Boris
07-11-2008, 01:35 AM
We will work with the SAGES on this project. I am a member of SAGES and I work with one of the SAGES Go Global Committee members - Dr. Leena Khaitan. I also know another member of this committee - Dr. Mark Pleatman from the Mayo Clinic through the Surginet.
Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES)
The Places We'll Go: Message From Steve Eubanks, MD, SAGES President
Posted 06/27/2008
Steve Eubanks, MD
SAGES has embarked upon a global Initiative that formally takes our educational programs to parts of the world we have previously not reached. We have committed resources to provide training to surgeons in parts of the world where laparoscopic and endoscopic techniques and technologies have not been available at a level known by much of the world. We have successfully completed training courses in Chinandega, Nicaragua and Piura, Peru in the past year, and we are currently working on a course schedule for 2008 in Peru, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, and Eastern Europe. In October, the Board of Governors at SAGES voted to double the budget for our global efforts, now dubbed the Global Initiative. This work has been led by Ramon Buerger, Raul Rosenthal, Dimitrios Linos, and David Earle with strong support from Jacqueline Narváez at the SAGES office.
We perceive that we, as SAGES members, are very blessed with resources and educational opportunities. We possess a strong desire to share these advantages with many of our colleagues who find themselves in less fortunate environments or circumstances. Whenever possible, we work with local or regional minimally invasive surgery organizations to arrange and execute the training courses. Our focus is to train those capable of teaching local surgeons what they have learned. We also attempt to provide the equipment needed to allow this knowledge to be propagated and the effort sustained. The Global Initiative has been inspired and facilitated by SAGES International liaison members and international attendees at SAGES annual meetings. More than 700 international surgeons representing more than 70 countries attended the 2007 SAGES Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. Additionally, there are approximately 750 SAGES members from countries other than the U.S.
SAGES has been a contributing member of the global community for many years. SAGES participation in international courses has occurred in locations such as Japan, China and South America to name a few. Furthermore, individual SAGES members have covered the globe in exchanging knowledge and techniques with friends from many countries. Some of my closest, lasting friendships have been developed through such trips. Many of these trips have also led to opportunities for formal surgical training in the United States for individuals who were introduced through these international efforts. The mindset that we Americans are always going to teach rather than learn and exchange information has never been more inappropriate than in current times. We have many reasons to have confidence in our medical training and advances but no reason for an arrogant or isolationist perspective. An important aspect of our current global initiative is to learn from those who have surpassed us in various areas and to bring these advances back to members of SAGES. One can cite examples such as NOTES work in India, gastric surgery in Japan, and numerous examples of creativity and ingenuity from various areas of South America where those of us in the United States have much to learn.
As we consider the non medical aspects of our position in the global community, one needs little time with a newspaper or television news program to encounter natural disasters, wars, and stories of people attempting to survive in tragic conditions. We are often inundated with so much of this type of news that we can face it with a cold or hard heart. It is virtually impossible to remain disinterested when we can put the face of a friend in the midst of such situations. When these events strike those we know or love, we passionately desire to aid those in need through many mechanisms. Those of us in the United States are not immune from such disasters, and I received an outpouring of concern and prayers from friends throughout the world when the events of September 11, 2001 occurred. I have never received as much support from so many countries as I did through calls, e-mail messages, and letters expressing a deep concern and shared pain as we faced a dark hour in this country.
Our goals through the SAGES Global Initiative are centered around surgery and education. I am certain many friendships and relationships will develop through these efforts and will be sustained long after the information we share is viewed as historical and our current technologies are obsolete.
http://www.sages.org/projects/go_global
Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES)
The Places We'll Go: Message From Steve Eubanks, MD, SAGES President
Posted 06/27/2008
Steve Eubanks, MD
SAGES has embarked upon a global Initiative that formally takes our educational programs to parts of the world we have previously not reached. We have committed resources to provide training to surgeons in parts of the world where laparoscopic and endoscopic techniques and technologies have not been available at a level known by much of the world. We have successfully completed training courses in Chinandega, Nicaragua and Piura, Peru in the past year, and we are currently working on a course schedule for 2008 in Peru, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, and Eastern Europe. In October, the Board of Governors at SAGES voted to double the budget for our global efforts, now dubbed the Global Initiative. This work has been led by Ramon Buerger, Raul Rosenthal, Dimitrios Linos, and David Earle with strong support from Jacqueline Narváez at the SAGES office.
We perceive that we, as SAGES members, are very blessed with resources and educational opportunities. We possess a strong desire to share these advantages with many of our colleagues who find themselves in less fortunate environments or circumstances. Whenever possible, we work with local or regional minimally invasive surgery organizations to arrange and execute the training courses. Our focus is to train those capable of teaching local surgeons what they have learned. We also attempt to provide the equipment needed to allow this knowledge to be propagated and the effort sustained. The Global Initiative has been inspired and facilitated by SAGES International liaison members and international attendees at SAGES annual meetings. More than 700 international surgeons representing more than 70 countries attended the 2007 SAGES Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. Additionally, there are approximately 750 SAGES members from countries other than the U.S.
SAGES has been a contributing member of the global community for many years. SAGES participation in international courses has occurred in locations such as Japan, China and South America to name a few. Furthermore, individual SAGES members have covered the globe in exchanging knowledge and techniques with friends from many countries. Some of my closest, lasting friendships have been developed through such trips. Many of these trips have also led to opportunities for formal surgical training in the United States for individuals who were introduced through these international efforts. The mindset that we Americans are always going to teach rather than learn and exchange information has never been more inappropriate than in current times. We have many reasons to have confidence in our medical training and advances but no reason for an arrogant or isolationist perspective. An important aspect of our current global initiative is to learn from those who have surpassed us in various areas and to bring these advances back to members of SAGES. One can cite examples such as NOTES work in India, gastric surgery in Japan, and numerous examples of creativity and ingenuity from various areas of South America where those of us in the United States have much to learn.
As we consider the non medical aspects of our position in the global community, one needs little time with a newspaper or television news program to encounter natural disasters, wars, and stories of people attempting to survive in tragic conditions. We are often inundated with so much of this type of news that we can face it with a cold or hard heart. It is virtually impossible to remain disinterested when we can put the face of a friend in the midst of such situations. When these events strike those we know or love, we passionately desire to aid those in need through many mechanisms. Those of us in the United States are not immune from such disasters, and I received an outpouring of concern and prayers from friends throughout the world when the events of September 11, 2001 occurred. I have never received as much support from so many countries as I did through calls, e-mail messages, and letters expressing a deep concern and shared pain as we faced a dark hour in this country.
Our goals through the SAGES Global Initiative are centered around surgery and education. I am certain many friendships and relationships will develop through these efforts and will be sustained long after the information we share is viewed as historical and our current technologies are obsolete.
http://www.sages.org/projects/go_global