Global Surgery Program
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Soddo Christian Hospital, Ethiopia |
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Dr. Pollock with residents of the Soddo program |
One of the first American Board of Surgery-approved international surgical training experiences, the Global Surgery Program of the Department of Surgery at Emory offers a variety of unique training opportunities to our general surgery residents.
The centerpiece of the program is Soddo Christian Hospital in Soddo, Wolaita, Ethiopia. The hospital opened in January, 2005, under the ownership of St. Luke’s Health Care Foundation of Wheaton, IL, and is located in the southern part of the country, a region where there is limited healthcare available for a population of more than three-million people.
In addition to providing medical services, the hospital partners with the Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS) as one of six PAACS training centers. The program trains national doctors over a five year surgical residency program. To address the trend of Ethiopian residents that train internationally and choose not to return to their homeland, PAACS stipulates that residents who complete the program must agree to practice in-country for a period of five years.
The development of Emory’s Global Surgery Program at Soddo was born from the career goals of Dr. Jonathan Pollock, who is interested in providing surgical education and quality, cost-effective surgical care in low resource settings. Dr. Pollock joined our faculty in July 2010 after completing his general surgery residency at Emory. He later joined Soddo Hospital in July 2011 as assistant program director for its general surgery residency program while retaining his Emory appointment. This dual affiliation allows him to coordinate the Emory surgery resident experience in Ethiopia.
Beginning in July 2013, the program is approved for two general surgery residents per year to do one six week rotation each. The residents must be either PGY3 or PGY4. Those residents who pursue this elective option will find an exceptional clinical experience and many stimulating prospects for research in such areas as outcomes, public health, resource-poor surgical environments, and advanced and unusual disease states.
