CNIS Course Books

Structured Operative Obstetrics (SOO)

Shortage of trained personnel in many African countries means that often women can not get the care that they need during labour and delivery. This is a major factor in the high maternal mortality rate. Structured training of surgical skills will reinforce good surgical technique, and therefore help with significant health human resource challenges.

This course covers the following topics:

1. Introduction to Cesarean Section Course
2. Anatomy of the pelvis and lower abdomen
3. Indications for Cesarean Section: A brief introduction
4. Decision-making in obstetrics: understanding when to intervene
5. Assisted vaginal Delivery: Vacuum
6. Principles of Surgery
7. Surgical technique for Cesarean Section
8. Anesthesia for Cesarean Section
9. Principles of Post-operative care
10. Laboratory Practicum - Objectives, Equipment and Station Organization

Please be aware that this is a pre-release of the First Edition of our Structured Operative Obstetrics course book. While the content of this course is complete, there may be changes and updates prior to the official First Edition release, which will be completed later in 2008.

Peacebuilding for Elementary Schools

This course will assist children age nine and older to become agents of peace and reconciliation in their communities. The course consists of eleven learning areas which focus on developing positive attitudes towards peace and the practical skills to prevent and resolve conflicts through nonviolent means in order to create a peaceful society.

The eleven learning areas included in the course are:

1. Peace
2. Conflict
3. Conscience
4. Empathy
5. Anger and Anger Management
6. Self-control
7. Fairness
8. Kindness
9. Problem-solving
10. Nonviolence
11. Reconciliation

The goals of the course are:

• Instill the values of living and working cooperateively with tolerance, respect and caring for others in the community.
• Develop responsible citizens who are the center and agents of peace.
• Inform children about the dangers of violence and how to prevent and resolve disputes.
• Develop self-discipline and good manners.
• Eliminate violence and bullying in schools.
• Instill a culture of resolving conflicts peacefully through reconciliation, nonviolence and good values.

Structured Hernia Repair Course

The Structured Hernia Repair Course Instructors Manual is part of the Canadian Network for International Surgery's surgical course and training manuals, using didactic material including lectures and interactive teaching sessions, progresses to surgical simulation, and then continues to clinical instruction with patients. The learner, under supervision of a specials surgeon, operates on patients in the operating room. Because of this structured approach, the learning experience of all participants is guaranteed, thus assuring consistent education and gender equaltiy.

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction to Structured Hernia Repair Courses
2. Anatomy of the Groin
3. Hernias of the Groin
4. Preparation for Surgery
5. Principles of Surgery
6. Repair of Groin Hernias
7. Local Anesthesia
8. Assessments

Please note that at this time, the Structured Hernia Repair Course only has the Instructors Manual available. The Student Manual for this course will come at a later date.

Trauma Team Training (TTT ™)

The principles of trauma management are universal irrespective of the source of destructive energy (whether it is a landmine or a motor vehicle) and irrespective of the caregiver's educational level. The Trauma Team Training Course (TTT ™) is designed to help personnel apply these principles to all types of injury.

The purpose of this course is to train personnel at the technical level to apply the principles of trauma management at centers with limited resources. TTT is unique because the unit of instruction is not an individual, but a whole team. The team is comprised of personnel who handle acute emergencies in most low-income country hospitals; often, this does not include doctors and, if it does, they are junior level doctors.

The Trauma Team Training Course was developed and tested in several formats since June of 1998 under the auspices of the Injury Control Center-Uganda (ICC-U), with funding from the Canadian Network for International Surgery (CNIS), and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) partnership and multilateral branches.

Essential Surgical Skills (ESS) Course

The primary purpose of the Instructors Course is to ensure that each specific university's department of surgery has a sufficient number of faculty members of are trained to conduct the ESS Instructors Course. The second purpose of the Instructors Course is to update previously qualified instructors on any new course developments.

Included in the manual are the following Lectures:

1. International and African perspectives on Surgical Curriculum Reform
2. The use of Simulation in Surgical Skills Education
3. Review of Student Assessment
4. Introduction to the ESS Provider's Course
5. The ESS Provider's Course Planning and Implementation

Please note that the ESS Course Instructors Manual is only available in the First Edition (2004).

Also be aware that the Provider's Manual Set is comprised of two course books, updated to a 2007 Edition:

1. ESS Providers Handbook
2. ESS Surgical Skills Course Manual