SEAL Global Surgery Fellowship

SEAL: GLOBAL SURGERY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

Message from the program director

Welcome to the SEAL Global Surgery Fellowship Program! 

Thank you for your interest in our program. Currently, 5 billion people lack access to surgical care. The proportion of the population without access varies widely when stratified by region.  More than 95% of the population in south Asia and central, eastern, and western sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to care, whereas less than 5% of the population in Australasia, high-income North America, and western Europe lack access. 143 million additional surgeries are required each year to meet the need. Many global surgery programs are trying to reduce this gap, and we are honored to help assist in this endeavor. If you want to be on the front lines of the health equity battle, please join us

Program Overview

East Tennessee State Quillen College of Medicine was founded to increase access to care for rural Appalachia. ETSU understands that access to care is the biggest determinant of health outcomes. In that same paradigm ETSU has created the Surgical, Education, Access to care and Leadership (SEAL) Global Surgery Fellowship. It is based on the same military paradigm of the Navy SEALs; cross training makes you a more effective, agile team. The SEAL fellowship is a one-year clinical fellowship based at one of our international sites. As a SEAL fellow you will be a staff surgeon responsible for covering clinical duties at the hospital including emergency surgery, clinic based practice, elective surgery, and in-patient rounds.  It will also include resident and medical student education. The General Surgery practice covers all aspects of surgery from pediatric to plastics to thoracic to general surgery.

Our Mission

The mission of the SEAL global surgery program at ETSU is to improve surgical care delivery in countries with limited resources by partnering with and improving local capacities. We bring together a collaborative network of surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, researchers, and partners. We aim to provide enough support to our partners to improve delivery of quality surgery in low- and middle-income countries through our four strategic pillars: 

  • Delivering direct surgical care
  • Assisting in long-term capacity building
  • Improving access to care by providing appropriate support
  • Strengthening team leadership.

Where we Work

image for Kitovu Hospital

Kitovu Hospital

Kitovu hospital is located in Kitovu, central Uganda. It is a community hospital with 250 beds. The hospital has 31 beds dedicated to the treatment of patients with fistulas; the hospital is one of the six hospitals in Uganda with the expertise to carry out the necessary surgery for fistula’s repair.

image for Monze Mission's Hospital

Monze Mission's Hospital

Monze Mission’s hospital (MMH) is in Monze, which is a town in the Southern province of Zambia and is about 180 km south-west of Lusaka. MMH is a 200 bed-capacity hospital with three operating theaters. In 2021, 36346 patients visited the hospital, and 1913 surgical cases were performed. For the health system in Zambia, MMH is categorized as a provincial hospital.




What we Do

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Surgery

In collaboration with ETSU, the Global Surgery Program provides a staff surgeon for a one year tenure to help provide access to high-quality surgical care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to all who need it.
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Capacity Building

SEAL fellowship prioritizes sustainability by integrating training for physicians, residents, and medical students. Training sessions are done at our global sites as well as observership in our facilities in the United States.
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Research

Fellows are expected to participate in clinical research and are encouraged to submit 1-2 manuscripts for publication in peer reviewed journals. Fellows are encouraged to come up with their own research projects or they can collaborate with ongoing projects.




Admissions

How to apply

We are looking for Board Eligible or Board-Certified General Surgeons. 

Application opens September 1 and closes January 30

Fellowship starts: July 1

Requirements:

  • Personal Statement
  • CV

Please send all completed application materials to: padovany@etsu.edu and wardl@etsu.edu

Meet the Team


Photo of Luther Edward Ward, MD., MPH-TM

Luther Edward Ward, MD., MPH-TM

Director of Global Surgery 

Dr. Ward graduated medical school from Tulane University in 2005 and completed his surgical training in 2010 at East Tennessee State University (ETSU).  Prior to medical school, Dr. Ward worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana, where he developed a passion for helping under-served communities.  After residency, Dr. Ward moved to Gold Beach, Oregon where he developed the first General Surgery program for the local rural access hospital.  In 2013, he was selected to the Paul Farmer Global Surgery Fellowship. He and his family moved to Mirebalais, Haiti to begin his fellowship at the newly constructed Zanmi Lasante/PIH training hospital (University Hospital of Mirebalais, HUM).  While at HUM, Dr. Ward was instrumental in developing a Surgical Oncology program in 2014.  After completing his fellowship in Mirebalais, Dr. Ward moved to St. Boniface Hospital in Fond du Blanc, Haiti.  Prior to Dr. Ward’s arrival, St. Boniface Hospital had a small GYN program but no General Surgery capabilities. Over the next year, Dr. Ward developed the first 24/7 surgical program in southern Haiti.  He remained at St. Boniface for two more years and grew the General Surgery department significantly.  This growth included building a new OR complex, bringing in Haitian residents from other hospitals for training, and adding three more General Surgeons.  In 2018, he moved back to the United States to develop the SEAL Global Surgery Fellowship at ETSU.   The aim of this fellowship is to provide highly trained surgeons to resource poor areas, while expanding the knowledge and capabilities of those surgeons. 

