About
Associate Professor
The McMaster International Surgery Desk (ISD) was launched in June 2010 to facilitate international surgery activity within the Department of Surgery and collaborate with like-minded disciplines and colleagues within McMaster University and the Canadian surgical community.
The ISD objectives are to promote the development of partnerships, include education in all projects, encourage service to low and middle-income countries and contribute to knowledge generation.
For more information on global health research at McMaster University, please visit the website of our partner organizations:
Education
The International Surgery Desk (ISD) has been involved in a number of international surgery education initiatives, including:
- Hosting visiting scholars from Nigeria and facilitating international electives for McMaster University residents
- Providing local and international courses on surgical skills, trauma, evidence-based medicine and collaborating with the Canadian Network for International Surgery
- Presentation of international surgery research at international meetings, including the Canadian Surgery Forum, Association for Surgical Education, Canadian Association of Pediatric Surgeons, Bethune Round Table on International Surgery and Guyana Medical Scientific Conference
Information Box Group
Visiting Scholars
Visiting Scholars:
Dr. Phyllis Kisa, June 2015
Dr. Kisa visited with us for one week. After 18 months of training in Vancouver, she is returning to become the second pediatric surgeon in Uganda.
Dr. Olanrewaju Oyedepo, June 2015
Dr. Oyedepo was a clinical observer with us in pediatric anesthesiology. He works in Nigeria with our previous visitor Dr. Abdur-Rahman. Thanks to Dr. Parrish and Dr. Reddy for facilitating his visit.
Dr. Olivia Kituuka, June – July 2014
Dr. Kituuka was with us for a month after the Bethune Round Table conference as a clinical observer in hepatobiliary surgery, with Dr. Marcaccio and colleagues at the Juravinski Hospital, and as a participant in the Centre for Minimal Access Surgery (CMAS) Fellows course. She is interested in advancing minimal access surgery in Uganda.
Dr. Olajide (Timothy) Adewale, July – September 2012
Dr. Adewale is a pediatric surgeon from Nigeria who recently visited McMaster to observe pediatric surgical practice and learn about laparoscopic pediatric surgery.
Dr. Lukman Abdur-Rahman, September – December 2011
Dr. Abdur Rahman visited McMaster’s division of pediatric general surgery for three months as a visiting scholar supported through a scholarship from the World Federation of Associations of Pediatric Surgeons.
McMaster surgery graduates go global:
- Dr. Jessica Westerholm (General Surgery, 2011)
- Dr. Mojole Omole (General Surgery, 2012)
- Dr. Nick Bauman (General Surgery, 2002)
Residents who have completed electives overseas:
- Dr. Andrew Giles (Angola, 2016)
- Dr. Ryan Fielding (Uganda, 2015)
- Dr. Matthew MacLeod (PDF) (Uganda, 2015)*
- Dr. Vasudha Gupta (PDF) (Bolivia, 2014)*
- Dr. Elena Parvez (PDF) (Uganda, 2014)*
- Dr. Jorge Zequiera (Guyana, 2013)*
- Dr. Rubini Pathy (PDF) (Uganda, 2012)*
- Dr. Rubini Pathy (Uganda, 2011)
- Dr. Patricia Larouche (Guyana, 2011)
- Dr. C.J. Foote (India, 2011)
- Dr. Colin White (China, 2010)
- Dr. Jola Omole (Nigeria, 2010)
- Dr. Sara Kalechstein (Guyana, 2010)
- Dr. Maggie Gordon (Guyana, 2009)
*Previous ISD Scholarship winners.
Courses
Courses & Workshops
- Trauma Simulation and Evidence-Based Research Methodology workshops lead by Dr. Karen Bailey and Julia Pemberton in Guyana. (November, 2012)
- Surgical Skills Workshop for McMaster Students Undergoing International Electives (June, 2012)
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded workshop on surgical research collaboration between Canada and Guyana. Video: Guyana Canada Surgical Research Workshop (May, 2011).
- McMaster-Brock Global Health Research Forum (2011)
- From Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) to the operating room (OR) Workshop – A Roadmap for the International Surgeon (October, 2010)
Resources
Resources for Residents
Goals and Objectives: International Surgery Rotation (PDF). Prepared by Dr. Jessica Westerholm (McMaster, 2011), currently in Nepal.
Global Electives – Policies & Documents
Scholarships
Paul Farmer Global Surgery Fellowship
The Paul Farmer Global Surgery Fellowship is a one- or two-year fellowship offered by Boston Children’s Hospital Department of Plastic and Oral Surgery in collaboration with the Partners in Health organization and the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change at Harvard Medical School. The purpose of the fellowship is to train leaders who will further promote surgical care, education and research in the field of global surgery in resource-poor settings around the world.
For information on how to apply, please visit the Boston Children’s Hospital website.
Knowledge Generation
Global Outcomes in Surgery
Principal and Co-Investigators: Dr. Brian Cameron, Dr. Karen Bailey and Dr. Michael Livingston
McMaster Children’s Hospital joined the GlobalSurg Project in September 2014 and is now an active study site. GlobalSurg is an international, prospective audit of clinical outcomes following emergency abdominal surgery. The purpose of this project is to determine internationally relevant, modifiable surgical practices associated with the best outcomes.
Disability Averted by Pediatric Surgery (DAPS)
Principal and Co-Investigators: Dr. Brian Cameron and Dr. Dan Poenaru
The DAPS project is focused on describing the scope of pediatric surgical practice and understanding the global burden of disease in children in Kenya and Canada, two widely divergent settings, by determining disability weights for surgical conditions. Learn more about DAPS.
