AO Socio Economic Committee (AO SEC)
AO is an abbreviation from German that stands for “Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosyn-thesefragen”; this is translated into English as “Association for the study of internal fixa-tion”. AO was founded in 1958 in Switzerland by 13 members.
AO SEC stands for AO Socio Economic Committee. AO SEC represents the social con-science of the AO Foundation. Its primary goal is to improve the care of the injured in developing countries. To achieve this AO SEC is involved in the following:
Principles’ course: Every year a few days before the annual COSECSA meeting, AO SEC sponsors a 3 day pre- conference AO Principle’s course. This course is mainly aimed for senior orthopaedic residents, orthopaedic senior house officers and newly qualified orthopaedic surgeons. It is also very useful for general surgeons involved in treating orthopaedic patients. It introduces the delegates to AO principles of fracture treatment. This course is held in the country which is hosting the COSECSA meeting for that par-ticular year.
ORP courses: Operating Room Personnel courses teach nurses and technicians who work in the operating room the AO principles of fracture treatment.
Non operative fracture treatment courses: These courses are intended for general surgeons, doctors and orthopaedic surgeons working in low resourced communities and paramedical workers who are involved in fracture treatment. It is aimed to teach them how to treat fractures without operating on them and how to recognize and refer fractures that need operations. Over the past few years, these courses have been held in many countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, Senegal and Cameroon.
AO SEC fellowships
AO SEC sponsors senior orthopaedic residents for a period of 6–12 months to attend various fellowships at various hospitals in the region. Below is a list of the fellowships being offered and a brief description of each centre.
– AO Pediatric Orthopaedic Fellowship: CURE Children’s Hospital, Ethiopia – AO Pediatric Orthopaedic Fellowship: Beit CURE Hospital, Malawi – AO Trauma Fellowship: Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kenya – AO Trauma Fellowship: Steve Biko Academic Hospital, South Africa – AO Trauma Fellowship: Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Malawi
– AO ORP Fellowship: This is a very short term fellowship. The objective is to gain more experience of AO principles of fracture fixation in another hospital. ORP fellowships are normally by selection rather than by application. The contact person is Mwawi Songa whose email address is
mwawi.songa@cureinternational.org
General information
– All fellows are required to keep a log book of activities/operations. – All fellows are required to submit a report at the end of the fellowship.
– All fellows should expect that the designated trainer writes a report about them at the end of the fellowship.
– Fellows will be given an AO SEC certificate upon the successful completion of the fel-lowship. This will only be given after the fellow has completed his log book and the fellowship report.
– AO SEC will cover a return air flight ticket for the fellow. A basic stipend for subsistence and accommodation will also be provided.
– Dr. Nicholas Lubega is the current regional fellowship coordinator. He is based at Beit CURE Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi. His email address is nicholas.lubega@cure.org. All applications should be written to the designated trainer and copied to Dr. Nicholas Lubega.
– Doron Frantzen is the ECSAOA fellowship coordinator. He coordinates all the fellows in South Africa. His email address is doron.frantzen@gmail.com
– Whom do you apply to? The primary trainer and a copy of the application to Dr Nicho-las Lubega and Dr Doron Frantzen.
AO Paediatric Orthopaedic Fellowship: CURE Ethiopia
Introduction
The CURE Ethiopia Children’s Hospital located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is currently of-fering 6–12 month Orthopaedic Fellowships, generously funded by the AO Foundation Socio Economic Committee (AO SEC). The focus of the fellowship is on paediatric or-thopaedics. However, other adult orthopaedics will also be experienced, including sports medicine, arthroscopy, joint replacement, spine, and hand. The facility utilizes modern equipment and supplies. Teaching is directed by full time COSECSA faculty from Ethio-pia and abroad, along with frequent visiting specialist medical personnel. Eric Gokcen, MD is the primary trainer and is board certified by the American Academy of Orthopae-dic Surgeons, and maintains current meOrthopae-dical licensure in the US. Six-month-fellowship positions commence on January 1 and July 1, 2013. The one year fellowship begins on January 1, 2013. Currently, only one position is available, such that either two 6-month- fellows or one 12-month-fellow would be accepted.
Goals
Upon completion of the fellowship, the trainee shall be adept at diagnosing and manag-ing pediatric orthopaedic pathology, includmanag-ing clubfoot, angular limb deformities, DDH, post-traumatic deformities, trauma, infections, and more.
Requirements
Applicants must have passed the COSECSA member-level training exams and be in good standing as a COSECSA fellow trainee. The CURE Ethiopia Children’s Hospital is accredited by COSECSA for a maximum one year elective fellow-level rotation. Non-COSECSA applicants will be considered on a case by case basis.
Program benefits
Return airfare, lodging, stipend How to apply
Submit applications to Eric Gokcen, MD, Medical Director, The CURE Hospital, Addis Aba-ba, Ethiopia via email to eric@cure.org. Please copy applications to Dr. Nicholas Lubega at nicholas.lubega@cure.org. Please include your CV, a description of why you would like to be considered for this fellowship, and a list of references with email addresses. Deadline for the 2013 Fellowships is October 15, 2012
AO Paediatric Orthopaedic Fellowship: Beit CURE Malawi
Introduction
Beit CURE Hospital is located in Blantyre, Malawi. It is currently the only fully functioning specialist children’s orthopaedic hospital in this region of Africa. The hospital has a strong commitment to teaching and has a close working relationship with the adjacent medical school of the University of Malawi as well as Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital which is the Malawi National Referral and Teaching Hospital. The Hospital is recognised for higher specialist training in orthopaedics by The College of Surgeons of Eastern, Central, South-ern Africa (COSECSA) and historically has been accredited for higher surgical training by SAC of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Requirements
Applicants should be post membership of COSECSA, ideally having attained the COSEC-SA Orthopaedic Fellowship exam or equivalent e.g. M.Med or Senior orthopaedic trainee (resident or Senior House Officer) engaged in training in orthopaedics and traumatology. The candidate should demonstrate a commitment to surgical research and audit.
