As a head and neck cancer surgeon, I have served as a volunteer short-term faculty member for the Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS) in Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Kenya for the past 6 years. In that setting, I have cared for a small cross-section of congenital and neoplastic head and neck tumors. These challenging cases require a high level of technical expertise and equipment as well as good team work for management and rehabilitation. In addition, teaching general surgery residents to manage these cases involves introduction to unfamiliar anatomy, concern for cosmetic and functional consequences and ability to make accurate diagnosis, pre-operative assessments for planning, and management of routine and complicated post-operative situations. These concerns will be illustrated with several exemplary cases, and opportunities for short-term and subspecialty faculty in PAACS will be discussed.
Across United States medical schools, one quarter of medical students participate in international experiences during medical school. Most of these students continue this interest as residents. For students and residents called to international Christian faith-based missions and those exploring such an interest, this high level of general interest has lead to an array of global health opportunities at most medical schools and many residencies. This session will discuss the use of short and medium term international experiences for global health education and professional development of medical students and residents. The discussion will include models that facilitate develop of indigenous medical education and health care systems, strategies that maximize benefit and minimize disruption for in-country partners, and approaches that develop and mentor future medical education leaders.
This session will be structured around a panel of veteran missionary surgeons who will each present a case involving a common surgical emergency they have encountered in missions settings. The panel will discuss each case presented, and interactive discussion with the audience will be incorporated. Panelists will be Bill Ardill, Dick Bransford, Peter Chu, and Bruce Steffes, with John Mellinger moderating.
In this session, we will cover the interaction of factors affecting nutritional status and the principles for treating severe acute malnutrition. We will also address
important vitamin and mineral deficiencies in developing countries.
This session will cover the rationale for a syndromic approach to fever in the tropics. We will consider the causes of 8 common fever syndromes.
