title: Surgical training in Guyana: the next generation.
abstract: The pioneering surgical training partnership between the Canadian Association of General Surgeons (CAGS) and the University of Guyana has successfully graduated 14 surgeons since 2006. The association has recruited 29 surgeons who have made 75 teaching visits to Guyana, and CAGS involvement has been critical to providing local credibility to the program, organizing the curriculum structure and developing rigorous examinations. The program is now locally sustained, with graduates leading a number of clinical hospital programs. The initial diploma qualification is being reassessed, as other specialties have introduced postgraduate Master of Medicine degree programs. Many graduates are pursuing additional training opportunities overseas, and almost all of those remaining in Guyana have returned to the tertiary centre from the regional hospitals. The program has succeeded in training surgeons and raising the standards of surgical care in Guyana, but broader health system efforts are necessary to retain surgeons in outlying regional hospitals.
authors.affiliation: From the CAGS International Surgery Committee, Ottawa and the Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
authors.forename: Brian H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Cameron
authors.affiliation: The Department of General Surgery, University Hospital of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, Institute for Health Science Education, Georgetown, Guyana.
authors.forename: Madan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rambaran
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D002322:Career Mobility; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006172:Guyana; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D015397:Program Evaluation; D066231:Surgeons / Q000193:education / Q000600:supply & distribution*