Global Surgery Fellowship

In 2017 the Creighton University Department of Surgery initiated a two-year Global Surgery Fellowship (GSF). "In Creighton's Jesuit, Catholic tradition, the mission of the School of Medicine is to improve the human condition and transform learners into exceptional physicians who are leaders in advancing medicine, health, and well-being". The fellowship provides dedicated, exceptional surgeons, to help meet the desperate surgical health care needs of low-income countries - you will save many lives.

The fellowship is two years long with the first 8 months spent in Omaha, Nebraska, and the last 16 months at a low-income country district hospital. The hospital is carefully chosen for safety, electricity, clean water, operating rooms with working equipment, ultrasound, laboratory services, and professional support staff. A quality improvement project at the international site is also required to be completed by the fellow.

The fellowship director is Dr. Charles Filipi, a general surgeon at Creighton University who has been involved with international humanitarian surgical, chronic care, and nutritional programs for 18 years. Dr. Caron Gray will become the fellowship director on July 1, 2023. Dr. Gray is an obstetrician-gynecologist at Creighton University who has been the director of the OBGYN portion of the GSF since its inception. She has been involved with the Creighton University Institute for Latin American Concern in the Dominican Republic since 2006. Dr. Gray has partnered with the Dominican NGO in building the Women’s Health Program and is the director of a women’s health elective and interprofessional summer program for medical students. Dr. Gray shares the same passion and collaborative spirit as Dr. Filipi, and we anticipate a seamless transition.

The past fellows have saved over 200 lives and relieved the suffering of many while operating internationally. The Omaha rotations are altered in length and inclusion based on the fellows' prior subspecialty exposure and career pathway. Our current fellow has had significant surgical experience in Omaha, serving as the primary surgeon in various obstetrical, orthopedic, and ENT cases. She has had the opportunity to participate in a cadaver lab where there is one-on-one instruction, performing various procedures to gain more experience as needed. She also completed adult and pediatric anesthesia, ultrasound, and NICU rotations.

Our current fellow is now working at a remote district hospital in the Republic of the Congo.

Internationally, she has performed 59 major operations and 45 minor operations to date. Twenty-six board-certified medical doctor subspecialists serve as 24/7 phone/internet consultants for complicated patients and telecommunicated M&M cases are worked into the Creighton University M&M conference schedule as well.

At the international hospital, the fellow is training a highly capable Physician Assistant to perform basic surgical procedures using the operating performance rating scale (OPRS). The fellow and their trainee log their cases on a web-based spreadsheet monitored by the global surgery fellowship director and schedule phone calls with the director to provide updates and consultation. Emotional support is available when and if needed.

The fellow is paid a PGY 6 salary during year one of the fellowship, and a PGY 7 salary during the second year. Benefits and travel expenses to and from the low-income country are provided. In addition, the required quality improvement project at the international site is supported with $5,000.

Prerequisites:

Applicants must have finished a U.S. ACGME-approved surgical residency by June 30, 2023, and be board certified, or if within one year of residency completion, be qualified to take the American Board of Surgery QE/CE examinations.

How To Apply:

If interested in applying, please provide the following documents to the fellowship coordinator JoAnn Bauer at [email protected]

• Documentation of an average ABSITE score > the 50th percentile
• A letter of reference from the applicant's surgery department chairman
• A letter of reference from the applicant's program director
• A personal statement discussing: Are you an Albert Schweitzer? Do you want to try to be an Albert Schweitzer, or do you want to be a part time Albert Schweitzer?
• A Current CV