Partners in African Cleft Training (PACT) hosted a Training Workshop focused Cleft Anaesthesia from September 24 to October 5, 2013 at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Trainers, from Nigeria and Seattle, assisted the eight participants, from Ghana, Ethiopia, and Nigeria. Seven of the participants were nurse anaesthetists and one was a resident anaesthesiologist.
In Ghana, Nigeria and Ethiopia, the PACT project supports local surgeons and specialists in the development and delivery of advanced training programs in plastic surgery, anaesthetic nursing and speech therapy. This project is coordinated by Seattle Children’s Hospital and partly funded by Transforming Faces.
Each weekday started with interdisciplinary ward rounds to triage patients for surgery. Lectures and surgery followed. On average, 2 to 3 cleft surgeries were performed each day by a single surgeon. In the late afternoon, the group convened for a second daily lecture and discussion.
This was the first PACT course held in Nigeria, but, a Nigerian team has led a previous training in Ghana in 2012.
Trainees found that the training was a valuable experience as it allowed them to exchange ideas and learn from a diverse group of colleagues.