Intersectional Surgical Training Program (ISTP)
Intersectional Surgical Training Program
Offers a clinical training to MSF surgeons to acquire the specific surgical skills that are required in MSF hospitals. The training was created to support the quality of care in the MSF projects that offer surgical care to patients.
Offers a clinical training to MSF surgeons to acquire the specific surgical skills that are required in MSF hospitals. The training was created to support the quality of care in the MSF projects that offer surgical care to patients.
About the ISTP
The program offers:
- Clinical training for MSF surgeons at the Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, South Africa. The training is tailored to the individual learning needs of every surgeon and functions as a high-quality clinical internship of about 8 weeks. The Stellenbosch University offers a clinical setting that reflects in many ways the context encountered by MSF surgeons with up-to-date knowledge and high standards around surgery in the field.
- Surgical Workshop delivered in French in Abidjan held once or twice per year over a period of 5 days.
About the Training
The diversity of surgical projects is increasing, ranging from rural hospitals, providing essential life- and limb-saving surgery, to more specialised projects for more complex reconstructive and paediatric cases. In addition, MSF runs dedicated Trauma Centres, addressing the needs of victims of intended and unintended violence, principally in context of active conflict.
ISTP Program
This operational strategy around surgical care requires an adapted surgical workforce. MSF Surgeons need to master an adapted set of surgical competencies and skills, reaching from broad to specialised, from obstetrics to vascular interventions. While all these interventions are performed under various degrees of resource constraints, the ambition of the organisation is to maintain strong standards of quality of care.
For this purpose, the ISTP aims to answer the training needs by offering a targeted training for surgeons that aims to improve and broaden their surgical skills to increase the safety and quality of surgical care for MSF patients. This training aims to serves the need for the entire MSF movement and is coordinated through all the MSF offices.
ISTP Program Appoach
Our Approach to the Program
The trainings address a variety of different procedures, covering the essential needs of the surgical patients seen in MSF hospitals
Trauma surgery
Different procedures, covering the essential needs of the surgical patients seen in MSF hospitals.
Essential obstetric emergencies
Up to date knowledge and high standards around surgery in the field.
Essential orthopedic emergencies
A clinical setting that reflects in many ways the context encountered by the MSF surgeons.
Management of patients with burns
Flexibility to assure an individualised curriculum to address the specific needs of surgeons.
Basics of reconstructive surgery
Flexibility to assure an individualised curriculum to address the specific needs of surgeons.
About Doctors without Borders (MSF)
As a medical humanitarian emergency organization, the provision of safe surgery is a core part of MSF’s mission and identity. The number of surgical projects that offer surgical care and the number of surgical interventions has been steadily increasing over the past years. In 2022, MSF performed 118,100 surgical interventions involving the incision, excision, manipulation or suturing of tissue requiring anaesthesia.