Disability: A Surgical Care Mandate for twelve years, since the course launch in 2012, along with Dr. Norgrove Penny and was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in July 2024. VIEW ANNOUNCEMENT | | Engineers in Scrubs Program Do you have an idea for a surgical problem you’ve encountered in a low resource setting globally and are seeking a unique design solution? Engineers in Scrubs is looking for you! Submit your project idea at the link below! EiS is a specialization in UBC's School of Biomedical Engineering graduate program that trains students to be leaders in medical innovation with a design process that emphasizes impactful translation and collaboration with clinical stakeholders. BGSC has collaborated with EiS for several years by submitting proposals for clinical problems in low resource settings that may benefit from innovative engineering solutions. Two MedTech Cafes will be held this fall where clinicians can pitch their ideas to students. See Upcoming Events below. More information about the program and submitting a proposal can be found on our website. LEARN MORE | | Student Publication Feature! Dr. Esther Chin (our MGSC alumni), along with Annelise Olson, Stephen Foster, Steven Arrowsmith, and Andrew Browning, have recently published the results of a study to assess the association between chronic schistosomiasis infection, determined by bladder biopsies, and vesicovaginal (VVF) repair outcomes at an urban hospital in Angola. This study was based on Dr. Chin’s final MGSC project as part of SURG 560 Global Surgical Care Field Practicum. Click the link to find out more about Dr. Chin's project and read the article. READ 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. MGSC student Serena Kassam recently completed her report which is now available on our website. Congratulations, Serena! VIEW GRADUATING PROJECTS | | Global Surgery Symposium 2024: Teaching Surgical Skills for Medical Deserts The Global Surgery Lab’s recent symposium provided an excellent platform for discussing the challenges and opportunities in surgical training for multidisciplinary healthcare providers in low-resource settings. With over 120 participants from around the world, both in-person and virtually, the event explored and compared the delivery of surgical care programs for medical deserts on a global scale LEARN MORE | | Global Surgery Lab Research Fellowship Apply by Sept. 15 Calling all aspiring global health leaders! Are you ready to take your research to new heights? The Global Surgery Lab is excited to announce our upcoming Research Fellowship Program! For: Trainees in surgery, anesthesia, or obstetrics, recent MD graduates, and PhD graduates in relevant fields!
Apply by September 15, 2024! Time is running out - don't miss out on this great opportunity! Prospective fellows are encouraged to apply directly to the global Surgery Lab at globalsurgery.lab@ubc.ca. | Introducing the VitalSurg Training Program The Global Surgery Lab team is excited to announce that the Essential Surgical Skills (ESS) program has been rebranded as the VitalSurg Training Program. This evolution reflects our ongoing commitment to providing high-quality surgical education tailored to meet the urgent needs of non-surgeon physicians around the world. In partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières, the VitalSurg Training Program equips healthcare professionals with the foundational knowledge and skills required to manage urgent and life-threatening surgical conditions. Our comprehensive online course offers a dynamic curriculum, including didactic materials and instructional videos, alongside practical modules designed to enhance both technical and clinical skills. For more information click the link below. MORE INFO | Transition to New UBC Student Information System - Workday Student UBC has now transitioned from the Classic Student Information System (SIS) to Workday Student as its primary System of Record for student data. This transition was fully completed on September 1, 2024. This significant change will impact all UBC students, faculty, and staff, as well as various UBC systems and processes. Read this article for the key updates and important dates students and faculty should be aware of. For students, there are tutorials on how to perform key functions in Workday Student such as register for courses, pay tuition fees, view grades and more. These tutorials can be found here. If you require assistance with Workday Student please don't hesitate to reach out to us at global.surgery@ubc.ca | PUBLICATIONS - Esther A. Chin. Annelise Olson, Stephen Foster, Steven Arrowsmith, Andrew Browning Chronic schistosomiasis infection and obstetric fistula repair outcomes in lubango, angola: A retrospective chart review. Reproductive, female and child health. 06/2024;3(2). doi: 10.1002/rfc2.83. (LINK)
- Binda, Catherine & Adams, Jayd & Livergant, Rachel & Lam, Sheila & Panchendrabose, Kapilan & Joharifard, Shahrzad & Haji, Faizal & Joos, Emilie. (2024). Defining A Framework and Evaluation Metrics for Sustainable Global Surgical Partnerships: A Modified Delphi Study. Annals of Surgery. 279. 549-553. 10.1097/SLA.0000000000006058.(LINK)
- Jarrell M, Caudill C, Haji F, Leon T, Rozzelle CJ, Maddox MH, Rocque BG. Sleep-disordered breathing in children with Chiari type I malformation. J Neurosurg Pediatr. 2024 Jul 12:1-9. doi: 10.3171/2024.5.PEDS24105. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38996390. (LINK)
- Anas Wess, Yuwei Yang, Bader Al-Zeer, Harjot Uppal, Patricia Balmes, Robin Som, Valerie Courval, Nasira Lakha, Angie Brisson, Jennifer Sakai, Naisan Garraway, Raymond Tang, Peter Rose, Emilie Joos Chest trauma clinical practice guideline protects against delirium in patients with rib fractures. Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open. 2024;9. doi:10.1136/tsaco-2023-001323. (LINK)
| UPCOMING EVENTS -
Global Surgery Lab Event, Global Surgery Across Borders: Insights With Dr. Sam Fabiano. Room 1888, Jim Pattison Pavilion, Vancouver General Hospital. September 18, 2024, 6 PM – 7:30 PM For more info email globalsurgery.lab@ubc.ca. -
Canadian Surgery Forum, (LINK), Winnipeg, MB & Virtual, September 25 - 28, 2024 -
2024 Canadian Conference on Global Health (LINK) - Vancouver, BC & Virtual, October 25 - 27, 2024 -
30th UBC Dept of Surgery WB and MH Chung Research Day, (LINK) - Virtual and In Person at Vancouver General Hospital, November 4, 2024. | | | | | |
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