August 1st, 2019

// Chief Medical Officer Responds to Article: ‘There’s a Global Surgery Crisis and it Has an Obvious Solution’

Chief Medical Officer Responds to Article: 
‘There's a Global Surgery Crisis and it Has an Obvious Solution’

Keir Thelander, Chief Medical Officer of the Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons(PAACS), is available for comment and an interview to respond to the recent CNN ‘There's a Global Surgery Crisis and it Has an Obvious Solution’ which highlights the importance of finding solutions to bringing safe and affordable surgical and anesthesia care to the 5 billion people in the world who are without access. The article points out that that “robust untapped source of the potential surgical workforce: women.”

Thelander is available to speak to PAACS’ 23-year history of training male and female African physicians to become surgeons in their home countries, as well as the success PAACS has had with its female surgeon graduates.

Keir Thelander, Chief Medical Officer of the PAACS, a non-denominational, multinational service organization that trains African physicians to become surgeons, said:

“The emphasis on bringing more women into the fold of surgical training is one component of a larger and more comprehensive approach to improving the perception of a woman’s value within a culture. We must be very careful that we do not oversimplify the causes that have impacted the gender disparity in the medical field without addressing the larger discussion of cultural norms that contribute to the result.”

“PAACS’ will continue its 23-year history has been driven by the belief that education and engagement within the training of physicians in their home countries ​is ​the best way to serve a nation’s long term needs. To date, PAACS has issued 88 graduate certificates to African surgeons who have gone on to serve across twenty countries on the African continent. A little over 10% of our trainees are women — we would like to see that number increase. The balance of that is a greater impact of PAACS for the world.”

Keir Thelander, Chief Medical Officer of the PAACS, a non-denominational, multinational service organization that trains African physicians to become surgeons, said:

“The emphasis on bringing more women into the fold of surgical training is one component of a larger and more comprehensive approach to improving the perception of a woman’s value within a culture. We must be very careful that we do not oversimplify the causes that have impacted the gender disparity in the medical field without addressing the larger discussion of cultural norms that contribute to the result.”

“PAACS’ will continue its 23-year history that has been driven by the belief that education and engagement within the training of physicians in their home countries is the best way to serve a nation’s long term needs. To date, PAACS has issued 88 graduate certificates to African surgeons who have gone on to serve across twenty-one countries on the African continent. A little over 10% of our trainees are women — we would like to see that number increase and continue to implement strategies to achieve that goal. The balance of that is a greater impact of PAACS for the world.”

Keir is available for comment at your convenience.

Contact: Tamara@Tamaraedwards.co

About PAACS

The Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS) is a strategic response to the need for surgeons in Africa. We are a non-denominational, multinational service organization training African physicians to become surgeons who are willing to remain in Africa to meet this need. PAACS also disciples these residents to share the love and gospel of Jesus Christ with their patients. The surgical and spiritual training of these residents is offered at several well-established mission hospitals in Africa, under the direction of experienced, board-certified missionary surgeons.

More 

Charisma News: How God's Extraordinary Intervention Helped This Surgeon Achieve the Impossible

TRAIN IT RIGHT NEWSLETTER

Sign Up and get a free 7 day Train it Right HIIT Program!

Top