Welcome to the Surgery in Africa Monthly Reviews
Accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) for CME Credits

Note for people using FireFox!

Surgery in Africa Reviews:

1. August: Disorders of the Umbilicus
2. July:  Prevention and Treatment of Cancer of the Cervix in Africa II
3. June: Is Splenic Preservation after Blunt Splenic Injury Possible in Africa?  June 2010 Update and September 2005 Review
4. May: Prevention and Treatment of Cancer of the Cervix in Africa - I
5. April: Cryptorchidism: A Comprehensive Clinical Review
6. March: When is Primary Anastomosis Safe in the Colon? July 2005 Review and March 2010 Update
7. February: Acute Septic Arthritis and Osteomyelitis in Children – An African Perspective

2009 Archives

2008 Archives:

2006 Archives:

Archives
CME Learning objectives
Information for Reviewers
RESOURCE LIBRARY

6 Years of Surgery in Africa!

The Office of International Surgery, University of Toronto and COSECSA greet 2010 with the 6th year of Surgery in Africa Monthly Reviews. Over the last five years we have published 51 Reviews on surgical topics aimed at surgeons and surgical trainees in low-income countries. Our website offers a Resource Library and a CME/CPD process linked to the monthly review and which is accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Our discussion group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Surgery-in-Africa, has over 300 members and provides a growing opportunity for exchanges of experience. We are expanding our editorial board with the addition of Dr. Andrew Howard, from the University of Toronto and Dr. Charles Adeyinka Adisa, from Abia State University in Nigeria.

The planned review topics for 2010 include: paediatric osteomyelitis and septic arthritis; cryptorchidism; cervical cancer; penetrating thoracic trauma and evaluating clinical evidence in surgery. As well, over the coming months, we will be updating previous reviews for the benefit of our new COSECSA trainees. At the same time we continue to encourage our readers to submit Reviews after consultation with the editorial board. Interested persons should contact Dr. Brian Ostrow at brian@bookshelf.ca.

We acknowledge the ongoing support from Johnson & Johnson Medical Limited, which allows payment of an honorarium to authors from low-income countries.

COSECSA requires participation in SIA CME process before trainees can sit exams.

We are pleased to announce that the College of Surgeons of East Central and Southern Africa Council has resolved that, “ALL MCS and FCS General Surgery candidates who wish to take the COSECSA 2010 examinations are required to produce 6 Surgery in Africa CME certificates before being allowed to take the Examinations.”

Registration for the CME process is simple and is accomplished online via the website. Certificates of completion of the monthly evaluation and questions can be downloaded or printed at the end of the process and are unique for each participant.

Technical problems should be addressed to ptolemy.info@utoronto.ca .

Surgery in Africa team
Office of International Surgery
University of Toronto

August 2007 Surgery in Africa announces new format for website and access to full text articles.

The Office of International Surgery, University of Toronto has two important announcements for participants of the Monthly Reviews.

1. As of August 2007 full text articles of bibliographic citations will only be available through “simplelinks” to the University of Toronto library. These will be posted as part of the information in the bibliography. These “simplelinks” will only function for those with online access to the University of Toronto library system through library cards or a Ptolemy account.
While the Office of International Surgery supports the concept of Open Access to scientific information, our provision of full text material is dependent on the active participation of the University of Toronto library and its relationship with publishers and vendors of online journals and is constrained by copyright laws. The previous method was not tenable. The pdfs of previous Reviews will be removed as they are archived. Anyone having difficulty accessing the “simplelinks” or requiring technical information should email: Ptolemy.info@utoronto.ca.

2. As of August 2007 you will no longer be required to insert the generic username:cosecsa or password:pt2005 to enter the website www.ptolemy.ca/members . However, you will still have to register and create a profile to generate a secure login to obtain CME/CPD credits and to participate in the discussion group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Surgery-in-Africa.
We hope removal of this impediment will allow more widespread participation in the website and discussion of the issues surrounding surgery in low-income countries.

Over the coming months we will be introducing a new online process to facilitate applying for a Ptolemy account. As well, we will be integrating all our website services. These changes will make Ptolemy and Surgery in Africa easier to use and more effective educational tools. Please stay tuned.
We welcome your suggestions and ideas on how better to meet your research, clinical and educational needs.

