This year’s Essential Training in Operative Obstetrics (ETOO) was held from 14th to 16th March 2023.
The purpose of the ETOO course is to teach participants the management skills, as well as the technical and surgical skills, needed to perform a safe caesarean section and other operative obstetrical skills. The course is designed to be participant-centred, problem-based and clinically relevant.
The ETOO course has been offered to Intern doctors and first year residents in Obstetrics and Gynaecology for the past 7 years at Mbarara University of Science and Technology, in collaboration with Canadian Network International Surgery, American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ACOG), and Johnson & Johnson.
ETOO for this year was conducted with the support of Else Kroner Fresenius Stiftung and MUST under their Uganda Women’s Health Project on Prolapse and Fistula to reduce the burden of iatrogenic urinary tract injuries following caesarean delivery.
The course targeted residents and intern doctors at MRRH – before they are passed out as medical officers. The main aim of this training was;
i) Transferring surgical skills from experts in obstetrics and gynaecology to trainees
ii) Mentoring senior residents in surgical skills training
iii) Providing a safe environment for trainees to practice surgical techniques on medical
simulation models
iv) To build team work
Assessment was done through a Pre- and Post-course test. Each trainee was assigned a trainer to supervise at least 6 caesarean section operations performed within 2 weeks of completion of the workshop.
