The Pope Paul VI Institute brought training for its FertilityCare medical consultant program beyond the United States border for the first time this September. The Institute is a remarkable pro-life ministry, one which has developed excellent education programs as well as providing the very best in personal medical care -- care which respects the sanctity of all human life and honors the God Who created them.Dr. Thomas W. Hilgers, Director of the Institute, traveled to Lagos, Africa, and Lublin, Poland in September to bring classes in FertilityCare to more than a dozen physicians and medical professionals in these foreign cities. As a result of the trip, seven physicians in Lagos and eight physicians in Lublin are now certified to serve as natural family planning medical consultants.
“This first trip to train physicians overseas was very successful,” said Dr. Hilgers, who conducted all of the training. “All of the physicians were so eager to learn. It’s hard for me to imagine that what we have created over the last 30 years is generating such enthusiasm among all these people.”
The trip was part of the Institute’s effort to reach out to medical professionals in parts of the world that haven’t been exposed to the Institute’s work. For years, the Institute has trained educators from other parts of the world to adopt and teach the Institute’s programs, including the Creighton Model FertilityCare education programs. To date, the Institute has trained more than 400 active FertilityCare practitioners, 97 of whom are active in several foreign countries. However, these practitioners all traveled to the United States to receive their training.
“We embarked on this recent trip because of the inability of doctors in Lagos and Lublin to come to the United States for training,” said Dr. Hilgers.
Additional trips to foreign countries haven’t been planned yet, however, the Institute has received several invitations. Future international training is dependent on adequate support for such endeavors. As the Institute’s work continues to attract international interest, leaders are hopeful they can continue to provide training that will enable more people to know and understand how to be a part of the Institute’s Culture of Life in women’s healthcare all over the world.
