Landscape Analysis of Global Health Tracks in United States Pediatric Residencies: Moving Toward Standards

Leveraging Economies of Scale via Collaborative Interdisciplinary Global Health Tracks (CIGHTs): Lessons From Three Programs

“…As the importance of training clinicians to care for a global population has grown, increasing numbers of residency programs have developed international rotations and dedicated global health (GH) tracks, which typically comprise both curricular and experiential content intended to prepare residents for meaningful GH work. [1][2][3][4][5] In pediatrics, nearly a quarter of residency programs report having a GH track, and over half offer international field experiences. 1,3 Meeting residents' expectations for GH training opportunities can be challenging, especially for academic institutions that lack faculty mentors with sufficient time and GH experience, adequate financial support for GH programs, capacity to offer safe and appropriately supervised international experiences, and consistent levels of interest among residency classes.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5] In pediatrics, nearly a quarter of residency programs report having a GH track, and over half offer international field experiences. 1,3 Meeting residents' expectations for GH training opportunities can be challenging, especially for academic institutions that lack faculty mentors with sufficient time and GH experience, adequate financial support for GH programs, capacity to offer safe and appropriately supervised international experiences, and consistent levels of interest among residency classes. 3,[6][7][8] To address these challenges, some programs have collaborated across departments, pooling resources and looking for areas of curricular overlap through which residents from different disciplines can learn about core GH concepts together.…”

“…1,3 Meeting residents' expectations for GH training opportunities can be challenging, especially for academic institutions that lack faculty mentors with sufficient time and GH experience, adequate financial support for GH programs, capacity to offer safe and appropriately supervised international experiences, and consistent levels of interest among residency classes. 3,[6][7][8] To address these challenges, some programs have collaborated across departments, pooling resources and looking for areas of curricular overlap through which residents from different disciplines can learn about core GH concepts together. Since many of the competencies and objectives of GH education, such as pre-departure preparation and GH ethics, [9][10][11] focus on aspects of GH work that are not necessarily specialty-specific, collaborative interdepartmental global health tracks (CIGHTs) may serve as a valuable model.…”

“…Accordingly, GH track leaders should have protected time for this work. 3,7,16 Beyond trying to stretch strained departmental finances, the challenges of coordinating schedules for formal learning activities, arranging for residents to serve in communities (either internationally or locally) that are underserved, finding appropriate mentors, and facilitating equitable partnerships with bilateral exchange of learners and faculty can all be insurmountable for small departments with limited faculty dedicated to GH education. CIGHTs ease the faculty burden, as they centralize and unify many administrative tasks that are necessary Additionally, if an academic institution has a center for global health (CGH) that is focused on a larger scope of learners (e.g., medical students), a CIGHT may reap benefits by associating with the center.…”

“…International clinical rotations are often a major feature of GH residency tracks. 1,3 Identifying, developing, and maintaining strong international partnerships that facilitate education for all partners and reduce the burden for the host country often requires a tremendous amount of resources. Residents must be prepared for working in international settings; ideally, such preparation includes pre-departure training, obtaining licensure to practice medicine in that country if required, close supervision and mentorship while in-country, and debriefing after returning to their home institutions.…”