What does the post offer?
Tuition and experience in general paediatric orthopaedics e.g
• Ponseti management and operative management of neglected and complex clubfoot • Bone and joint sepsis
• Common congenital deformities
• Treatment of complex burn contractures including reconstruction with flaps and Taylor Spatial Frame (TSF)
• Complex limb reconstruction using circular frames (Ilizarov and TSF)
• Some limited adult trauma and orthopaedic e.g basic and advanced arthroscopic sur-gery and an introduction to hip and knee arthroplasty
Program benefits
Return airfare, lodging, stipend How to apply
Applications should be submitted to Dr. John Cashman on email: john.cashman@ cure.org. Please copy applications to Dr. Nicholas Lubega at nicholas.lubega@cure.org. Include your CV, a description of why you would like to be considered for this fellowship, and a list of references with email addresses.
AO Trauma Fellowship: Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kenya
Introduction
Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital is located in Eldoret, Western Kenya. The Trainers are Dr N Ongaro / Dr L Lelei / Dr E Muteti.
The duration of the fellowship is 8–12 months. Requirements
Applicants should be general surgeons, COSECSA Orthopaedic fellows, orthopaedic sur-geons who want more training in management of common orthopaedic trauma. What does the post offer?
Program benefits
Return airfare, lodging, stipend. How to apply
Applications should be submitted to Dr Neford Ongaro by email: nefordo@yahoo.com. Please copy applications to Dr. Nicholas Lubega at nicholas.lubega@cure.org. Your CV, a description of why you would like to be considered for this fellowship, and a list of refer-ences with email addresses should be included.
AO Trauma Fellowship Steve Biko Academic Hospital, South Africa
Introduction
Steve Biko Academic Hospital is the main teaching hospital of the University of Pretoria along with Kalafong Hospital. It is rated as one of the best medical schools in Africa. The department of Orthopaedics has an excellent reputation as a centre of excellence in training of orthopaedic surgeons in South Africa and in the region at large. Many or-thopaedic surgeons from the COSECSA member countries have done a 6–12 months fellowship at the hospital.
Requirements
COSECSA Orthopaedic fellow, newly qualified orthopaedic surgeon who would like to gain more experience in trauma, senior COSECSA orthopaedic fellow or resident prefer-ably in the final year of training.
Time for application
Applicants must apply at least a year before the intended date of commencement of the fellowship to allow time to process all the necessary documentation with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). At times this process can be quite delayed. In addition, EICS is a requirement for registration with HPCSA.EICS verifies medical edu-cation credentials. Dr Doron Frantzen guides interested fellows how to get this ready when they put in their applications.
What does the post offer?
The fellow will gain a lot of experience in orthopaedic trauma treatment using state of the art equipment of the first world. The fellow will be expected to participate in all academic activities of the registrars in the department and will be treated like a senior registrar. He/she will be expected to do all night long on- calls at least once every two weeks, participate in day clinics and attend morning post call hand over meetings. They will also be expected to attend Tuesday grand rounds, journal club and morbidity/mor-tality meetings in the department. Depending on the duration of the fellowship, the fellow may also rotate and gain some experience in other sub-specialities in the depart-ment like upper limb, tumor and sepsis, arthroplasty, foot and spine.
Program benefits
Return airfare, lodging, stipend. How to apply
Applications should be submitted to Dr Doron Frantzen on email: doron.frantzen@ gmail.com. Please copy applications to Dr Nicholas Lubega at nicholas.lubega@cure.org. Your CV, a description of why you would like to be considered for this fellowship, and a list of references with email addresses should be included.
AO Trauma Fellowship: Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Malawi
Introduction
Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital is the National Referral and Teaching Hospital of Ma-lawi. It is located in Blantyre and it is a neighbour to Beit CURE Hospital; a specialized children orthopaedic hospital. It neighbours the Orthopaedic Clinical Officers’ training school, Kamuzu school of nursing, Kachere Rehabilitation Centre and the College of Health Sciences as well.
The 6 months fellowship starts from September/October and ends in February/March. Applications should be submitted from January to May for applying the September/ October fellowship.
What does the post offer?
Trauma, including SIGN nailing, trauma reconstruction including soft tissue flaps and Ilizarov frames, spine surgery for TB and tumours, opportunity to observe/assist with hip and knee replacements.
Requirements
Applicant should be post membership of COSECSA, ideally having attained the COSEC-SA Orthopaedic Fellowship exam or equivalent e.g. M.Med or Senior orthopaedic trainee (resident or Senior House Officer) engaged in training in orthopaedics and traumatol-ogy. The candidate should demonstrate a commitment to surgical research and audit. Involvement with local undergraduate teaching is expected.
Program benefits
Return airfare, lodging, stipend. How to apply
Applications should be submitted to Dr Jeremy Bates on email: jbates@malawi.net. Please copy applications to Dr Nicholas Lubega at nicholas.lubega@cure.org. Your CV, a description of why you would like to be considered for this fellowship and a list of refer-ences with email addresses should be included.
Switzerland
Phone: +41 81 414 26 30 Fax: +41 81 414 22 83 sec@aofoundation.org www.aofoundation.org/sec
