Teaching emergency and essential surgical care in Sierra Leone: a model for low income countries.

Background: Surgeons OverSeas (SOS), a New York-based organization with a mission to save lives in developing countries, conducted a surgical needs assessment in Sierra Leone in 2008 which identified a large gap in surgical knowledge. We hypothesized that knowledge transfer could be improved by conducting workshops with significant local faculty participation.

Design: Description of emergency and essential surgical care workshops (EESC) workshops and follow-up.