Photo of Brad A. Feltis MD., Ph.D.

Brad A. Feltis MD., Ph.D.

Chairman of the Department of Surgery

 Dr. Feltis is one of the leading pediatric surgeons specializing in pre-born anomalies. He received his medical degree from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine and his PhD from the school’s department of surgery where he also worked in residency and had a fellowship in surgical infectious diseases. Dr. Feltis received advanced training as a fellow in pediatric surgery with the prestigious Children’s Hospital and Regional Center at the University of Washington’s department of pediatric surgery. Furthermore, Dr. Feltis specializes in minimal access surgery and served as the surgical director of the Midwest fetal care center. Dr. Feltis is one of the few pediatric surgeons in the nation to perform operative fetoscopy. He currently serves as the interim chairman of the surgery department at the Quillen College of Medicine at ETSU. One of Dr. Feltis main interest is increasing access to surgical care on a global scale. He has conducted/participated in several surgical missions around the world to teach surgical skills and improve surgical capacity in resource-poor areas.  

Photo of Michelson Padovany, MD., MMsc

Michelson Padovany, MD., MMsc

Global Health Advisor

Michelson Padovany has spent his career working toward health equity and access to care in Haiti. He graduated medical school and completed surgery residency at the state university hospital in Port-au-Prince. From 2013 to 2016, he had the opportunity to work at the newly constructed Zanmi Lasante hospital in Mirebalais where he was a pivotal member in starting their programs. He then received a Master of Science in global health delivery from Harvard. Afterward he returned to Haiti to be the Chief of Surgery at St. Boniface hospital in Fond-des-Blancs. From 2021 to 2022, he worked for Zanmi Lasante again as the cross-site coordinator for surgery. He is currently working for ETSU as the Global Health advisor. 

Photo not available, showing ETSU shield logo

Sufyan Ibrahim, MD.

Chief Surgeon at Monze Mission's Hospital

Sufyan Ahmed Ibrahim completed his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor’s in Surgery in 2013 from University of Zambia School of Medicine. He is self-motivated, hardworking and an excellent team player. He has extensive work experience at University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Kalomo District Hospital and Monze Mission Hospital in Zambia where he’s worked as an intern, senior resident medical officer and general medical officer from 2013 to 2022. He currently serves as the acting head of the Department of Surgery at Monze Mission Hospital since 2022. In 2018, he was awarded the prize of the most hard-working medical officer at Monze Mission Hospital. His career interests include complex abdominal surgery, colorectal, urological surgery and vesico-vaginal fistula surgery.  His main hope is to bring specialized surgical care to rural Zambia.


Learn more

  • Fellows

     

    Current Fellows

    Catherine Lewis, MD.,PhD.

     

    Cohort: 2022-current

    Site: Kitovu Hospital, Uganda

    From: Morehouse School of Medicine
    Past Fellows

    Nicholas H. Carter, MD.

    Cohort: 2020-2021

    Site: St. Boniface hospital, Haiti

    From: Vanderbilt University Medical Center
  • Residents Experience

    Trip to San Ignacio, Belize. Find here. 

  • Partners
    Kletjian FoundationKeltjian Foundation is a private foundation whose mission is to build collaborative networks and support entrepreneurial leaders in promoting global heath equity. The Kletjian foundation has supported the SEAL Global Surgery Fellowship since 2022.
  • Events

     

    Upcoming Events

    Past Events

    1.Uganda’s health system and cases presentation by Dr. Lewis Catherine, Dec. 16, 2022

    2.International Capacity Building: Perspective from a Haitian Surgeon by Dr Michelson Padovany, July 15, 2022

     

  • Funding and Donations

    The Fellowship receives funding through different grants and endowments. Currently, the program can only accept two fellows per year.

    If you would like to make a contribution to the fellowship please go to this page: 

     Kletjian Initiative for International Surgery in LMIC

    Or if you prefer to send a check, please direct the gift to: 

    Wade Horsley

    Director of Development 

    P.O. Box 70694 

    Johnson City, TN 37614

      **Please write “QCOM Surgery - Kletjian Initiative” in the memo line of the check.

Contact US

Photo of Luther Ward Program Director

Luther Ward

Program DirectorSurgery

Photo of Michelson Padovany Global Health Advisor

Michelson Padovany

Global Health AdvisorSurgery

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