Educational Programmes

Medical Education Programmes

Sustainability begins with the international medical project model, then moves to sustainable programmes on the local level. Through education initiatives, Operation Smile’s partner countries are given the skills to treat children on their own, with their own resources, their own volunteers, their own supplies and their own medical professionals. Operation Smile tailors education programmes for each partner country’s specific medical infrastructure. The education plan is the result of a collaborative analysis of that country — the number of healthcare workers present, the socio-economic status, the types of treatment currently available, its volunteer base and more.

Project-Based Education

Operation Smile also offers educational opportunities during its international medical projects. From a formal medical conference, to an informal workshop on a specific skill or technique, the programmes are designed to meet the needs of the facility and the healthcare workers from within the partner country. This can include donations of education resources like textbooks, CD-ROMs or videos so that education can continue year-round. Team members from the project are selected to fulfill this educational role along with their clinical responsibilities. At times, the team includes “Guest Educators” who are internationally recognised in their fields. During a typical project-based education program, as many as 100 in-country healthcare workers benefit.

Educational Exchanges and University Partnerships

Operation Smile offers educational exchange programmes to in-country medical professionals through partnerships with leading medical teaching institutions. Operation Smile pairs in-country teams of physicians, nurses and allied health professionals with universities and educational institutions across the globe, training them in advanced techniques, partnering with them in research, and sharing with them the gift of treating children. These opportunities, which are coordinated and sponsored by Operation Smile, begin but don’t end with fellowships, emeritus professorships and visiting professorship programmes. These partnerships ultimately result in treatment centers that take care of patients year-round. These treatment centers then become the educational resource for their own country and region.

PARTNERS IN EDUCATION
American Heart Association
Chang Gung Hospital and University
Duke University
George Washington University
The Hospital for Sick Children / University of Toronto
Southern Illinois University
University of Maryland
University of Rome
University of Southern California
Yale University

EXCHANGE DISCIPLINES
Anaesthesia
Child Life Psychology
Dentistry
Nursing
Paediatrics
Plastic Surgery
Speech Therapy