Migration patterns of undergraduate medical students in elective exchanges: a prospective online survey

Abstract

Background An international and global medical education programme can help to develop health professionals' skillsets and can be a career-defining factor during the progression from student to practising physician. Our aim is to analyse migration patterns of medical students for elective exchanges and identify intentions for continued migration. Specifically, our objectives were to determine the most popular countries and specialty types that students in the medical and health professions intend to go for elective exchanges; to assess the different factors that contribute to a student's choice to migrate for an elective; and to assess factors leading to the intent of permanent migration after completion of study at the home institution. Methods Our research deals with experiential learning in a global health setting through analysis of the trends and patterns of medical students pursuing medical electives worldwide. We used a multilingual online questionnaire, completed by students from 15 different countries across a timeframe of 1 month (April 2018). American, European, Asian, and African universities who are part of the Global Educational Exchange in the Medical and Health professions (GEMx) sent an email with the link to the questionnaire to their medical students. The questionnaire was conducted electronically and participants, who were selected via the school's respective student databases, were asked to complete the survey after their electives had been completed. Findings We analysed responses from 363 students from 15 countries (