• Registration for IUGA’s First Webinar Now Open
• Apply to be a Host Site for an IUGA Fellowship or Observership Grant Recipient

Mark your calendars for IUGA’s first webinar on Saturday, August 3rd at 5:00 p.m. EDT.

The focus of the webinar will be an update on vaginal mesh, and the learning objectives for this session are as follows:

1. understand the current situation and views regarding the use of mesh;
2. know the range and incidence of problems associated with mesh implants and be able to identify patients who might benefit from the procedure;
3. understand alternatives to the use of mesh; and,
4. understand the steps for securing informed consent.

Moderated by Chris Maher of Brisbane, Australia, the speakers and their topics will be:

Lynsey Hayward (Auckland, New Zealand)
         Background – explaining how mesh came to be used
         Class 3 products
         RCOG Guidelines;
         What’s happening now in different countries – where stopped and where still used

Kaven Baessler (Berlin, Germany)
         Indications for use and alternatives
         Early adopters vs. appropriate approach
         Minimum number of surgeries

Steven Swift (Charleston, USA)
         Getting it Right – working with patients re: consent

The webinar is only open to IUGA members and is free to participate. To register, please send an e-mail to registration@iuga.org that includes your first and last name and your email address if the email you are using to register isn’t the one where you would like further information to be sent. A link and dial-in instructions will be sent two days prior to the webinar. There will be no charges to connect to the webinar.

With a globally based membership we understand it will be difficult for some of our members to participate due to the timing of the webinar, so we will be recording it for posting on the IUGA web site at a later date. We will notify our members when the recording is available for viewing.

In an effort to promote training and the dissemination of information in urogynecology, IUGA offers one international fellowship and a number of educational observership grants per year. If you wish to be a potential host site for IUGA fellows (1 year), please click here for the requirements and application information, or for observers (2-4 weeks), please click here. The document is labeled apply to be an IUGA host site. Note the host site application is the same for both grants.

Submit your completed application to the IUGA office via email at amanda@iuga.org along with a copy of your CV.  We are in the process of developing a formal review process which will be posted on the website by early fall.  Once you have been approved as a host site, you and your institution will be listed in the IUGA Host Site Directory.  Applicants will use this directory to choose an appropriate host site and shape their application accordingly.

Please note each host site must renew their ability to host observers and/or fellows every three years.  If you are currently an IUGA host site you will be contacted soon to renew your status.