Trauma Team Training (TTT) Program in Guyana: An International Collaboration
Principal Investigator: Dr. Brian Cameron
The Trauma Team Training Course is a nationally accredited trauma program in Guyana. The TTT Update course was piloted November 2011 to allow TTT graduates to sharpen their skills while focusing on teamwork capacity in a one-day setting. Study results will help inform the development of an official TTT Update manual for the Canadian Network for International Surgery.
Recent Publications & Presentations
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
- GlobalSurg Collaborative. Mortality of emergency abdominal surgery in high-, middle- and low-income countries. Br J Surg. 2016; E-Published ahead of print. 4 May 2016 in Wiley Online Library. DOI:10.1002/bjs.10151
- Bruni A, Kazmi K, Bailey K, Rambaran N, Rambaran M, Cameron B, Pemberton J. A qualitative assessment of trauma team performance at Georgetown Public Hospital in Guyana. West Indian Medical Journal. 2015; E-Published ahead of print.
- Poenaru D, Pemberton J, Frankfurter C, Cameron B. Quantifying the disability averted through pediatric surgery: a cross-sectional comparison of a pediatric surgical unit in Kenya and Canada. World J Surg. 2015 Sep;39(9):2198-206.
- Poenaru D, Pemberton J, Cameron BH. The Burden of Waiting: DALYs Accrued from Delayed Access to Pediatric Surgery in Kenya and Canada. J Pediatr Surg. 2015; 50(5): 765-770.
- Margolick J, Kanters DM, Cameron BH. Incorporating procedural skills into pre-departure training for medical students participating in international elective. Can Med Ed J. 2015; 6(1): e23-e33.
- Livingston H, D’Cruz J, Pemberton J, Ozgediz D, Poenaru D. Mortality of pediatric surgical conditions in low and middle income countries in Africa. J Pediatr Surg. 2015; 50(5): 760-764.
- Cameron BH, Martin C, Rambaran M. Surgical training in Guyana: the next generation. Canadian Journal of Surgery. 2015; 58(1): 7-9. doi: 10.1503/cjs.010414.
Published Abstracts
- Harrop T, O’Flynn E, Howard A, Jani P, Bekele A, Cameron BH. Surgery in Africa Journal Club: a north-south e-learning collaboration for surgical residents in the COSECSA Region (PDF). Can J Surg. 2016; 59(3 Suppl 3): S66.
- Pemberton J, Poenaru D, Derbew MD, Neufeld V, Cameron BH. Ready, set, go! Follow-up from the 2014 Bethune Round Table Global Surgery Research Working Group (PDF). Can J Surg. 2016; 59(3 Suppl 3): S72.
- Galloro L, Pemberton J, Cameron BH. Surgical education partnerships: a socially responsible approach to augment surgical capacity. Can J Surg. 2015; 58(4 Suppl 1): S168.
Presentations
- Cameron BH. Surgery in Africa Journal Club: A North-South E-learning Collaboration for Surgical Residents in the COSECSA Region. Bethune Round Table 2016. Halifax, Nova Scotia. 2016-06-3.
- Galloro L, Pemberton J, Cameron BH. Surgical education partnerships: a socially responsible approach to augment surgical capacity. Bethune Round Table on International Surgery. Calgary, Alberta. June 4-7, 2015.
- Livingston MH, DCruz J, Pemberton J, Poenaru D, Ozgediz D. Pediatric general surgery outcomes in low and middle-income countries in Africa: What is being studied and where do we go from here? Bethune Round Table. Hamilton, Canada. 2014-06-07.
- Pemberton J, Frankfurter C, Cameron BH, Poenaru D. Quantification of Global Burden of Pediatric Surgical Disease Using Disability Weights: Implications for Priority Setting. Bethune Round Table 2014. Hamilton, Canada. 2014-6-5.
Poster Presentations
- Pemberton J, Poenaru D, Derbew MD, Neufeld V, Cameron BH. Ready, Set, Go! Follow-up from the 2014 Bethune Round Table Global Surgery Research Working Group. Bethune Round Table 2016. 2016-06-04.
- Prashad A, Grierson L, Cameron BH, McConnell M, Rambaran M. Retention and Capacity Building in the University of Guyana Surgical Training Program: A Case Study Exploration of Eyal and Hurst’s Framework for Locally-Relevant Training Canadian Conference on Medical Education. Montreal, Quebec. 2016-04-18.
- Bruni A, Kazmi K, Bailey K, Rambaran N, Rambaran M, Cameron BH, Pemberton J. A qualitative assessment of trauma team performance at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation in Guyana. Canadian Conference on Global Health 2015. 2015-11-05.
- Prashad A, Cameron BH, McConnell M, Rambaran M, Grierson LEM. A Case Study Exploration of Retention and Capacity Building in Guyana’s Surgical Training Program. 8th Annual Guyana Medical and Scientific Conference 2015.
- Rekman J, Moro E, Greene B, Cameron BH. Assessing the Needs of the MMed (Surgery) Program in Gulu, Uganda. Global Partners in Anesthesia and Surgery Conference 2015.
- Pemberton J, Prashad C, Lett R, Cameron BH. Trauma Team Training: From Uganda to the World. Global Partners in Anesthesia and Surgery Conference 2015.
- Duncan AW, Waiswa M, Prebtani APH, Verhovsek MM, O’Shea TM, Kruisselbrink R, Cameron BH, Kagoma P. Fifteen years experience with Canadian ‘Hands on’ electives for Ugandan physicians. Global Partners in Anesthesia and Surgery Conference 2015.