June 2024

Hands-on training helps build local capacity.

IVU volunteers build strong professional relationships with their host colleagues.

We work together to build access to quality care.

How Your Support Makes an Impact in Rwanda


Urology training in Rwanda has accelerated in recent years. A reconstructive urology workshop this April served over 30 patients and provided 17 surgeries to patients in need. The IVU/GU-IMPACTS team led by Dr. Hadley Wood of Cleveland Clinic and Dr. Kevin Hebert of Ochsner LSU Health worked with local surgeons and urology residents. With a focus on capacity building and skills transfer, the IVU team delivered a combination of surgical training and lectures.


The impact of IVU’s long term work with project partners in Rwanda was highlighted by Dr. Theophile Ndayishimye’s presentation during this May’s AUA meeting. He reported on the impact of training from international volunteers on repairing pelvic fracture urethral distraction defects (PFUDD) in Rwanda.


“Local Rwandan urologists who received intermittent training from international volunteers in PFUDD repairs are achieving relatively comparable outcomes to visiting international experts,” Dr. Ndayishimye and his co-authors concluded. “Our data suggest that surgical skills transfer is possible through volunteer efforts and that such work can help surgeons treat complex cases like PFUDDs.”


IVUmed’s work in Rwanda includes our outstanding project partner physicians at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) and a dynamic partnership with GU-IMPACTS and supporting institutions. Together, we organize several surgical workshops and virtual consultations each year. University of Utah urologists Jeremy Myers, MD and Jane Kurtzman, MD lead training efforts in reconstructive urology.


A pediatric urology workshop led by Dr. Rama Jayanthi of Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Dr. Douglas Storm of the University of Iowa is scheduled for October 2024.


IVU Traveling Resident Scholarship Applications Now Open for Canadian and Northeastern Section Residents


Resident scholars gain valuable experience during IVU surgical workshops.


Canadian Urology Residents Apply Now!

Thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Canadian Urological Association, Canadian urology residents are invited to apply for an IVU Traveling Resident Scholarship. Resident Scholars gain valuable experience with IVU project partners and mentor volunteer urologists.


  • Open to urology residents PGY-3 and above
  • Resident Scholars participate in a 10-14 day IVU surgical workshop with a Board-certified mentor urologist
  • Focus on reconstructive, pediatric, female, or urologic oncology
  • IVU teams serve patients in need in partner hospitals in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean
  • IVU workshops focus on training local doctors and nurses to build capacity and increase access to quality urological care
  • 290 IVU Resident Scholars have participated since the program’s inception in 1999
  • The application deadline is June 15.


Northeastern Section Residents Apply Now!

Thanks to the generous support of the Northeastern Section of the AUA, NSAUA residents are invited to apply for an IVU Traveling Resident Scholarship. The application deadline for Northeastern Section residents is June 21.

 
APPLY FOR TRAVELING RESIDENT SCHOLARSHIPS HERE


Experiences from the IVU Collaboration in Uganda

The IVU team and our partners in Uganda served over 50 patients.

Drs. Anderson, Cobb, and Richter traveled to Mbale and Fort Portal, Uganda this April and May.

By Dr. Fred Kirya


Urology services in rural Uganda are not easy to come by.


The many years of collaboration between the team at Mt. Elgon Hospital, Mbale and IVU have been very useful to the rural Ugandan society. We have seen urology transform from the basic open surgeries to endoscopic and complex reconstructive surgeries that are less morbid and more cost- effective. We now do most of our lower urinary tract surgeries of the prostate and bladder endoscopically and use modern reconstructive techniques.


The collaboration has improved the availability of supplies for urological surgeries. These are not easily available on the Uganda market and are costly.


We have spread as far as Fort Portal in Uganda where we offer urological surgeries to the less privileged on a camp basis whenever our colleagues, Drs. Eric Richter, Ross Anderson, and Edward Cobb come to Uganda. These three are such a blessing to us as the urological fraternity. We have picked a wealth of skills and experience from them.


The skills and technology transfer has enabled us to offer better service. With donation of a telepack and several endo-urology equipment, what we previously could not offer is now the usual that our clients get.


We hope to get better as we continue to collaborate with IVU. It is our prayer that we train more urologists to offer the service to a larger proportion of the population.


THANK YOU


Thank you to our supporters in San Antonio and Tampa! We are grateful to everyone who attended and supported our events in San Antonio and Tampa in May.


Your support makes our life-changing work possible! We especially want to thank our event hosts, Dr. John and Katie Case in San Antonio and Dr. Michael Poch in Tampa.


Invite Your Anesthesia Colleagues to Join IVU Today!

Safe anesthesia is a key element of surgical capacity building. While our partner sites offer skilled service, we look to help advance anesthesia training, particularly during our pediatric urology workshops.


Please invite pediatric anesthesiologists in your hospital to contact us to learn more about how they can make an impact for children and their providers worldwide.


Find more information regarding our work and upcoming volunteer opportunities at www.ivumed.org/surgical-teaching-workshops/


Want to help make quality urological care available worldwide? You can support IVU’s mission with a

tax-deductible donation.


Your support helps us provide more training and care in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.


Each dollar donated provides over $10 in services.

Donate Today
 
 

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