COSECSA

History

COSECSA grew out of the Association of Surgeons of East Africa (ASEA). ASEA was formally inaugurated in Nairobi, Kenya on 9 November 1950. In 1996, in response to perceived inadequacies of surgical training in the region, the ASEA steering committee decided to create the College of Surgeons of East, Central & Southern Africa (COSECSA). These inadequacies were seen to be the limited capacity of university teaching hospitals' surgical training programmes, the increasing difficulty in accessing UK surgical training programmes at that time and the variability of training programmes from country to country.

The official inauguration of the College was held in Nairobi in December 1999. In December 2001, at the first annual general meeting in Lusaka, Zambia the council of the college was elected by the foundation fellows.

Training model

COSECSA has been described as a "college without walls." Trainee surgeons undertake their clinical training in accredited hospitals under supervision of an accredited trainer. The academic component of the programme is delivered online, through an e-learning portal, and through workshops held across the region.

Academic structure

COSECSA has two programmes: (a) Membership: A certificate of competence in surgery at General Medical Officer Grade (minimum 2 years training){{cite web|url=http://www.cosecsa.org/training-exams/membership-college-surgeons-%E2%80%93-mcs-ecsa |title=Membership of the College of Surgeons: MCS (ECSA) |publisher=College of Surgeons of East & Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) |author=COSECSA | date=2019 |access-date=11 January 2019 |location=Arusha, Tanzania}} and (b) Fellowship: A specialist qualification in General Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Urology, Paediatric Surgery, Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgery, Plastic Surgery and Otorhinolaryngology (minimum 5 years training).

As of December 2016, COSECSA has graduated a cumulative total of 206 Fellows, with another 389 trainees actively training in 60 accredited training hospitals. At that time, there were 973 members and fellows of the college.{{cite web| url=http://www.cosecsa.org/sites/default/files/2016%20Annual%20Report-%20Final.pdf |title=The College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa: 2016 Annual Report |date=December 2016 | access-date=11 January 2019 |publisher=College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) |author=COSECSA | location=Arusha, Tanzania}}

A complete list of current fellows and members is available at this online reference.{{cite web|title=COSECSA Members And Fellows Directory |date=December 2018 | url=http://www.cosecsa.org/members-fellows-directory | publisher=College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) |author=COSECSA |access-date=13 January 2018 | location=Arusha, Tanzania}}

Partner organisations

COSECSA is a founding association of the Pan African Association of Surgeons. The College also has a long-standing collaboration programme with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

References

References

1. Miliard Debrew. (1 May 2018). "COSECSA collaborates to address surgical shortages in sub-Saharan Africa". Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons.
2. (December 2006). "Training for Overseas Doctors in the UK". Indian Journal of Surgery.
3. COSECSA. (2019). "The History of COSECSA". College of Surgeons of East & Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA).
4. Declan J Magee. (13 July 2015). "Surgery remains 'the neglected stepchild of global health'". [[The Irish Times]].
5. COSECSA. "Fellowship of the College of Surgeons: FCS (ECSA)". College of Surgeons of East & Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA).
6. "A NEW COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS East, Central and Southern Africa College of Physicians (ECSACOP)".