Urology workshops show promising future for urology advances in Kigali, Rwanda

As our first surgical workshop in Rwanda, the IVUmed team was encouraged by the opportunities for surgical education there. The team worked in two sites: Kigali and Gitwe. Our volunteers, led by Drs. Hiep Nguyen and Richard Santucci taught pediatric and reconstructive urology in Kigali, while in Gitwe, reconstructive urology was the primary focus.
Dr. Nguyen and the pediatric urology team were based at King Faisel Hospital and the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali where they had the opportunity to provide surgical education and conclude the workshop with a day-long educational symposium. IVUmed and our Rwandan partners plan to continue pediatric and reconstructive urology education in Kigali. The facility is well-suited for surgical training and includes a faculty that is eager and capable. Dr. Nguyen has already made plans for a follow-up visit in late spring.

“This trip provided me with more experiences than I ever could have expected. I was able to conduct research, help out with a mobile EMR system, assist in the OR, and generally get a much better feel for the needs in East Africa," mentioned David Miller, MPH candidate and IVUmed volunteer.

With minimal resources available in Gitwe, Dr. Santucci and fellow IVUmed volunteers were able to assess the need and discuss opportunities for the physicians in Gitwe for continued education.

During their time in Rwanda, the IVUmed volunteers served 24 patients at the two sites. Twenty physicians were able to attend the one-day symposium from the surrounding area.

DID YOU KNOW?
Surgical need on the international level has dramatically increased, only 3.5% of surgical procedures are performed in the poorest one-third of the world.

How can you help?

American College of Surgeons Present Surgical Humanitarian Award

American College of Surgeons' Clinical Congress officially presented Dr. Catherine deVries, Founder and President of IVUmed, with the Surgical Humanitarian Award:

"Dr. deVries received the Surgical Humanitarian Award for dedicating 20 years of her career to improving urological care around the world. A practicing pediatric urologist, founder and director of the Center for Global Surgery at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, and professor of surgery at the university, Dr. deVries recognized the unmet needs of children with genitourinary conditions and anomalies, and developed a model of care tailored to the needs of these patients. In 1994, she founded International Volunteers in Urology, the first not-for-profit organization specifically focused on teaching urology in resource-poor settings. Using a comprehensive, sustainable approach, IVU (now IVUmed) oversees highly skilled teams that train physicians and nurses in most areas of urology throughout Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The far-reaching impact of these educational partnerships can be seen in countries like Vietnam, where early IVUmed trainees have established a urology training center in Ho Chi Minh City, which treats more than 1,000 patients annually and trains local physicians. In Honduras, local partners now conduct their own surgical outreach workshops. Similar successes have been achieved in the 30 countries where IVUmed is active and further leveraged by a wide range of international partnerships."

We are thankful to have a leader among leaders here at IVUmed, Dr. deVries has established an organization that now sits at the table of leaders in global surgery, recruiting some of the most-skilled, humble and dedicated surgeons to teach surgical skills around the world.

For the rest of the article and award announcement, please go here: http://www.facs.org/clincon2012/press/volunteerism.html

President and Founder, Dr. Catherine deVries' with Dr. Ray Price are awarded for their efforts.

IVUmed's President and Founder, Dr. Catherine deVries was awarded the Surgical Humanitarian Award from the American College of Surgeons along side Dr. Ray Price, who was awarded the Surgical Volunteerism Award through the same organization.

Dr. deVries' efforts in surgical education worldwide does not go unnoticed. With the formation of IVUmed over 20 years ago, Dr. deVries has developed with the help of staff and fellow board members, a surgical urology education platform embraced by physicians around the world.

"It's my career," deVries said to KSL 5 News, "It's what I do. This is my passion."

This passion has lead to IVUmed's successes in building relationships with 30 countries since its inception. Building these relationships, local healthcare professionals have learned valuable urological skills to treat their communities.

