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ASCO to help provide oncology training in developing nations
New initiative aims to provide support, education and training for international colleagues in resource-poor regions of the world.
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The American Society of Clinical Oncology and Health Volunteers Overseas have partnered to launch a program aimed at improving cancer care in underserved regions of the developing world.
According to a press release, the two organizations have created the International Cancer Corps (ICC) to assist medical practitioners in the sharing of their time and clinical knowledge with their international colleagues.
Oncologists participating in the program will spend one to four weeks operating in a support and educational role at medical care facilities in developing nations. Health Volunteers Overseas currently operates 76 similar programs in 25 resource-poor nations. The two organizations also plan to extend the program to other developing countries.
“There is a severe shortage of clinicians trained in oncology in developing countries, where cancer is increasing,” Douglas W. Blayney, MD, president of ASCO, said in a press release.
“Through the ICC, ASCO members will be able to contribute their professional skills in an important and meaningful way to help people with cancer around the world. In addition, the long-term relationship that ASCO and ASCO volunteers develop with their overseas counterparts will foster mutual learning and growth for years to come.”
The first ICC training program initiated under the partnership will begin in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where more than half of the population lives below the poverty line and more than 20% of the population has no access to health care. Despite a population of nearly 7.3 million, Honduras has fewer than 20 trained medical, radiation and surgical oncologists, according to a press release.
The program will focus on developing training programs for adult and pediatric oncology at three centers in Tegucigalpa, where volunteers will provide teaching and training for staff.
The volunteers will also share their expertise through medical, surgical and radiation oncology seminars and workshops, through curriculum development and through the education of medical students and residents.
“There is a lot of work to be done, and a positive way to support training in oncology is through side-by-side demonstration and interaction,”
Hernan Sabio, MD, an oncologist at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and co-director of the ICC Honduras Program, said in a press release.
“The International Cancer Corp provides the opportunity for a single ASCO member to positively affect an expanded physician and community patient population,” Sabio said.