World Gastroenterology Organisation

Global Guardian of Digestive Health. Serving the World.

 

WGO La Paz Training Center

Director: Dr. Miguel Villa-Gomez and Co-Director: Dr. Guido Villa-Gomez

Introduction:

The Bolivian-Japanese Gastroenterology Institute (IGBJ) established the WGO Training Center with the mission to carry out yearly courses designed to complement and improve specialists’ training in gastroenterology, as acquired in their home countries. The course program is defined in conjunction by the WGO Education and Training Committee, the Bolivian Society of Gastroenterology (SBG) and the IGBJ, according to regional needs in training and an ethical approach to patient care.

The academic program includes basic sciences relevant to gastroenterology, as well as the latest concepts of gastrointestinal disease, with emphasis in diagnosis and treatment of digestive diseases, given through formal lectures and interactive seminars.

Practical instruction in endoscopy, radiology, echography, echoendoscopy, TAC, motility studies, etc. are provided through interactive programs, as well as live patient demonstrations.


Aims / Objectives:

A. Main Objective

  • To promote the highest standards for the development of the Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy in Latin American countries

B. Specific Objectives

  • To upgrade, deepen and/or acquire knowledge about the specialty with its base in programs fundamentally directed to young specialists
  • To develop a curriculum for training in Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy, appropriate to the local and regional necessities of medical care, by means of the use of innovative instruments of education and medicine, based on evidence, and sustained in ethics and scientific advances
  • To establish programs of training that allow interaction in each training process
  • To promote guidelines for better practice in Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy
  • To stimulate a favorable atmosphere for appropriate relationship building among trainees, national and foreign experts

Facilities:

The training center is located in the Bolivian-Japanese Gastroenterology Institute in La Paz, which is situated in a University General Hospital. The following department units are located in the hospital:

Department of Gastroenterology

  • Outpatient clinic
  • Inpatient clinic
  • Endoscopy unit; diagnostic and therapeutic
  • EUS Unit
  • Motility Unit
  • Radiology and TAC
  • Ultrasonography

Department of Surgical Gastroenterology

ICU

Clinical Laboratory

Pathology Laboratory


Areas of Training:

  • Endoscopy
  • Therapeutic Endoscopy
  • Radiology
  • Echography
  • Echoendoscopy
  • Motility studies

Training Requirements:

Advanced endoscopy training. Four grants are awarded per year.  The requirements for the grants are as followed:

  • Curriculum Vitae.
  • Passport photograph
  • Letter of recommendation from the Head of Service or Director of the hospital in which the trainee works for.
  • Personal letter addressed to the Director of the WGO La Paz Training Center, expressing the perspective and objectives that motivate the trainee's application and the working conditions the trainee will have upon their return to their country.
  • Commitment notes.
  • Application form.

International training. Thirty grants are awarded for international courses.  The Requirements are as followed:

  • Letter that explains the reasons for the application and the applicant's expectations regarding the Course.
  • Photocopy of identity document or passport.
  • Photocopy of gastroenterology specialist certification. Digestive surgeons with training and practice in digestive endoscopy and final year residents with certification from the training institution may be considered.
  • Cover letter from a Gastroenterology and/or Digestive Endoscopy Service at a university, public or private level.
  • Cover letter from the Society of Gastroenterology and/or Digestive Endoscopy of the trainee's country of origin, only if the trainee is affiliated.
  • Curriculum Vitae.
  • Medical certification of good health, both physical and mental.
  • Commitment notes.
  • Application Form.

Technology / Procedures:

The advanced endoscopy course consists of 4 months of practical training in advanced procedures.  It includes:

  • Endoscopic retrograde,
  • Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP),
  • Hemorrhage therapy,
  • Endoscopic Dissections,
  • Endoscopic Resections among others.

La Paz Training Center has three Endoscopy rooms full equipped with Olympus and Pentax towers.

Contact:

Center Directors: Dr. Miguel Villa-Gomez and Dr. Guido Villa-Gomez

Instituto de Gastroenterologia Boliviano - Japones
Castilla Postal 8578
La Paz, Bolivia

E-mail: migue_vg@hotmail.com and villagomezroig@gmail.com
Phone:  591 606 722 24 and 591 715 227 47

Website: www.lapaztrainingcenter.org, Requirements Revised Nov. 2023

Further Information:

For more comprehensive information on the La Paz Training Center, including the trainee application process, course offerings, and other details, please refer to the downloadable pdf:
> La Paz Training Center Information Packet (Downloadable PDF)

Newsletter

June 2023 Issue   September 2023 Issue  December 2023 Issue  March 2024, June 2024


WGO La Paz Training Center

The La Paz Training Center.

WGO La Paz Training Center

VII International Course on Advances in Gastroenterology & Digestive Endoscopy

WGO La Paz Training Center

Doctors and Nurses from JICA

WGO La Paz Training Center

Training at the La Paz Training Center.

WGO La Paz Training Center

Trainees from Argentina, Ecuador, and India.

The WGO would like to give special thanks to the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Bolivian-Japanese Institute of Gastroenterology (IGBJ), Asociación Interamericana de Gastroenterología (AIGE), The Canadian Gastroenterology Association (CGA), Sociedad Española de Gastroenterología (AEG), The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and Olympus Japan and Latin America for their support and sponsorship of the WGO La Paz Training Center.

WGO La Paz Training Center Logo

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