Mission of USTOP: What It Is, and Why It Matters
The Uganda Sustainable Trauma Orthopaedic Program (USTOP) represents a long‑standing commitment within UBC Orthopaedics to strengthening trauma care in Uganda through education, mentorship, and collaborative system‑building. Uganda carries one of the highest global burdens of traumatic injury, and USTOP works alongside Ugandan colleagues to support orthopaedic residents, physiotherapists, nurses, and surgical staff through practical, clinically grounded teaching.
USTOP focuses on sustained partnership rather than short-term surgical missions. Each visit builds years of shared work and reinforces a model of education that empowers trainees and strengthens local capacity.
What the USTOP Spotlight Series Is
The Spotlight Series highlights the people, progress, and academic partnerships shaping USTOP. It captures the on‑the‑ground work happening in Uganda and the year‑round collaboration that continues to advance trauma education and system development.
The 2025 USTOP Team
The 2025 USTOP team included a multidisciplinary group of UBC Orthopaedics professionals:
- Orthopaedic Surgeons: Drs. Philip Hache, Omer Marom, Derek Smith, Brad Petrisor
- Nurse Educator: Audrey Hiebert
- Physiotherapist: Regina Colistro
- Coordinator: Gino Cunanan
This team worked collaboratively with Ugandan colleagues to deliver coordinated teaching across clinical, surgical, and rehabilitation settings.
Inside 2025 USTOP
The 2025 visit encompassed three weeks of clinical teaching, trauma discussions, bioskills training, surgical mentorship, and physiotherapy and nursing education. It also marked the first time Gino Cunanan coordinated the 2025 USTOP trip. A research student with the Hippy Lab at BC Children’s Hospital, Cunanan recently completed his first year with UBC Orthopaedics as the Global Research Coordinator. In this role, he managed logistics, supported communication across disciplines, and worked closely with partners at Mulago Hospital. Coordinating a mission of this scale offered him a meaningful introduction to global orthopaedic education and shaped his reflections during the trip.
“Witnessing the tangible, sustainable impact of our work on the local orthopaedic community stood out most to me,” said Cunanan. “Seeing residents actively and enthusiastically engage in our bioskills workshops and case discussions affirmed the value of USTOP’s teaching approach.”
The trip also offered a deeper perspective on global health challenges:
“Witnessing the disparity between the healthcare systems in Uganda and Canada fundamentally changed how I view healthcare. It deepened my understanding of global health inequities and underscored the importance of ensuring every individual has access to high‑quality care.”
A Shared Educational Mission
Throughout the trip, the team focused on strengthening trauma‑care capacity through practical, discipline‑specific teaching. Surgical education centered on trauma decision‑making and operative mentorship; physiotherapy sessions emphasized rehabilitation and spinal cord injury management; and nursing instruction supported perioperative safety and team‑based trauma care.
Workshops and clinical rounds provided structured opportunities for skills practice and case‑based learning, while also providing opportunities for residents to apply concepts in real time within their clinical practice.
Progress and Growing Momentum
Beyond daily teaching, the team advanced several key initiatives essential to USTOP’s long‑term vision. USTOP strengthened its partnership with Mulago Hospital’s Orthopaedics Department and continued developing a national trauma registry that will support research and improve data‑driven care. During meetings with the Mulago Orthopaedics Department in Kampala, the team advanced plans to hire a full‑time USTOP coordinator to support year‑round program continuity. These discussions also initiated the development of an East Africa Grand Rounds model, aimed at improving regional knowledge‑sharing and connecting trauma clinicians across Uganda and surrounding countries.
The team also launched a study evaluating the impact of USTOP’s educational programming—an important step toward strengthening the program’s academic foundation and guiding future improvements.
Looking Ahead
Securing sustainable funding remains a central priority.
“The primary priority for the next phase of USTOP is securing sustainable funding to support future program activities,” Cunanan emphasized.
Financial support will help maintain the teaching trips while enabling critical long-term initiatives, including the trauma registry and the in‑country coordinator role.
A Story Still Being Written
The 2025 USTOP trip reflected the strength of ongoing partnership between UBC Orthopaedics and Ugandan colleagues. It demonstrated the impact of sustained academic engagement on trauma education and highlighted the commitment of residents and faculty on both sides.
Above all, the trip reinforced that meaningful, lasting change is built through education and relationships—one workshop, one clinical discussion, and one surgery at a time.