Project Surgical Outreach for Underprivileged Localities, or Project SOUL for short, is a charity medical mission where the NUS Department of Surgery sends surgical professionals and medical students to neighbouring countries that requires surgical facilities and expertise. The aim of Project SOUL is to operate, teach, support and supplement the health services in these countries.

Since receiving the donation from Lee Foundation in 2012, Project SOUL has been an excellent training platform for our local doctors, trainees and medical students, as it gave them the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding and insight into lives, and experience working under harsh conditions and advanced diseases. It has also complemented NUS medical curriculum by nurturing high-quality surgeons with a spirit of volunteerism and compassion.

The medical undergraduates involved in these missions were excited and motivated to help run the outpatient clinics under supervision from the surgical teams in the different localities, connect with the various local medical personnel on the ground, and learn from interacting with the diverse patient populations. These young medical students got first-hand information and experiences in managing patients in less-than-ideal conditions which will help shape them into better doctors and individuals in the future.

Through Project SOUL, the underprivileged medical communities overseas have also been benefitting by having access to surgical treatments from world-class experts, including complex surgical procedures not available in their country. In many of the locations, the local hospital facility does not have any surgical equipment that can justifiably be used with good intent on the patients. As part of Project SOUL, the team will purchase equipment that safely delivers anesthesia to patients, perform difficult procedures with some ease, and demonstrate complex procedures to both the local surgeons and our medical students.

Project SOUL also organises training sessions for the overseas doctors and nurses at the mission locations. Sessions are always organised for them in conjunction with surgery procedures. This will enable the overseas local medical practitioners to assist, learn, and conduct such procedures on their own in the future.

 

December 2016: Kyaikthyo town, Mon State Myanmar Institutions

• Sek Pu Tuang Temple Hospital
• YDC Youth Development Center
• Sek Pu Tuang Monastery Orphanage

The team of 5 consultants, 6 residents, 2 General Practitioners, 7 medical students and 1 nurse handled over 100 cases of outpatient surgeries. They also offered primary healthcare to patients under the guidance of local medical practitioners, supported health screening for children as well as conducted health education lessons for local teachers and students. 

 

May 2017: Walubi 2017@ Borobudur, Indonesia

The team of 3 senior consultants, 3 consultants, 5 residents and 6 medical students handled over 100 general surgeries.

January 2018: Defense Services Hospital, Yangon, Myanmar

The team of 1 consultant, 3 residents and 6 medical students handled 40 complex cases which included hand, head and neck cancer, congenital abnormalities (children) and trauma. 

March 2018: Orphanage at lnle Lake, Myanmar

The team of 2 senior consultants, 3 consultants, 5 residents, 7 medical students and 2 nurses handled various cases of General surgeries, dentistry and pediatrics consultation.

April 2018: Siaton District Hospital, Negro Oriental, Philippines

The team of 3 senior consultants, 5 residents and 3 medical students handled 30 cases of cleft lip, thyroid, hernia and multiple minor operations, surgeries, dentistry and pediatrics consultation. 

Student Experience

Students from NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine are also invited to volunteer for Project SOUL. This provides them with good experience and exposure to various cases and scenarios that might not usually be seen in Singapore. Here what our past volunteers have to say about their experience: 

Project SOUL (Student Experience) from NUHS on Vimeo.

 

 

26th November – 3rd December 2016

• Venue: Orphanage & Township Clinic, Kyaikto, Mon State, Myanmar
• Number of cases: Health screening for over 400 children and surgical services for over 100 patients from the surrounding rural community.

Since last year, a multi-disciplinary team of surgeons, pediatricians, family medicine practitioners and nurses have been operating at a large orphanage and township clinic in Kyaikto, Mon State, Myanmar. Providing surgical services in a rural setting comes with many challenges, as entire logistical support is required to carry out safe and effective surgeries. We had to deal with power outages and hygiene issues at the destination which required improvisation and innovation. Each year, we endeavour to perform additional special projects such as dental services, paediatric surgical services and this year, to improve an outdoor kitchen at an orphanage. Our students are deeply involved in educational exchanges with local students as well as painting of wall murals. In all, the SOUL mission has enabled the team to learn many skills of operating in rural localities and to fulfill the educational mandate of our institution.

 

15th – 19th November 2015

• Venue: General Hospital of Hoa Binh Province, Vietnam
• Number of cases: 40 general surgery procedures
• Number of staff sent: 6 surgeons and 7 medical students

 

28th October – 3rd November 2015

• Venue: Three Pagoda Monastery Hospital, Myanmar
• Number of cases: 70 procedures such as hernias, hydrocele, piles, fistula, cleft lips, lumps and bumps (for both children and adults)
• Number of staff sent: 11 surgeons and 5 medical students

 

5th – 10th September 2015

• Venue: Mandalay Eye & ENT Hospital
• Number of cases: 30 procedures such as orbital surgeries, maxillary trauma and tumour cases
• Number of staff sent: 8 surgeons and 10 medical students

 

1st - 2nd June 2015

• Venue: At the foot of Borobodur Temple, Central Java, Indonesia
• Number of cases: 10 general surgery procedures
• Number of staff sent: 5 surgeons and 4 medical students

 

11th – 15th January 2015

• Venue: Defense Services Orthopaedic Hospital, Yangon, Myanmar
• Number of cases: 24 complex cases (including hand; head & neck cancer; congenital abnormalities (children);  and severe trauma
• Number of staff sent: 8 surgeons, 3 anaesthetists and 7 medical students
  

Our medical students were involved in the outpatient clinics, scrubbed for the operative procedures and had special tutorials conducted for them. Unusual cases were also highlighted for their attention & subsequent study. We conducted training courses for the local surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses, and all of the local staff were intimately involved in the planning, surgery and postoperative care of their patients. In addition, an AO Craniomaxillofacial surgery training course was conducted for close to 100 local surgeons.

 

• China; October 2013 (anaesthetic monitoring equipment)

The anaesthetic monitoring equipment was utilised in another mission in the Kunming region of China. This mission was conducted by the Ophthalmology team, consisting of 4 surgeons, nurses, allied medical personnel, and a number of medical students. The local communities were screened for eye problems and cataracts. Cataract extraction and intra-ocular lens placement were performed on more than 50 patients.

• Biliran, the Philippines; 30 August - 6 September 2013

In a combined mission with the local surgeons in Biliran, the Philippines, the surgical team (comprised of 11 doctors, medical officers and nurses) from the Department of Surgery, NUS, performed surgical procedures on 178 patients with superficial swellings, cleft lips, thyroid lesions, hernias, and abdominal lesions. The local surgeons made efforts to involve the local communities in this mission, and local cooperation in organising the outpatient clinics and screening procedures generated goodwill between our team and the local communities.

 

• Poipet, Cambodia; 22 - 26 May 2013

In the second mission, 350 patients were treated in Poipet, Cambodia in a primary health care campaign. Fifty of these patients were identified as having a problem that was treatable by surgery and were operated on. All recovered well after surgery. A total of 36 doctors, nurses and medical students were deployed for this mission.

      

• Yangon, Myanmar; 14 - 18 January 2013

In this first mission, a total of 25 doctors, nurses and medical students examined approximately 100 patients in Yangon. Operations were performed on 18 patients with complex disorders (including oral cancers, severe facial trauma, and congenital anomalies such as rare facial clefts). These patients would otherwise not have been treated. During follow-up sessions with the local doctors approximately a week and a month after surgery, the patients had progressed well, as evidenced by clinical photographs.