Optimizing global health experiences in emergency medicine residency programs: a consensus statement from the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors 2011 Academic Assembly global health specialty track

Abstract

BackgroundAn increasing number of emergency medicine (EM) residency training programs have residents interested in participating in clinical rotations in other countries. However, the policies that each individual training program applies to this process are different. To our knowledge, little has been done in the standardization of these experiences to help EM residency programs with the evaluation, administration and implementation of a successful global health clinical elective experience. The objective of this project was to assess the current status of EM global health electives at residency training programs and to establish recommendations from educators in EM on the best methodology to implement successful global health electives.MethodsDuring the 2011 Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD) Academic Assembly, participants met to address this issue in a mediated discussion session and working group. Session participants examined data previously obtained via the CORD online listserve, discussed best practices in global health applications, evaluations and partnerships, and explored possible solutions to some of the challenges. In addition a survey was sent to CORD members prior to the 2011 Academic Assembly to evaluate the resources and processes for EM residents’ global experiences.ResultsRecommendations included creating a global health working group within the organization, optimizing a clearinghouse of elective opportunities for residents and standardizing elective application materials, site evaluations and resident assessment/feedback methods. The survey showed that 71.4% of respondents have global health partnerships and electives. However, only 36.7% of programs require pre-departure training, and only 20% have formal competency requirements for these global health electives.ConclusionsA large number of EM training programs have global health experiences available, but these electives and the trainees may benefit from additional institutional support and formalized structure.

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

“…Planning for international rotations is paramount, which includes the necessity of identifying an in‐country partner to provide in‐country support. The literature on predeparture preparation and international elective learning objectives continues to grow to meet this need …”

Opportunities and barriers in global women's health training during obstetrics and gynecology residencies in the USA

“…Interest in global health education during medical training has been well characterized across both primary care and surgical subspecialties [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8], with 65%-91% of sampled residents in the USA reporting a desire to participate in a formal global health rotation [5,7]. In addition, there is well-documented evidence of the benefits of both global health training across the core competencies of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), and more commitment to care for the underserved [8,9].…”

Global Health Education as a Translational Science in Graduate Medical Education

“…16,17 Clinical and Public Health Outcomes (Building T2 and T3 Data) Current published work monitoring and evaluating international electives has focused on US application of standards and trainee center metrics-including adherence to published guidelines, resident understanding of core competencies, quality of learning, educational opportunities and didactics, clinical exposure, and depth of faculty preceptorship. 18,19 It is less certain whether GHEs and methods to standardize curriculum have led to better health care (T2) and improved clinical and public health outcomes (T3). Even in the most sophisticated systems, demonstrating patient and community outcomes as a function of education and training is difficult.…”