Surgery in Africa Team
Office of International Surgery
University of Toronto

June 2007 Surgery in Africa announces honoraria for authors of Monthly Reviews

As a result of a 1 year unrestricted educational grant from Johnson & Johnson Medical Limited, Surgery in Africa is pleased to announce that, as of June 2007, we will offer an honorarium of $500 Canadian to authors from the developing world, who contribute a paper accepted as one of the Monthly Reviews.

The purpose of Surgery in Africa is to provide surgeons and surgical trainees in low-income countries with practical, up to date, scientific knowledge of surgical illness, relevant to their practice. We firmly believe that the most appropriate authors of these Reviews are the surgeons and surgical trainees who are facing these challenges themselves. We are working with organizations like the College of Surgeons of East Central and Southern Africa COSECSA to assist such authors in the practical and technical aspects of Review authorship.

We recognize the many and varied responsibilities of the surgeon, the time constraints imposed by the conditions of severe human resources depletion and the lack of appropriate remuneration. We sincerely hope that these honoraria will act as incentives and rewards for those who take up the task of knowledge transfer. Prospective surgeons should write the editorial board for topics and format information at brian@bookshelf.ca.

Professor Pankaj Jani
Dr. Brian Ostrow
Co-editors

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October 2006: Surgery in Africa announces Accreditation for Continuing Medical Education!

October 2006: Surgery in Africa announces Accreditation for Continuing Medical Education!
As co-editors of the Surgery in Africa, we take pleasure in witnessing the development of our free online reading course during its first year of operation. Since July 2005, we have published 15 reviews on surgical topics directed at surgeons and surgical trainees in the developing world. Our reviewers have included experts from both Canada and the African continent. Many full text articles are available online for each Review. Our discussion group has more than 100 members and is increasingly becoming a forum for exchange of information and opinions. We have added a Resource Library to the website and where possible insist that evidence-based criteria are used in the appraisal of the literature.

In this announcement, we want to update our subscribers about an exciting new development which, we feel, makes Surgery in Africa even more relevant.

CME/CPD: Continuing medical education (CME) is an ongoing professional responsibility which is being increasingly recognized as requirement for licensing. At the 2006 Bethune Round Table we were asked by the COSECSA leadership to initiate a process so that participation in Surgery in Africa could be formally recognized as CME. We are proud to announce that, as of October 2006, Surgery in Africa has been accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) to award 6 hours of Section I (group learning activity) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credits for monthly participation in an evaluation process. A dynamic application has been added to the website and the process will function as follows:

As an initiative of the Office of International Surgery at the University of Toronto, Canada and the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA), Surgery in Africa is dedicated to providing surgeons and surgical trainees in the developing world with practical, up to date, relevant, scientific information on the problems of surgical disease. We believe that this new CME process will be of significant and increasing value for surgeons by recognizing their participation in the professional development. We encourage you to share your experience and opinions, suggest topics fro future reviews and consider writing a review yourself.

Professor Pankaj Jani, Nairobi, Kenya
Dr. Brian Ostrow, Guelph, Canada
Co-Editors, Monthly Reviews
Surgery in Africa

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1. Discuss the up to date medical literature on the surgical topic presented.
2. Critically appraise this literature using evidence-based criteria.
3. Recognize the extent to which this literature can be applied to the conditions of the developing world.
4. Decide whether to implement the Review recommendations in their own practice.

1. To be eligible for Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) Maintenance of Certification credits, you must register below.
2. Keep your profile up to date.
3. Join the Discussion Group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Surgery-in-Africa/. You will need to register here as well.
4. Each month participate in the Discussion group and complete the Clinical Questions and Evaluation form to obtain CME credits.
5. Log-in to obtain CME credits.
6. Complete the forms on-line and submit. You may print the questions prior to completing them on-line.
7. You may take multiple attempts to get the correct answer for the Clinical Questions. There are no right answers for the Evaluation form.
8. You will not be able to submit the form until all questions are answered.
9. After completion you will receive a certificate awarding you CME credits for the designated month.
10. You will only be able to obtain one certificate for each topic.
11. The process begins October 2006 and is not retroactive.
12. To receive your certificate you must complete the process during the month of the Review and before a new Review is posted.
13. If you require assistance, please contact:brian@bookshelf.ca or ptolemy.info@utoronto.ca

This event is an Accredited Group Learning Activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification program of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, approved by Canadian Association of General Surgeons (6 hours).