The Role of Graduate Medical Education in Global Health: Proceedings From the 2013 Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference

Abstract

The past 40 years have seen expanded development of emergency medicine (EM) postgraduate residency training programs worldwide. An important part of this educational experience is the ability of resident trainees to participate in experiences abroad. However, little is known about how these experiences shape trainees and the populations they serve. During the 2013 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference, a group of educators met to define and outline current trends in graduate medical education (GME) emergency care research. The authors discuss future research questions bridging the gap of GME and global health.

Fostering a Diverse Pool of Global Health Academic Leaders Through Mentorship and Career Path Planning

“…Global health has become an important and prominent aspect of undergraduate medical education, residency, and postresidency careers for an increasing number of physicians . As entering into a global emergency medicine career can be daunting, GEMA partnered with the SAEM residents and medical students (RAMS) group to help ease this burden through the development of a global emergency medicine roadmap.…”

“…The immense opportunity to improve the care of billions of underserved people with limited access to high‐quality emergency care has made global emergency medicine one of the fastest‐growing subspecialties of emergency medicine . The increasing number of emergency medicine faculty members, trainees, and medical students pursuing international opportunities is evidence of the expanding interest in global health . This rapid growth has led to tremendous achievements, including the passage of the World Health Assembly resolution 60.22 in 2019 which states “that additional efforts should be made globally to strengthen provision of trauma and emergency care so as to ensure timely and effective delivery to those who need it in the context of the overall health‐care system, and related health and health‐promotion initiatives.” Successes in advocacy are mirrored in the expansion of global emergency care research, emergency medicine education programs in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs), and emergency care delivery system improvements in many countries with developing health care infrastructures.…”

Training in global health and international emergency medicine: Where to next?

“…Fellowship programmes typically last 12–24 months, during which participants undertake a range of activities, including overseas fieldwork, operational research, and postgraduate studies in public health and/or tropical medicine . Despite the widespread take‐up, IEM educators in the USA still have a range of unanswered questions about the effectiveness of GH experiences during postgraduate training …”

“…One of the challenges for globally minded ACEM trainees and Fellows is remaining engaged during their registrar and early consultant years. Even if opportunities arise, trainees face difficulties engaging in international emergency placements because of the competing demands of clinical training, exams, research and domestic commitments . Addressing these barriers is part of the challenge in creating training pathways for clinicians interested in IEM.…”

“…[23][24][25] Despite the widespread take-up, IEM educators in the USA still have a range of unanswered questions about the effectiveness of GH experiences during postgraduate training. 26 Growth in IEM training has facilitated better definition of the skills and knowledge required for IEM practice. Core technical components of IEM fellowship programmes in the USA include EM systems development, humanitarian relief, disaster management, public health, travel and field medicine, programme (project) administration, and academic skills.…”