OGS Five Pillars of Activities

All OGS initiatives include one or more of the following pillars of activities:

Our highest priority is to support and implement services and systems whose affects are both broad reaching and enduring. This requires diligent consultation to uncover the real needs of the community. We use technical and social innovation and our international partnerships to introduce improvements to how health systems function at a high-level. System development bridges the disciplines of research, innovation, entrepreneurship, and knowledge translation to impart social change.

Surgical education is the foundation of any academic surgical community. Cross-pollination of new ideas and surgical techniques between academic centers provides a richer experience and understanding for both institutions. The OGS also engages in educational initiatives aimed at improving competencies of health care providers and trainees in LMICs. These initiatives range from short-term competency courses to developing and reforming medical education curriculum to include key global surgery competencies.

Ethical clinical research is a natural companion to systems development. It facilitates the critical appraisal of our work, helps to guide future endeavors, and contributes to our collective knowledge as a medical community.

Advancement of systems and clinical care can be impacted through innovative processes and technologies that fit within the needs of low resources communities.

Direct surgical care of patients is very gratifying for the individuals involved. The shortcoming of this type of service work is that it does not affect an enduring change within a community and is not self-sustainable. The care needs of vulnerable populations are staggering and demand a well-rounded approach of interdisciplinary care. Any direct surgical care that is to be provided must be done in a safe environment that upholds the highest surgical and ethical standards.