Steven Darst

Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons

The Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS) is a unique strategic response to the great need for surgical manpower in Africa. A rural-based surgical educational initiative utilizing rural mission hospitals in multiple countries, PAACS seeks to train national physicians at relatively low cost, schooling them in modern surgical thought as applied to resource-poor environments with the intent of having high rates of retention of the its trainees within Africa. PAACS is a nondenominational, multinational, volunteer service organization striving to serve the poor of Africa, to build capacity within the healthcare sector and to help maintain the faith-based healthcare facilities that have traditionally provided a significant percentage of the healthcare. PAACS is a commission under the Christian Medical and Dental Association (www.cmda.org) umbrella. Candidates must be African graduates of recognized medical schools, less than 37 years of age, have a valid medical license in both their home and training countries and speak English fluently. Those who are admitted undergo training at one of several well-established evangelical mission hospitals in Africa, under the direction of experienced, board-certified surgeons. PAACS is affiliated with the Loma Linda University located in Loma Linda, California and the PAACS' training sites and programs have been twice approved by them. PAACS has also been inspected and has partial approval training program and all training sites by the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA). PAACS is applying for approval from the West African College of Surgeons (WACS). The five-year PAACS curriculum is based on the American competency-based model which emphasizes self-education and continuing education as a life-long characteristic of the excellent surgeon.