Training Programs
Smile Train offers our partners a range of clinical training opportunities and resources in surgery, anesthesia, nursing, and comprehensive cleft care.
As the global leader in supporting cleft care, Smile Train offers our partners a range of clinical training opportunities and resources in surgery, anesthesia, nursing, and comprehensive cleft care. Contact [email protected] to find upcoming opportunities near you and your team. We also offer a range of online training resources for our partners.
Smile Train Virtual Surgery Simulator
The Simulator is an advanced, interactive, freely available, 3D simulation technology that provides instruction on a variety of complex cleft surgical procedures. The software is multilingual and combines actual intra-operative surgical footage from the operating theater, interactive animated three-dimensional content, text labels, and voiceover for an immersive learning experience.
Cleft Lip and Palate Simulators
In low-resource settings, access to safe, high-quality surgical training can be a challenge, particularly when it comes to training for specialized procedures like cleft lip and palate surgery.
We’re working to ensure that surgeons and trainees around the globe have access to the most advanced, effective cleft surgery training tools available today. Our Simulare Cleft Lip and Palate 3D-printed simulators provide hyper-realistic models for cleft surgical training, leading to safer, higher-quality surgery for every patient, every time.
Virtual Surgery Videos
Virtual Surgery Simulator Virtual Surgery Videos
Contributing Authors: Dr. Court Cutting (Smile Train Chairman Emeritus), Aaron Oliker, BioDigital et. al.
For additional interactive materials please see Smile Train's award-winning Virtual Surgery Simulator.
Safe Nursing Care Training
Smile Train developed the Nursing Care Saves Lives curriculum in recognition of the key role nurses play in patient care and safety. This course provides nurses at Smile Train partner institutions with essential skills to administer high-quality nursing care for children undergoing cleft surgery. Download the Manual in English and contact [email protected] for access to the entire curriculum in English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese.
Cleft Palate Speech Training
In partnership with Teachers College, Columbia University, we offer an introductory online course on effective cleft palate speech care. The purpose of the training is to empower more speech therapists and paraprofessionals with strategies to improve children’s speech and lives. The course is followed by an ASHA-approved CEU exam.
We also offer "Train the Trainer" manuals on cleft speech therapy for local trainers. These manuals make the course ready for local trainers worldwide to download and train the next generation of cleft professionals.
| Take Online Course for CEU Credit | English | Spanish |
| Review The Online Course Modules (Video) | English | |
| Train The Trainer Manual | English | Spanish |
The Importance of Oral Health Guidance & Dental Care
Children with clefts are far more likely to have poor oral health, including tooth decay, gum diseases, dental anomalies, and crooked teeth. Worse, the children most likely to suffer these complications also typically lack access to basic medical care. Dental care is thus essential to cleft care, and children who receive cleft surgery alone, without the dental care they so need, may never have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential.
Cleft Nutrition Program
Smile Train knows that a baby born with a cleft, especially a cleft palate, may have difficulty feeding and is at an increased risk of being malnourished. In partnership with the global organization SPOON, Smile Train has developed a two-day course on effective cleft feeding. The goal is to empower local professionals to be able to train mothers and caretakers on topics such as effective breastfeeding, safe bottle/spoon/cup feeding, and weaning children, as well as approaches to managing malnutrition in children with a cleft. Download the Manual and Handouts in English and contact [email protected] for access to the entire curriculum in English, Spanish, French, Bangla, Hindi, Portuguese, and Bahasan.
Nutrition & Feeding Trainer Manual Nutrition Training Handouts