According to the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, an estimated five billion people around the world lack access to safe and affordable surgical and anesthesia care. This is due in part to a lack of trained surgeons and anesthesia providers – a shortage that impacts low- and middle-income countries in particular, where 9 out of 10 individuals cannot access basic surgical procedures.
To help address this shortage, HVO is pleased to announce the launch of a new anesthesia training project in partnership with the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale, Ghana.
Located in northern Ghana, UDS is dedicated to meeting the needs and building the capacity of the predominantly low-income, rural communities surrounding its campus. HVO volunteers will assist the university with its Bachelor of Science in Anesthesia program, which is designed to train nursing school graduates to become nurse anesthetists. Volunteers may also conduct rounds and provide clinical and didactic training to medical school students completing their clinical anesthesia rotation, provide continuing education to licensed anesthetists, and assist in updating the curriculum for the Bachelor of Science in Anesthesia program.
Both active and retired nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologists will be recruited for assignments at this project site. Volunteers must have a current medical license and a minimum of two years of experience. Assignments will be two to four weeks in length.
HVO’s anesthesia projects are supported by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists and the Society for Education in Anesthesia. Visit our anesthesia program page for more information about this and other volunteer opportunities.