The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is organizing its 30th surgical seminar in Geneva.
It will be held first at ICRC headquarters
From 11.00 a.m. on Friday 31 March 2017 to 6.00 p.m. on Friday 31 March 2017.
The ICRC's vice-president will host an official lunch at 12 p.m. The Friday afternoon sessions will be held in the Humanitarium, "ICRC Visitors' & Conference Centre".
And at the Ecogia training centre
From 6.30 p.m. on Friday 31 March 2017, participants will be taken by bus to the Ecogia training centre in Versoix just outside Geneva, where the seminar will continue until 3.00 p.m. on Sunday 2 April 2017.
The main objective of the seminar is to introduce participants – surgeons, anaesthetists and registered nurses with little experience in treating war-wounded patients – to the practice of war surgery at the ICRC.
Target audience: Surgeons, anaesthetists, emergency physicians and nurses who might be interested in working for the ICRC in the field.
The seminar is also open to active qualified military surgical personnel interested in acquiring an overview of the work done by ICRC surgeons for victims of armed conflict.
The seminar will be restricted to a total of 40 participants.
The focus of the seminar will be on these subjects: field experiences and pertinent aspects of international humanitarian law; surgical and anaesthetic techniques; and wound management and patient care in difficult conditions.
The language of the seminar will be English. The format is intentionally informal; discussions in previous seminars have been lively.
The cost of the seminar is 700 Swiss francs per participant, which includes accommodation for two nights (Friday and Saturday) and all meals during the seminar.
Participants or their sponsors are responsible for covering the expenses of travelling to and from Geneva, and for any extra nights spent before and after the seminar.
Ballistic laboratory center
In addition to the surgical seminar, participants are invited to attend a demonstration of wounding mechanisms on Thursday 30 March in the ballistic laboratory of the Intercantonale Polizeischule (IPH) in Hitzkirch, Canton of Lucerne. The hosts are Mr Mathieu Glardon, Msc forens., Institut für Rechtsmedizin der Universität Bern and the ICRC Surgical Coordinator.
The bus for Hitzkirch leaves from ICRC headquarters at 2.00 p.m. on Wednesday 29 March. Participants will stay overnight in the IPH and be back in Geneva on Thursday afternoon 30 March.
The cost is 250 Swiss francs, which includes transport, meals and accommodation.
Participants sent by their National Society do not have to pay for transport or meals but will have to pay 95 Swiss francs for accommodation at the IPH.
If you would like to go on this trip, please indicate your interest when filling in the application form.
- Application number 1:
For all participants except Red Cross or Red Crescent staff - Application number 2:
Only for Red Cross or Red Crescent staff
(the application has to be forwarded by the National Society concerned) - Registration for ICRC employees: on ICRC intranet home page "Event spaces"
Participants will be chosen on the basis of the following criteria:
- applicant's profile
- affiliation to the Red Cross or Red Crescent or other humanitarian organization
- commitment to humanitarian work in war zones.
Deadline for application: 31 December 2016
Application letters, and brief curriculum vitae, should be sent to:
ICRC
Assistance Division
Carol Paula Bollhalder
Av. de la Paix 19
CH-1202 Geneva
or by email: cbollhalder@icrc.org
Replies will be sent to all applicants by January 2017