The Global Surgery Map Project
Surgeon workforce mapping tool is an open source, collaborative effort led by the International Collaboration for Essential Surgery, College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI).
Surgeon Density data was contributed by RCSI and COSECSA. To construct this information, an online database of all surgeons working in the COSECSA region was developed in 2012 based on CapsuleCRM software (Zestia Ltd, Wilmslow, UK), a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) system. This platform was chosen primarily for its search tools and its ease of integration with other software platforms.
In addition, each individual entry is cross-referenced with a list of hospitals, which is maintained in the database. Each surgeon is also linked to one of nine surgical specialities: General Surgery, Orthopaedic surgery, Urology, Plastic Surgery, Paediatric surgery, Neurosurgery, Otolaryngology (ENT), Cardiovascular/Cardiothoracic surgery and Oral and Maxillofacial surgery.
The database initially comprised all COSECSA Fellows and Members, in addition to the residents enrolled in COSECSA-approved training programmes in each of the ten countries. Attendance at each COSECSA course and educational event was also registered into the database. Although many of the COSECSA event attendees were not COSECSA members, their information was added to the database, which grew to include the majority of surgeons in the COSECSA region. In 2013, a comprehensive mapping project was undertaken, which involved correlating the surgeons personally known to COSECSA Fellows with data obtained from national medical councils, surgical societies, NGOs, hospital groups, and individual hospitals. Each entry was verified in consultation with a regional network of COSECSA country representatives and by direct contact with the registered surgeon. As the surgical training college for the region, with a membership and fellowship incorporating the majority (54%) of surgeons currently practising in the region, COSECSA is uniquely well placed to obtain this data.
The database powering the Surgeon workforce mapping tool contains an individual profile of every surgeon living and working in the region and is dynamically updated with additional profiles created. All those who have declared that they have completed certified postgraduate training (either in the region or elsewhere) and are actively involved in providing surgical care to patients have been included in the analysis.
What you should know
- Certain categories have not yet been included but are considered part of the global surgical workforce:
- Surgeons who are present in the region on a short term or rotating basis
- Ophthalmologists, as there is a separate College of Ophthalmology of Eastern Central and Southern Africa (COECSA)
- Obstetrician/gynaecologists
- Non surgeons who perform surgery (general medical officers and clinical officers)
Training programs in surgical specialties in Sub-Saharan Africa are a relatively recent development. As a consequence, the division between general surgery and surgical sub-specialities in the COSECSA region is fluid, particularly in rural areas where the general surgeon may frequently perform orthopaedic, urologic, neurosurgical or paediatric operations. As many surgeons often work in both the public and the private sector, we have not attempted to differentiate between surgeons working in the public or the private domain.
Heat Maps
