RSNA Announces Global Learning Center in Peru

OAK BROOK, Ill. (Sept. 30, 2024) — The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) has announced that the next RSNA Global Learning Center (GLC) will be hosted by Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño de San Borja in Lima, Peru. This is the second GLC supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

The grant will support RSNA's program, "Global Health Initiative: Access to Radiology," aimed at improving patient care in low- to middle-resourced countries and promoting peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The RSNA GLC in Lima is part of this initiative.

RSNA GLCs partner with established radiology departments in low- or middle-resource countries and aim to offer ongoing education and support, improve patient care and increase access to technology. The goal is that through these valuable collaborations, RSNA GLCs become regional hubs for excellence in radiology education.

"RSNA is pleased to partner with Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño de San Borja," said Jorge A. Soto, M.D., RSNA Board Liaison for International Affairs. "We look forward to supporting their pediatric and oncologic radiology needs and infrastructure improvements and creating a valuable radiology curriculum for the GLC that will offer a robust education program tailored to the needs of Lima and radiologists throughout Peru."

Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño de San Borja is a tertiary level hospital specializing in pediatric pathologies.

"We are excited about the opportunity to receive support and mentorship, and to collaborate with the RSNA team. We have high expectations of developing our skills to provide a high-quality care to our children and to elevate radiology in our country to the next level," said Mario Chirinos, M.D., on-site program director for the RSNA GLC in Lima. "We face challenges in fully utilizing the advanced tools of CT and MRI due to the 'know-how' required for new techniques such as tractography, perfusion, cardiac analysis and methods to reduce radiation dose in CT scans. This is a significant limitation in low-resource countries like ours, and it's crucial for our country to be included in the global development of new techniques, which we hope to achieve with the support of the Global Learning Center."

Now that the host site has been selected, over a three-year period, a team of RSNA members will work with the GLC to develop a customized educational plan, including a curriculum with hands-on training, didactic lectures, conferences, online courses and other education offerings. Equipment and technical assistance will also be provided, based on the needs of the site.

Volunteer faculty members will travel to Lima to learn about the GLC's educational needs. The team will present lectures and provide hands‐on training and point‐of‐care opportunities. The visiting faculty, in close consultation with the on-site faculty, will design and present an educational plan tailored to the needs of the GLC using RSNA educational resources.

Applications are open to be considered for a volunteer faculty position on the Lima GLC faculty. Radiologists with subspecialties in pediatric radiology and pediatric oncology are needed. Selections will be made in December 2024.

The inaugural RSNA GLC launched in early 2020 at Stellenbosch University near Cape Town, South Africa. Since then, GLCs have opened at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) in Tanzania, Hospital Metropolitano in Quito, Ecuador, Cipto Mangunkusumo National Referral Hospital at the University of Indonesia (FKUI/RSCM) in Jakarta and Shengavit Medical Center in Yerevan, Armenia.