Mongolian doctor mentored at Mater Mothers

Under the mentorship of Dr Michael Wynn Williams, a visiting Mongolian gynaecologist has been observing surgical procedures at Mater Mothers' Hospital and learning about surgical anatomy and dissection techniques to improve the outcomes for Mongolian patients.

Dr Wynn Williams, has been involved with a group of doctors who volunteer in Mongolia and work as part of a women’s health clinic in gynaecology. Women are treated, doctors trained and a scholarship program was established last year to allow Mongolian doctors, including Dr Gankhuyag Baatarkhuu,  to visit Australia for training.

Dr Wynn Williams said this trip to Australia provides Dr Baatarkhuu the opportunity to advance his surgical skills and as a result, improve the surgical outcomes of patients in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

“It will also enable him to pass on his knowledge and teach other Mongolian surgeons, and develop further relations between Australia and Mongolia health providers,” he said.

“In Mongolia there is minimal and disorganised training for gynaecologists. Most need to be trained overseas and Dr Baatarkhuu, for example, spent six months training in Clermont Ferrand, France. If training overseas, the specialists are limited to observation only due to accreditation requirements for each country.”

Dr Wynn Williams travelled to Mongolia in 2018 with a team of obstetricians and gynaecologists, paediatricians, theatre nurses, midwives and a medical engineer, as part of Mongolia Australia Medical Affiliation (MAMA). 

“During this trip we ran a women’s health conference and spent time performing, teaching and supervising surgery. I performed a live surgery (total laparoscopic hysterectomy), which was broadcast live to the conference centre, with many local obstetricians and gynaecologists in attendance,” said Dr Wynn-Williams.

Dr Baatarkhuu has been hosted in Brisbane for the past month as part of his training scholarship through MAMA.