Division of Neurosurgery, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Department of Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Childs Nerv Syst. 2021 Feb;37(2):627-636. doi: 10.1007/s00381-020-04802-4. Epub 2020 Jul 27.
Training capable and competent neurosurgeons to work in underserved regions of the world is an essential component of building global neurosurgical capacity. One strategy for achieving this goal is establishing longitudinal partnerships between institutions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and their counterparts in high-income countries (HICs) utilizing a multi-component model. We describe the initial experience of the Children's of Alabama (COA) Global Surgery Program partnership with multiple Vietnamese neurosurgical centers.
The training model developed by the COA Global Surgery Program utilizes three complementary and interdependent methods to expand neurosurgical capacity: in-country training, out-of-country training, and ongoing support and mentorship. Multiple Vietnamese hospital systems have participated in the partnership, including three hospitals in Hanoi and one hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.
During the 7 years of the partnership, the COA and Viet Nam teams have collaborated on expanding pediatric neurosurgical care in numerous areas of clinical need including five subspecialized areas of pediatric neurosurgery: cerebrovascular, epilepsy, neuroendoscopy for hydrocephalus management, craniofacial, and neuro-oncology.
Long-term partnerships between academic departments in LMICs and HICs focused on education and training are playing an increasingly important role in scaling up global surgical capacity. We believe that our multi-faceted approach consisting of in-country targeted hands-on training, out-of-country fellowship training at the mentor institution, and ongoing mentorship using telecollaboration and Internet-based tools is a viable and generalizable model for enhancing surgical capacity globally.
培训有能力和有能力的神经外科医生在世界上服务不足的地区工作是建立全球神经外科学能力的重要组成部分。实现这一目标的策略之一是利用多组件模型在中低收入国家（LMICs）和高收入国家（HICs）的机构之间建立长期合作关系。我们描述了阿拉巴马州儿童医院（COA）全球外科学计划与多个越南神经外科中心的合作的初步经验。
COA 全球外科学计划开发的培训模式利用三种互补和相互依存的方法来扩大神经外科学能力：国内培训、国外培训以及持续的支持和指导。多个越南医院系统参与了合作，包括河内的三家医院和胡志明市的一家医院。
在合作的 7 年中，COA 和越南团队在扩大儿科神经外科护理方面进行了合作，涵盖了五个小儿神经外科亚专科领域的临床需求：脑血管、癫痫、神经内镜治疗脑积水、颅面和神经肿瘤学。
LMICs 和 HICs 之间的学术部门之间的长期合作关系，重点是教育和培训，在扩大全球手术能力方面发挥着越来越重要的作用。我们相信，我们的多方面方法包括国内有针对性的实践培训、在导师机构进行国外奖学金培训以及使用远程协作和互联网工具进行持续指导，是增强全球手术能力的可行和可推广的模式。
