Expanding our global network of surgical trainers
Last month, we were delighted to hold our annual Train the Trainers course, giving 29 doctors from around the world the skills they need to become David Nott Foundation Trainers within their home countries and better serve their communities.
Our goal is to create a model of sustainability in conflicted countries by helping doctors strengthen their own healthcare systems. It was this thinking that led us to develop our Train the Trainers course. What if we could upskill doctors in conflict zones around the world to become skilled surgical trainers themselves, helping them to train their own peers, strengthen their own healthcare systems and support their own communities?
This November, we brought previous HEST course participants together - from regions such as Somaliland, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria and Palestine - to solidify their trauma surgery knowledge, while assessing and strengthening their teaching skills.
Dr Mariam Aweidah, a long-standing friend of the Foundation and participant from Palestine, said: “Being part of the David Nott Foundation family, and helping it to grow, is a privilege.”
For the first time we invited anaesthetists to the course, as part of our mission to upskill additional surgical team members in conflict zones, not just surgeons. Each participant learned how best to approach a wide range of traumatic injuries seen in war and disaster, and how to efficiently triage mass casualties.
During the triage lecture, David shared: “Showing footage of mass casualties and the chaos that can result in hospitals without proper planning and roles makes this module particularly shocking.
But it’s deliberate – it stays with you. At this point, I ask each of you, what will you do now that you’ve seen this?”
The group replied together, “make a mass casualty plan.”
Elly Nott, CEO and Co-Founder of the David Nott Foundation, said:
“It was a privilege to host 29 surgeons from across the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa at the Wellcome Collection for our 2022 Train the Trainers course.
Train the Trainers aims to expand our number of teaching faculty, enabling us to undertake more training courses and reach more areas in need.
Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine this year shocked us all, but the diverse backgrounds of our delegates remind us that dozens of conflicts demanding our attention continue to simmer worldwide. Our mission is to equip the doctors treating those affected by these conflicts with the best surgical training available, enabling them to better treat the complex injuries inflicted by war.
Initiatives like TTT demonstrate our commitment to making our training truly sustainable by empowering local surgeons with the knowledge to teach our courses. As ever, we are motivated by our belief that well-trained doctors save more lives.”
Help us train more war doctors
Training of Trainers: Future-proofing the Foundation
Last weekend, the David Nott Foundation invited 24 leading surgeons to London to attend a Training of Trainers course. The aim of the course was to introduce each surgeon to the HEST Course, with the hope that many will want to travel to conflict zones with the Foundation to teach it.
The Foundation receives many requests to run HEST courses, in so many locations affected by war. By expanding our faculty, we can reach more of these places in a timely manner.
The 3-day course was held at the iconic Wellcome Collection, a monument to the health sciences in Central London. Our extant faculty, led by David Nott, took participants through the different modules that comprise the HEST course. By the end of the weekend, participants felt ready to teach the course overseas. One participant said:
"David and colleagues have lots of experience and I am in awe of what they have been able to achieve. The practical tips in management of patients in humanitarian settings are equally valuable for trainees and established consultants in this country. "
Interspersed with surgical modules was discussion of the practicalities of attending humanitarian missions:
" I found the session delivered by Mr Hakimi on the practicalities of what to expect when travelling and working in countries where HEST is being delivered to be excellent and insightful."
We were additionally delighted to welcome students from the Friends of the David Nott Foundation Societies to the course. Delegates from Manchester, Leicester and Queen's University Belfast came to get a taste of their future humanitarian careers.
Training the Trainers has allowed us to invigorate the Foundation with new and enthusiastic teaching faculty. The DNF is poised to return to in-country HEST courses future-proofed and with more courses than ever.
