University of Nicosia Medical School signs Student Training Programme agreement with Shriners Hospitals for Children in Springfield, Massachusetts

The University of Nicosia Medical School and the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Springfield, Massachusetts recently signed an agreement for a Student Training Programme at the hospital.  Under the agreement, medical students from both the MBBS-4 and MD-6 programmes who are spending their final two years in Cyprus and have a career interest in orthopaedics will have the opportunity to participate in clinical training at the Springfield Shriners Hospital as part of their elective rotations.

Since 1981, orthopaedic specialists from the hospital have visited Cyprus annually as part of an established humanitarian partnership with the George and Thelma Paraskevaides Foundation. About 8,000 children from all communities of Cyprus have been examined for a range of orthopaedic conditions since the annual visits began.  Difficult cases that cannot be treated in Cyprus are eligible for treatment in the United States with sponsorship provided by the George and Thelma Paraskevaides Foundation. To date, 3,000 Cypriot children have been treated at the Springfield Shriners Hospital, helping cure serious conditions and giving them back the hope and joys of childhood.

Shriners Hospitals for Children is a health care system with 22 medical facilities across North America. The hospitals provide the highest quality care to children with neuromusculoskeletal conditions, burn injuries and other special healthcare needs within a compassionate, family-centered and collaborative care environment regardless of the families’ ability to pay.  In addition, the Shriners Hospital system conducts research to discover new knowledge that will improve the quality of care and the quality of life of children and their families and provides for the education of physicians and other healthcare professionals.