Webinar: Designing Fellowships that Truly Matter: Clinical, Equitable, and Impactful

This webinar aims to highlight the essential elements that define a high-impact and ethical fellowship experience. Drawing on the WFSA Fellowship Committee’s global experience in evaluating fellowship applications and outcomes, the session will benefit prospective fellows, programme directors, national societies, and educators involved in designing or supporting fellowship programmes. As international mobility and skill-building become increasingly vital, the webinar will prompt reflection on how to build fellowships that are not only clinically rich, but also equitable, sustainable, and career-advancing.

Tuesday, 20th January 2026
06:00 PST | 14:00 GMT | 15:00 CET | 19:30 IST

FACULTY:

Chair:

Dr. Balavenkatasubramanian Jagannathan, WFSA’s Secretary, Senior Consultant & Academic Director at the Department of Anaesthesia & Perioperative Care, Ganga Medical Centre in Coimbatore, President of the Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists, Programme Head for the WFSA Ganga Hospital Regional Anaesthesia Fellowship, India

Speakers:

1. Dr. Vanda Abi Raad, MD, MHPE, EMBA, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs & Development, Clinical Professor and Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, Lebanon

2. Dr. Sonia Akrimi, WFSA’s Chair of Education Committee, University Hospitals Sussex, UK

3. Dr. Ekta Rai, Professor & Head, Department of Anaesthesia, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India

4. Dr. Liana Valeanu, Past simulation fellow, University of San Franscisco, Romania

5. Dr. Mauricio Vasco, Anaesthesia and Intensive care MD, Professor of clinical anaesthesia, Universidad CES Medellín, Colombia

6. Dr. Amos Zacharia, Past simulation fellow, University of San Franscisco, Tanzania

PROGRAMME

• Welcome & introductions by Dr. Sonia Akrimi

• Talk 1: Core Pillars of a Fellowship, by Dr. Vanda Abi Raad

• Talk 2: Fellow Voices: Reflections & Advice by Dr. Liana Valeanu and Dr. Amos Zacharia

• Talk 3: Host Perspective: Programme Director’ Insights by Dr. Ekta Rai and Dr. Mauricio Vasco

• Q&A and Open discussion

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By attending this webinar, participants will be given the tools to:

1. Identify the essential components that define an outstanding fellowship programme.
2. Understand common challenges and pitfalls in fellowships from both fellows’ and hosts’ perspectives.
3. Gain actionable insights on how to design or choose a fellowship that supports long-term professional development.

Certificates of participation will be issued within 15 business days of the webinar. Participants must attend for a minimum of 60 minutes to qualify.
If you are unable to attend the live webinar, please register anyway so that we can send you the recording.