What work had been done to date?

In addition to participating in medical missions to Central and South America, he is active in the orthopaedic section of the UCSF Global Health Sciences Program, designed to promote academic ties with UCSF and medical schools in developing countries and in providing care in underserved areas in our country. emphasis on overseas volunteerism. Faculty and residents use their vacation time to participate in missions in Central and South America. In the fourth year of the residency program, the faculty provides financial support for any resident who chooses to spend a month working at the Bedford Orthopaedic Hospital in the Transkei region of South Africa. In 2006, the department appointed the first orthopaedic resident to become a Clinical Scholar in the new UCSF Global Health Sciences Program. This program is designed to produce leaders in global health education and activism. IGOT has been established to sustain and broaden all of these efforts.

How will IGOT make a difference?

The focus of IGOT is to support efforts that go beyond simple volunteerism. The concept, advanced by the UCSF Global Health Sciences program, is to establish on-going links with educational entitles in underserved areas that will assist them in attaining and sustaning improvements in orthopaedic care.

Where will IGOT focus its efforts?

Links with educationsl insittutions in Uganda, South Africa, and Nicaragua have been established. Residents and faculty have visited and worked in these sites, and have laid the groundwork for data-gathering studies to assess the burden of disease, local infrastructure and resources, and educational needs. The next step will be to devise collaborative interventions with measurable outcomes.