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International Physician Update
A Hands-on Approach to Teaching Less-Invasive Surgery
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| Interventional radiologist Lawrence Hofmann, a member of Hopkins' training program in minimally-invasive, image-guided procedures. |
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Few fields in medicine have seen more exciting advances in recent years than interventional radiology. Imaging techniques to guide catheters and wires deep inside the body now open obstructed arteries, treat various forms of cancer or stop internal bleeding. The small incisions these revolutionary procedures allow translate into a faster, less painful recovery for the patient and a shorter hospital stay, too.
Credentialing requirements at U.S. medical centers, however, prevent many non-U.S. health care professionals from participating in hands-on training for such procedures. One answer to that problem is the Johns Hopkins Training Program in Image-Guided Procedures, or JHIP, which is helping to develop minimally invasive treatment centers worldwide. Under the direct supervision of a highly-trained team, participants perform the latest minimally invasive procedures in their own environment with their own staff and equipment.
“We believe that this type of on-site, peer-to-peer training with a team of doctors, nurses and technologists is the most efficient means of education,” says interventional radiologist Lawrence Hoffmann, M.D., a member of the training team. Other members of the team inlcude J.F. Geschwind, M.D., Arepally Aravind, M.D., Hyun Kevin Kim, M.D., and Sally Mitchell, M.D.
The two-to-five-day program also uses multimedia lectures to cover the entire range of image-guided procedures and pre- and post-procedure care. The JHIP training team includes two interventional radiologists, a nurse and a technician. The team is also available for follow-up visits after the completion of the training program.
The hosting institution must have access to basic imaging equipment, an operating theatre and anesthesiology with intensive-care experience. For more information, e-mail projects@jhmi.edu.
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