As part of the new Education Committee approved by the Rotaplast Board, we piloted the Rotaplast Global Scholars Program on five recent missions over the past year. This initiative provided clinical experience and educational opportunities—such as shadowing, lectures, and workshops—to over 100 medical students, residents, and trainees, totaling more than 1,000 hours of hands-on learning. Feedback from hosts and volunteer teams has been overwhelmingly positive, and host sites are eager to continue the program.
On our current Luxor mission, we’ve expanded the program to include nurse training. Coordinated by Anne Delaney and Maureen Valley, with support from mission coordinator Eman Sallam and approval from the Luxor Health Minister, two medical team members are leading nurse education. Kristine Carter is serving as the on-site coordinator.
The curriculum, approved by the Health Minister, includes lectures by Paula Fillari, RN CCRN, on burn care and cleft lip/palate treatment. Physical Therapist Linda Zellerbach is also providing daily hands-on training and lectures on burn scar prevention, splinting, and post-op care. In addition to the lectures and hands on observation of care some students also had the opportunity to observe surgical cases.
Twelve local nurses were enrolled in the program—six attending during the first week, and six in the second. Formal lectures took place on day one, followed by daily mini-sessions each morning. Attendance, a post-test, and evaluations are required for nurses to receive certificates of completion.
