Indian American surgeons meet in SF

surgeon-meet-1SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Indian American Surgical Association held its second annual meeting in San Francisco on Sunday, October 26.

Surgeons of Indian origin practicing in the US and India, fellows, residents, and medical students attending the ACS Clinical Congress gathered to discuss their initiatives to enhance medical practice and education in India and globally. Individuals shared their experiences in collaborating with their Indian counterparts, the resistance they may have faced in implementing their programs and progress they are making in their endeavors overall.

A strong gathering of close to 70 faculty deliberated major issues of mutual interest in academic, research, and clinical work. A strong interest was seen in building a trauma education program similar to the one recently run by Dr Vyas and IASA team in Jodhpur.

IASA President Dr Vijay Mittal discussed his Fulbright visit to India and the lessons he learned in his efforts to improve quality of surgical education in India.

IASA Vice-Presidents, Dr Ajai Malhotra, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Dr Dinesh Vyas, Michigan State University, also spoke on the vision of IASA and its potential impact.

Dr Mohammed Siddiqui of the Folsom Surgery and Vein Center in California and co-founder of the Global Medical Foundation discussed his work to bring improved medical services and education to Bangalore.
Dr Bikram Paul of the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins University explained the numerous projects he has been involved with in developing trauma programs overseas.
Dr Vijay Maker, Chairman, UIC affiliate Hospital, stressed the importance of collaboration and the spirit of giving back to India.

Karl Mehta, from Edcast, presented his innovative cloud technology that connects students and faculty through an online interactive educational forum. Edcast allows individuals to learn, share, and collaborate virtually and can help bridge knowledge and technology gaps between Indian and American systems.
Apoorva Aekka, research scholar from Michigan State University gave an excellent engaging presentation on Vyas Pre-hospital care initiative, goals and plans

Constructive and achievable short and long term strategic decisions were taken to build a strong surgical networking community on both sides working towards common goals: better patient care, research, education and clinical excellence, said Dr Vyas, spokesman of IASA.

India Post News Service