A. Ekeh1, J. Laryea2, B. Nwomeh4, A. Omigbodun5, J. Ladipo6, K. Yawe7, S. Krishnaswami8, F. Nwariaku3 1Wright State University,Surgery,Dayton, OH, USA 2University Of Arkansas for Medical Sciences,Surgery,Little Rock, AR, USA 3University Of Texas Southwestern Medical Center,Surgery,Dallas, TX, USA 4Ohio State University,Surgery,Columbus, OH, USA 5University of Ibadan,Obstetrics And Gynaecology,Ibadan, OYO STATE, Nigeria 6University of Ibadan,Surgery,Ibadan, OYO STATE, Nigeria 7University of Abuja,Surgery,Abuja, FCT, Nigeria 8Oregon Health And Science University,Surgery,Portland, OR, USA
Introduction:
The Association for Academic Surgery (AAS) has annually administered the Fundamentals of Surgical Research (FSR) course for almost 30 years – designed primarily for residents and junior faculty in surgery and surgical specialties. In 2008, the course was launched internationally, starting in West Africa. Commencing as a collaboration between the AAS and the West African College of Surgeons (WACS), the course was held 6 times between 2008 and 2014 in different West African countries, and utilized chiefly US based faculty who traveled to the region to participate in conjunction with local faculty. In 2015, the course was reconfigured to utilize primarily local faculty based in the sub region, fewer US based personnel and further adapted to local needs We evaluated the course after 4 consecutive years of this new format, with respect to the attendance, the number of US based faculty utilized, costs from external sources (above and beyond participant registration fees) and participants evaluations.
Methods: Data collating the number of attendees, funding from external sources (sponsorships), the number of US based faculty and student evaluations were obtained for the first 6 iterations of the AAS FSR West African course (2008 -2014). The same data was obtained for the next 4 courses (2015 – 18) which had been renamed the WACS/AAS Research Methodology Course (RMC). The mean number of attendees, external support (above and beyond registration fees in US Dollars) and the number of US faculty were compared statistically using student t-tests.
Results:
In the first 6 years of the AAS FSR course (2008 – 2014) the average number of attendees per course was 67 (range 20 to 120) while the mean number of attendees for the WACS/AAS RMC was 150 (range 141 – 160), p = 0.0032. The average costs from external sources for the AAS FSR was $29,183 (range $20000 to $50000) and for the WACS/AAS RMC $5000. p = 0.0106. On average, 9.7 US faculty were used for the AAS FSR and just 2.3 for the WACS/AAS RMC. (p < 0.0001) Student evaluations were more difficult to directly compare as the highest tiers were rated " Good and Excellent " in the AAS FSR period and "Useful and Very Useful " in the WACS/AAS RMC period. Over 90% of the evaluations however were in these two highest tiers in every course in both periods.
Conclusion:
The adaptation of the AAS Fundamentals of Research Course to the West African region has correlated with increased average attendance, reduced external support costs over and above participant fees, a reduced number of US faculty utilized and similar excellent evaluations from the course participants. With appropriate mentorship, the regional adoption of courses like the AAS FSR course in different environments is feasible. The with the utilization of local faculty, the reduced need for external funding and equivalent evaluations by participants makes this approach attractive for the implementation of such courses in resource-poor environments