Host physician perspectives to improve pre-departure training for global health electives

Abstract

Building on the consensus statement offered by Wiskin et al., Kung offers the perspective of physicians who host students for global health electives, advising that students avoid unfulfilled promises and learn to touch patients humanistically.

Are you ready? A systematic review of pre-departure resources for global health electives

“…The majority of ( n = 33) articles discussed global health elective preparation for medical students [33–35, 37, 39–47, 49, 50, 52–54, 57, 59, 60, 62, 63, 65, 66, 71, 72, 76, 79–82, 84], followed by preparation for residents and fellows ( n = 17) [4, 26, 33, 35, 49, 55, 56, 64, 65, 67–69, 71, 73, 75, 79, 81, 83], nursing students ( n = 6) [36, 44, 54, 58, 66, 77], undergraduate students ( n = 6) [38, 44, 54, 58, 70, 74], and other graduate students, which included midwifery, pharmacy, physiotherapy and public health students ( n = 8) [32, 35, 44, 48, 51, 61, 66, 78]. Twelve papers included information about multiple trainee populations [32, 33, 35, 44, 49, 54, 58, 65, 66, 71, 79, 81].…”

“…Each domain and its definition can be seen in Table 1. The most commonly addressed themes were Culture ( n = 37) [4, 26, 32, 34–36, 38, 40–46, 48, 51–53, 55–57, 63–66, 68–74, 76–81, 83], Project-specific Knowledge ( n = 30) [32, 34, 36, 40–46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 57–59, 61, 62, 64, 65, 67, 69–71, 74, 76–79] and Safety ( n = 29) [4, 34–38, 41–44, 53, 54, 57, 59, 61, 63, 65, 66, 68–70, 74, 76–78, 80–83]. Far fewer articles discussed Mentorship ( n = 11) [26, 44, 59, 69, 71, 74, 76, 77, 79, 81, 83], Professionalism ( n = 8) [4, 26, 44, 59, 68, 76, 81, 83] and Emotional Wellness and Culture Shock ( n = 7) [4, 36, 38, 44, 54, 55, 63].…”

“…Two articles further argued for the importance of building in some level of language requirement, depending on the location of the experience and setting in which the trainees will work [35, 36]. Engaging more deeply with collaborators and hosting institutions throughout the process, including during the development of the elective and pre-departure training components [32, 37, 52, 60, 70]. Specifically, these articles discussed using partnership models when sending students overseas and ensuring equitable engagement with both the receiving institution and receiving communities.…”

“…Articles discussed a variety of preparation modalities including in-person training ( n = 16) [26, 34, 36, 38, 40–43, 48, 52, 57, 59, 63, 66, 77, 81], didactic training ( n = 11) [32, 45, 46, 50, 51, 53, 56, 66, 67, 69, 79], text-based training ( n = 10) [4, 33, 40–42, 54, 71–73, 76], simulation training ( n = 4) [50, 55, 64, 67], and web-based training ( n = 3) [53, 56, 58]. Six articles did not specify the delivery modality employed by the study for pre-departure preparation [35, 44, 49, 68, 70, 80], while three articles explicitly mentioned that preparation is dependent on multiple factors, including the elective location, project scope and student’s prior experience abroad [60, 61, 65]. Herbst de Cortina et al argued that in-person, smaller group formats are the most effective way to deliver predeparture resources and designed their curriculum to minimize didactic delivery and optimize interactive small group learning [59].…”

“…Length of preparation ranged from 20 min on a web-based training tool [58] to 15 weeks at an in-person course [51]. Fourteen articles did not specify the length of preparation [26, 34–36, 40, 44, 52, 55, 64, 66, 70, 79–81] while eight articles reported that length of preparation was dependent on similar factors mentioned above for delivery modality [41–43, 56, 60, 61, 65, 68].…”