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From left: CNIS office manager Elizabeth Schaefer, Dr. Margaret Ajiko from Soroti Regional Referral Hospital, CNIS ESS Patron in Kampala Dr. Samuel Kaggwa, Head of Makerere University Department of Orthopedics Dr. Tito Beyeza, CNIS SOO Patron in Kampala Dr. Josaphat Byamugisha and Nathan O’Hara from UBC Department of Orthopaedics.

CNIS had a pleasant surprise visit to our Vancouver office from some of our African partners, when four Ugandan doctors attended the Conference on Surgery and Anesthesia in Uganda at the University of British Columbia on April 2, 2011.

Dr. Mary Margaret Ajiko, a general surgeon from the Soroti Regional Referral Hospital, was one of the conference presenters. CNIS ESS Patron in Kampala, Dr. Samuel Kaggwa, is a Senior Lecturer and current Head of Department of Surgery at Mulago/Makerere College of Health Sciences. Dr. Tito Beyeza has been head of the Orthopaedics Department of Makerere University since September 2005. And Dr. Josaphat Byamugisha, CNIS Structured Operative Obstetrics (SOO) Patron in Kampala, is the Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Makerere University.

We hope to see them all again soon!

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Course participants at CNIS first Essential Surgical Skills instructors course in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Participants au premier cours pour instructeurs de CCE à Port-au-Prince, Haïti

Course participants from 4 Haitian medical schools work together. Collaboration des 4 écoles de médecine de Haïti

Port-au-Prince after the 2010 earthquake. Photo © Dan Deckelbaum. Port-au-Prince après le tremblement de terre de 2010

It is over a year since the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti occurred and the country is continuing its slow recovery. All segments of Haitian society are involved in this recovery, including the medical schools. These schools lost both facilities and human resources, students and faculty being among the lives lost. With both venues and teaching capacity diminished, the schools got significantly behind in training the young doctors for a country that badly needed them.

Among some of the Canadians who went to Haiti over this past year were a number of doctors from Quebec connected with the University of
Sherbrooke. In their discussions with the medical school deans a request was made to them that Canada assist the Haitian medical schools with surgical skills training for their students and interns who had missed this training and had little or no chance of getting it. These Canadians brought the request back to Canada and approached the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. This body encouraged proceeding with the idea and application was made to the Canadian government for funding. Funding was made available on proposal submission and the University of Calgary won the funds. The CNIS was then approached for its Essential Surgical Skills course which was deemed ideal for this project. An MOU was signed and the project took shaped. Here then, is a collaboration between the Haitial medical schools, concerned doctors from the University of Sherbrooke, the Canadian government, the University of Calgary and the CNIS. (A true example of collaboration!)

On April 2 Dr. Robert Taylor of the CNIS traveled to Haiti where he was received by the deans of the four medical schools. Dr Olivier Armstrong, a French surgeon who had taken the ESS instructors course in Ottawa, also traveled to Haiti to co-instruct with Dr. Taylor. Twenty-four faculty members from the four medical schools had been selected by the deans and a three-day ESS Instructors course was conducted. These faculty were enthusiastic and the course was well received. The final evaluation was positive and all 24 expressed their readiness to be involved as instructors for the ESS Providers courses to follow subsequently for the students and interns of the 4 schools.

The deans and faculty were deeply encouraged by this project and look forward to ongoing collaboration. It was historic for several reasons, not the least of which is that this is the first time in their history that the four medical schools have cooperated together on any project. Let us celebrate with them and hope that the encouragement and spirit of cooperation will continue as this country moves forward in its recovery.

by Robert H. Taylor, CNIS Surgical Associate

Le premier cours de chirurgie du RCCI  à Haïti

Il a maintenant plus d’un an que Haïti a subit un terrible tremblement de terre et le pays se remet doucement.Toutes les couches de la société sont impliquées dans cette reconstruction. Les facultés de médecine ont également été touchées car bâtiments, matériel et personnel ont partiellement disparu. Leur capacité à former de nouveaux médecins a donc fortement diminué alors même que le pays en a un besoin urgent.

Parmi les canadiens partis soutenir Haïti l’année dernière, se trouvaient un certain nombre de médecins de Quebec en relation avec l’université de Sherbrooke qui ont pu discuter avec les  présidents des universités haïtiennes. Ces derniers ont alors demandé l’aide du Canada pour former aux techniques de chirurgie les étudiants et internes en médecine qui n’avaient pas encore complété leur formation et qui avaient maintenant peu de chance de le faire. Les médecins canadiens revenus avec cette requête ont pris contact avec le Collège Royal des Médecins et Chirurgiens du Canada qui les a encouragé à  poursuivre leur démarche de demande de fond auprès du gouvernement du Canada. L’Université de Calgary  a remporté la demande de fond et a contacté le RCCI pour ses cours en Compétences Chirurgicales Essentielles (CCE), parfaitement adaptés à la situation. Un mémorandum d’entente a été signé et le projet prend forme. C’est donc un vrai projet collaboratif entre les universités de médecine haïtiennes, des médecins concernés de l’université de Sherbrooke, le gouvernement canadien, l’université de Calgary et le RCCI.

Le 4 avril, le Dr Robert Taylor est parti pour Haïti où il a été reçu par les présidents des quatre facultés de médecines. Le Dr Olivier Armstrong, chirurgien français, lui-même formé au cours de CCE à Ottawa, l’a accompagné afin de le seconder dans son enseignement. Les présidents ont sélectionné vingt-quatre membres de la faculté de médecine qui ont pu suivre la formation de CCE en trois jours.

Les participants enthousiastes ont beaucoup apprécié ce cours et se sont déclarés prêts à devenir les prochains instructeurs de CCE. Ils formeront à leur tour les étudiants et internes haïtiens des quatre universités de médecine qui n’ont pu terminer leur cursus.

Les présidents et membres de la faculté de médecine ont déclaré ce projet très encourageant . Ils  souhaitent continuer cette collaboration historique pour de multiples raisons dont l’une, et non la moindre, est la toute première collaboration des quatre faculté de médecine haïtiennes.

Joignons-nous à eux pour célébrer cette réussite et espérons que cet esprit collaboratif se poursuive alors que le pays avance dans sa reconstruction.

Par Robert H. Taylor,  chirurgien associé, RCCI
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