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This year's Oxford Global Surgery Course has just ended, with great enthusiasm and involvement from participants and faculty alike. We were excited and challenged to provide a rich, interactive and enjoyable five-day course entirely online this year as a result of the pandemic.

Presenters and attendees during the 2021 Oxford Global Surgery Course.

We were delighted to be able to welcome attendees from all over the world, with possibly even greater reach than in previous years both geographically and in terms of clinical background. As faculty we loved the vibrant discussion and interaction, and were privileged as always to learn from all who attended.

Comments from delegates included: 

"The diversity of presenters, students and their experiences really made for a rich and engaging discussion"

"It was an amazing course - so much more than I expected. So eye opening, inspiring and informative"

"This course has embodied the meaning of global surgery. It has brought together people from all walks of life, allowed them to all have a voice and explored how we as people can make partnerships and relationships that bring about change and equity in surgical healthcare"

"The most impactful course I've ever attended"

"I have learnt a lot. Listened a lot. I have been inspired."

The Programme

The five-day online course ran from Monday 13 to Friday 17 September 2021 and covered: 

  • Beyond the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery: indicators of surgical, anaesthesia and obstetrics need and activity.
  • Equipping the surgical workforce in an age of rapid communication 
  • The journey to safer surgery: the challenges to effective delivery of surgical and anaesthesia and obstetrics care
  • Research driving change: the opportunities and the questions to ask
  • The right people for the right job: contextually relevant task shifting
  • Ethics and advocacy
  • Resource allocation in healthcare systems
  • Working together developing cooperative partnerships
  • Working in new contexts.

Global Surgery Stories

The ethical impacts of international medical electives on local students and patient care

Magdalena Chmura, a former Student Rep of OUGSG and current Foundation Year doctor shares a paper recently published with Dr Shobhana Nagraj.

Supporting exams and training in Ethiopia

Professor Kokila Lakhoo was recently invited to the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) as an external examiner for the Paediatric Surgery Fellowship Exams. In addition to the exams contribution, Professor Lakhoo and colleagues ran the BAPS HG neonatal skills course and a research seminar for beginners and advance participants. Read the full report below.

Our contribution to the Francophone Africa meeting in Cameroon

Professor Kokila Lakhoo reports on the Francophone Africa meeting in Cameroon from 25 to 30 November 2023, which was represented by 10 central African countries. As well as giving a keynote speech and various talks, Professor Lakhoo and colleagues ran the BAPS HG neonatal skills course, Oxford Global Surgery research seminar and a BAPS-Oxford laparoscopic course.

Children’s Surgical Course for regional hospitals in Tanzania

Professor Kokila Lakhoo reports on her latest visit to Tanzania, the first country in Africa chosen by Oxford University Global Surgery Group to host its new Children's Surgical Course.

Women as a driver to address gaps in the global surgical workforce

Isabella Busa, a medical student at the University of Oxford, shares her recently published article written with Dr Shobhana Nagraj as part of the Global Surgery Special Study Theme.

OUGSG members run OX5 for Oxford Children's Hospital

Two of our Oxford University Global Surgery Group (OUGSG) members, Professor Chris Lavy and Dr Shobhana Nagraj, completed the OX5 Run on Sunday 20 March 2022 for the Children’s Centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital.