The Division of Gynaecologic Oncology at NCIS is committed totraining and developing specialists and healthcare professionalsequipped to deliver holistic evidence-based care to women living withcancer. Our philosophy of training is to nurture didactic andskill-sets development in a systematic fashion within an atmosphere ofcollegiality where our patients and our trainees come first. Ourobjective is to improve the health of our patients by inculcating inall our trainees the spirit of humanistic evidence-based care.
Student Internship Program in Gynaecologic Oncology
Webelieve that a lifelong of service to women living with cancer beginswith building sound foundations. This is why the Division ofGynaecologic Oncology created the Student Internship Program inGynaecologic Oncology.
This 8-week total immersionprogram firmly embeds the 4th year medical student in the team ofgynaecologic oncologists, nurse practitioners, specialist trainees andwomen's mental healthcare professionals that care for women living withcancer. The student functions as an intern on the service byperforming the duties of a senior house officer on a sub-specialistrotation. They perform all ward procedures under the supervision ofoncology nurse practitioners and are involved in all surgical casesperformed by the Division of Gynaecologic Oncology including bothsubsidized and private cases. The students are also given theresponsibility of completing a clinical study, review or audit by theend of the 8-week rotation. They are equipped with the skills forself-directed study with regular assessments of their didacticdevelopment and assimilation of level-appropriate gynaecologiconcology. The value of this rotation as a training tool is mostevident in the popularity of this highly coveted rotation amongst 4thyear medical students who place competitively for the single internshipspot.
The division is committed to training generalistobstetrician-gynecologists that are well grounded in the principles ofcare for women living with cancer. Our trainees have constant exposureto the full spectrum of the care that the Division is called upon todeliver which not only revolves around the care of women living withcancer but includes complex pelvic surgery, surgical and acute care ofthe sick patient, management of complex postoperative pain and themanagement of patients with chronic issues such as pain, boweldysfunction, and lymphedema. The trainees receive dedicated andprotected exposure during their subspecialty rotations with theDivision of Gynaecologic Oncology; a 3-month and 6-month rotation intheir 4th and 5th year of specialist training respectively. Thetrainees with the Division are involved in all the surgical cases wheretheir didactic and skill sets are tested and evaluated.
Fellows in Gynaecologic Oncology TheDivision is committed to raising the standard of care for women livingwith cancer through the conscientious training and nurturing ofsubspecialists. The division takes on fellows in gynaecologic oncologyfor a period of 12 months.
During this training period,fellows are introduced to the pathophysiology of gynaecologicmalignancies, the role of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy in themanagement of gynaecologic malignancies, palliative medicine and end oflife care and the role of mental and psychosocial management in thecare of women living with cancer. Fellows are given sound surgicaltraining in advanced gynaecologic and pelvic surgery, basic colorectalsurgery and urological surgery. Finally, Fellows with the Division areexpected to be fully engaged in the teaching and training activity ofthe Division. Direct proctoring of resident surgical cases and activeparticipation in twice-weekly bedside teaching rounds are examples ofhow Fellows with the Division train and teach as part of their ownFellowship in Gynaecologic Oncology.
Anatomy of Complications Workshop and the GRACES Surgical Partners ProgrammeTheDivision of Gynaecologic Oncology also actively trains othergynaecologic surgeons. This is done mainly through two flagshiptraining programmes, the Anatomy of Complications Workshop and theGRACES Surgical Partners Programme.
The Anatomy ofComplications Workshop is a highly popular 2-day hands-on immersioncourse in recognizing, repairing and avoiding complications of surgeryin the pelvis. The course structure includes didactic lectures inanatomy, cadaveric prosection review, wet specimen labs and live animalsurgery. The target audience is any surgeon that operates in thepelvis. Since its inception, this Divisional educational activityhas been enthusiastically over-subscribed. The reviews by courseparticipants have been consistently glowing and the scores for content,conduct and clinical utility and relevance high.
TheSurgical Partners Programme is an outreach effort by the Divisionthrough its involvement in the Gynaecologic Robot-Assisted Cancer andEndoscopic Surgery (GRACES) programme at NUH. The goal of the programis to increase accessibility of cutting-edge surgical technology to thewomen of Asia who need gynaecologic surgery. The modus operandi is totrain, nurture and continually accredit gynaecologic robot-assistedsurgical centers all over Asia.
As a centre ofexcellence in gynaecologic robot-assisted surgery, we realise thelimitations of a single centre in providing care to all the women inAsia who require gynaecologic surgery. By providing support in theform of training and network support to motivated, highly skilledgynaecologic surgeons who are interested in the possibilities that thistechnology can afford their patients, the Division through GRACES hopesto be able to raise the bar in women's healthcare in Asia.
