Global Education

According to The Lancet Commission for Global Surgery, surgical conditions comprise approximately one third of the global burden of disease and exist in nearly all disease sub-categories. Yet access to quality surgical, obstetric and anesthetic care in low- and middle-income countries is a harrowing global health disparity.

The VCU International Anesthesia Program and faculty collaborate on capacity building projects in Europe, Africa, Asia and Central/South America, working toward developing sustainable surgical systems. We strive for our programs to be resident-driven and faculty mentored, where residents:

• Develop knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors essential for effective anesthesia practice in less developed, international healthcare settings
• Broaden their awareness of cultural diversity and international healthcare delivery systems
• Teach and exchange knowledge and clinical skills regarding perioperative management with local anesthesia practitioners and residents who care for patients amidst limited access to resources

International Elective Rotation in Toluca, Mexico

Overview:

The Virginia Commonwealth University International Anesthesia Program offers a clinical anesthesia elective rotation as part of an international exchange program with three residency programs hosted by three institutions in the city of Toluca, Mexico:

• Instituto Materno Infantil del Estado de Mexico (IMIEM), which is comprised of three facilities: Hospital de Ginecologia y Obstetricia, Hospital del Nino, y Centro de Especialidades Dentales. IMIEM provides health care services to low-income and uninsured women and children of the State of Mexico and specializes in obstetric, gynecologic, and perinatal care, as well as maternal-fetal medicine pathologies and neonates with infectious and congenital problems.
• Centro Medico "Lic. Adolfo Lopez Mateos" (CMLALM), a 258-bed public hospital through the Institute of Health of the State of Mexico that provides multi-specialty surgical care and high-level trauma care to uninsured patients of the Toluca Valley and surrounding states.
• Centro Medico Toluca ISSEMYM, one of the four large tertiary care hospitals in the social security based hospital system in the State of Mexico that offers complex subspecialty care, multispecialty surgical services, and advanced surgical oncological interventions.

For more information regarding VCU International Anesthesia 

Contact: Olga Suarez-Winowiski, M.D, MSc HSA,  program director         

Email: olga.suarez-winowiski@vcuhealth.org

Mailing address:
PO Box 980695
Richmond, VA 23298-0695
Office location
West Hospital
1200 E. Broad Street