For the full KSL 5 News Interview: World-traveling surgeons awarded for humanitarian work
American College of Surgeons: Fellows honored for volunteerism

"Restaurant chains have managed to combine quality control, cost control, and innovation. Can health care?" - New Yorker

“Scaling good ideas has been one of our deepest problems in medicine. Regulation has had its place, but it has proved no more likely to produce great medicine than food inspectors are to produce great food. […] One study examined how long it took several major discoveries, such as the finding that the use of beta-blockers after a heart attack improves survival, to reach even half of Americans. The answer was, on average, more than fifteen years.”

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/08/13/120813fa_fact_gawande#ixzz23pRWUXwK

Global Surgery Matters

According to the World Health Organization, the statistics are staggering:

• 11% of global burden of disease can be treated with surgery
• 2 billion people worldwide have no access to basic surgical care
• 30% of the world's population receive 75% of surgical care

IVUmed is trying to change that by training more surgeons where they are needed most.

Dr. Sherry Wren discusses the importance of surgery as a global health priority:


Visit our website to find out how you can help and get involved. 

"Repairing the Surgery Deficit"

Zambia currently has 44 licensed surgeons to serve its population of 13 million.  That is less than one surgeon (.33) per 100,000 people.  To put that in perspective, in the United States, there are about 45 surgeons per 100,000 people.  

Next month we have a team of volunteers heading to Lusaka, Zambia to conduct a pediatric urology workshop.  The volunteer experts will work at the University Teaching Hospital there, focusing on training and transferring skills to the local surgeons and professors so that they in turn can train more surgical students.

To read more about this pressing need for surgical training in Zambia, please read this recent article:

Repairing the Surgery Deficit
By SARIKA BANSAL
The New York Times

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/repairing-the-surgery-deficit/?hp&pagewanted=print

 

There are solutions to these problems.  IVUmed is committed to making a difference both in Zambia and throughout the world through surgical education.

IVUmed Traveling Resident Scholar Report

Nitya Abraham, MD 

New York University 

 Kampala, Uganda – June 15-24, 2012 

Mentor: Dr. Susan Kalota 

Sponsored by: SUFU 

Through the generous sponsorship provided by the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction (SUFU), Dr. Nitya Abraham traveled to Kampala, Uganda with mentor Dr. Susan Kalota to collaborate with the Urology Department at Mulago Hospital. While participating in cases and delivering lectures on female urology, Dr. Abraham was able to develop an understanding of the discrepancies in healthcare due to limited resources. As she now begins a female urology fellowship at Cleveland Clinic, her experiences in Uganda have helped shaped her career goals.

Reporting on her experience, Dr. Abraham stated:

“I saw the photographs, I read the books, I watched the documentaries. I knew the need for medical assistance was great in places like Africa. Now finally I would be going to Kampala, Uganda for a female urology workshop through IVUmed. I embarked on the trip with excited eagerness, cheerful enthusiasm, and grandiose hopes to transform lives. But my high expectations were replaced with unanticipated disappointment. I left with a heavy heart, feeling powerless. Our trip seemed to me a ‘drop’ of help when an ‘ocean’ was needed. My idealistic naïveté was humbled by the unexpected challenges I encountered.

“My disappointment and remorse at the end of my IVUmed trip to Kampala stemmed from my inability to provide world class care to the patients there. Why should there be such disparity in the treatment of my patient in Cleveland and my patient in Kampala? What always seemed to be an abstract aspiration has now become a concrete goal after the IVUmed trip: I want to bring world class care to places like Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. This endeavor will be expensive, require a lot of time and effort, and will be difficult to accomplish, but I do believe it is possible.

  “I am grateful to IVUmed and SUFU for providing me this invaluable experience. It has opened my eyes and has changed how I envision my future career. One trip is just not enough. I strive to include international health care as a long-term commitment and integral part of my career because ‘every life deserves world class care.’”

For more information about IVUmed's resident scholar program, including the current application and deadlines, please visit our website.