The role of humanitarian missions in surgical training for maxillofacial surgery residents: SOS Face Marrakesh experience

Resident´s participation in humanitarian work has been controversial, while it´s recognized by some authors to bring significant value to the resident´s education. Herein, we aim to provide an evidence of the role of humanitarian missions in the surgical training as part of residency program, through report of a 10 years experience of SOS FACE Marrakesh, a non-benefit association within maxillofacial surgery department of Marrakesh. Its operating mode is to organize humanitarian missions coupled to targeted surgical training program, which is framed by educational objectives using a pedagogic portfolio. As a result, 60.6% of the residents felt an improvement in surgical skills, and the evaluation of residents before and after the targeted training showed an increase of 57% in average clinical knowledge, especially the diagnosis part. In conclusion, humanitarian work helps to improve surgical skills in addition to enhancement of human values and we suggest incorporating volunteerism in residency programs.