Noble Dreams and Humanitarian Thoughts

THE NATIONAL MINIMUM ACCESS SURGERY CENTER’S NEW TRAINING LABORATORY FACILITATES THE TRAINING OF MEDICINE PROFESSIONALS IN INTERNATIONALLY SOUGHAFTER MINIMUM ACCESS SURGICAL PROCEDURES

Noble dreams and humanitarian thoughts could be the genesis of the present Training Laboratory, nestled in the teaching area of the Havana-based National Minimum Access Surgery Center (CNCMA is the Spanish acronym) and fitted out with state-of-the-art technologies to train medicine professionals from Cuba and other Latin American and Caribbean nations.

The dream of developing more comprehensive programs has currently come true, after the recent installation of 10 laparoscopy towers for simulator-based training, a practice that has also been introduced in other specialties in a bid to hone the skills of a higher number of students, as explained by ScD C. Rosalba Roque Gonzalez, Deputy Director and Full Lecturer of General Surgery, and Full Researcher.

“It is very important, she said, to count on well-trained professionals and nurses to apply these surgical techniques, which are priceless in terms of the patient satisfaction. That is the driving force behind the improvement of medical education and research related to minimally invasive surgery.”

PROVEN EXPERIENCE

The performance of the Training Laboratory stands out because of the possibilities to teach students new technologies, so they can be later introduced and standardized, backed up by research projects before the generalization throughout the country, ScD Rosalba Roque underlined. Its proven experience to develop comprehensive programs and teaching and research projects has already made headlines, thanks to a solid teaching pyramid buttressed by 31 professors (9 full lecturers and 7 assistant professors), 26 are focused on research (4 full researchers and 7 assistant researchers).

Moreover, the laboratory features a library and classroom. The Smart Theater is about to be ready, with capacity to seat some 60 people, offering cutting-edge technology and simultaneous translation. As soon as it is done, transmissions and tele- conferences will be aired to other top-of-the-line centers in the country and overseas.

The results achieved over the past years have been praiseworthy: 3,659 medicine and nursing professionals have gotten their degree (518 of which are foreigners, mainly from Latin America and the Caribbean), while 472 students were given certificates in basic procedure trainings and 690 in advanced procedures, according to ScD Rosalba Roque.

Teatro Inteligente del Laboratorio de Entrenamiento del CNCMA. / Smart Theater at CNCMA's Training Laboratory.

Laboratorio de Entrenamiento del CNCMA. / CNCMA's Training Laboratory.