Design thinking provides a creative and innovate approach to solve a complex problem. The discover, define, develop and delivery phases of design thinking lead to the most effective solution and this approach can be widely applied in medical education, from technology intervention projects to curriculum development. Participants in design thinking acquire essential transferable life-long learning skills in dealing with uncertainty and collaborative team working.

Aim To describe the variation in volumes and types of paediatric presentations to a tertiary emergency department in New Zealand during the national level 4 lockdown for COVID‐19. Methods A retrospective, comparative cohort study in Christchurch Hospital Emergency Department, New Zealand. Results There was a 37% reduction in all emergency presentations during the 33‐day lockdown period. Paediatric presentations reduced significantly more than non‐paediatric presentations (53% paediatric vs. 34% non‐paediatric, P < 0.00001). The decrease in both overall and paediatric presentations was significantly different than similar periods in 2019 and 2018 ( P < 0.00001). The proportion of New Zealand European paediatric presentations during lockdown increased by 6.09% ( P = 0.01), while Pacific peoples decreased by 3.36% ( P = 0.005). The proportion of <1‐year‐old presentations increased by 5.56% ( P = 0.001), while 11–15 years decreased by 7.91% ( P = 0.0001). Respiratory‐related paediatric presentations decreased by 30% and proportional decreased by 4.92% ( P = 0.001). Conclusion This study has identified a significant reduction in paediatric presentations to a tertiary emergency department in New Zealand during the national Alert Level 4 Lockdown for COVID‐19. The proportional increase in the <1‐year‐old group may suggest a greater need for community‐based child health services during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Mental health support services may also need to adapt and expand to provide adequate psychological support for children during this crisis. Recognising the needs of these vulnerable groups will be critical during the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic in addition to informing response plans for similar events in the future.

Background Global health education partnerships should be collaborative and reciprocal to ensure mutual benefit. Utilisation of digital technologies can overcome geographic boundaries and facilitate collaborative global health learning. Global Health Classroom (GHCR) is a collaborative global health learning model involving medical students from different countries learning about each other’s health systems, cultures, and determinants of health via videoconference. Principles of reciprocity and interinstitutional partnership informed the development of the GHCR. This study explores learning outcomes and experiences in the GHCR between students from New Zealand and Samoa. Methods This study used a mixed methods approach employing post-GHCR questionnaires and semi-structured face-to-face interviews to explore self-reported learning and experiences among medical students in the GHCR. The GHCR collaboration studied was between the medical schools at the University of Otago, New Zealand and the National University of Samoa, Samoa. Results Questionnaire response rate was 85% (74/87). Nineteen interviews were conducted among New Zealand and Samoan students. Students reported acquiring the intended learning outcomes relating to patient care, health systems, culture, and determinants of health with regards to their partner country. Interview data was indicative of attitudinal changes in relation to cultural humility and curiosity. Some reported a vision for progress regarding their own health system. Students in the GHCR reported that learning with their international peers in the virtual classroom made learning about global health more real and tangible. The benefits to students from both countries indicated reciprocity. Conclusions This study demonstrates GHCR to be a promising model for collaborative and reciprocal global health learning using a student-led format and employing digital technology to create a virtual classroom. The self-reported learning outcomes align favourably with those recommended in the literature. In view of our positive findings, we present GHCR as an adaptable model for equitable, collaborative global health learning between students in internationally partnered institutions.

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Background Global health education partnerships should be collaborative and reciprocal to ensure mutual benefit. Utilisation of digital technologies can overcome geographic boundaries and facilitate collaborative global health learning. Global Health Classroom (GHCR) is a collaborative global health learning model involving medical students from different countries learning about each other’s health systems, cultures, and determinants of health via videoconference. Principles of reciprocity and inter-institutional partnership informed the development of GHCR. This study explores learning outcomes and experiences in GHCR between students from New Zealand and Samoa. Methods The study used a mixed methods approach employing post-GHCR questionnaires and semi-structured face-to-face interviews to explore self-reported learning and experiences among medical students in GHCR. The GHCR collaboration studied was between the medical schools at the University of Otago, New Zealand and the National University of Samoa, Samoa.ResultsQuestionnaire response rate was 85% (74/87). Nineteen interviews were conducted among New Zealand and Samoan students. Students reported acquiring the intended learning outcomes relating to patient care, health systems, culture, and determinants of health with regards to their partner country. There was evidence of attitudinal changes including cultural curiosity and humility. Some reported a vision for progress regarding their own health system. Students reported that interacting with their international peers in the virtual classroom made learning about global health real and tangible. Mutual benefit to students from both countries indicated reciprocity.Conclusions The study demonstrates GHCR to be a promising model for collaborative and reciprocal global health learning using a student-led format and employing digital technology to create a virtual classroom. The self-reported learning outcomes align favourably with those recommended in the literature. In view of our positive findings, we present GHCR as an adaptable model for equitable, collaborative global health learning between students in internationally partnered institutions.