Perceptions of Ghanaian Medical Students Completing a Clinical Elective at the University of Michigan Medical School

Abstract

Problem International medical electives typically represent a unidirectional flow of students from economically advantaged countries in the global “North” to resource-poor nations in the global “South.” Little is known about the impact of bilateral exchanges on students from less affluent nations. Approach Since 2007, students from the University of Michigan Medical School (UMMS) and medical schools in Ghana have engaged in a bilateral clinical exchange program. A 45-item online survey was distributed to all 73 Ghanaian medical students who had rotated at UMMS from 2008 to 2010 to assess perspectives on the value and impact of their participation. Outcomes Incoming Ghanaian students outnumbered outgoing UMMS students 73 to 33 during the study period. Of eligible Ghanaian students, 70% (51/73) participated in the survey, with 40 of 51 providing valid data on at least 50% of questions. Ninety-seven percent (37/38) reported that the UMMS rotation was valuable to their medical training, 90% (35/39) reported changes in how they approach patient care, and 77% (24/31) reported feeling better equipped to serve patients in their home community. Eighty-five percent of students (28/33) felt more inclined to pursue training opportunities outside of their home country after their rotation at UMMS. Next Steps More studies are needed to determine the feasibility of bidirectional exchanges as well as the short-term and long-term impact of rotations on students from under-resourced settings and their hosts in more resource-rich environments.

A systematic review of the factors affecting choice of surgery as a career

“…Our literature search identified 4 papers assessing medical student interest in surgery following international surgery electives. [76][77][78][79] An AHRQ grade of low strength was awarded to this body of evidence, with a mean Newcastle-Ottawa score of 4.8. In these reports, a small group of medical students participated in supervised medical electives and were interviewed about their experiences.…”

Duodenal Trauma: Incidence and Management in Penetrating and Blunt Abdominal Trauma

“…9 International medical student exchange programs in clinical practice have shown to improve medical students' history-taking and physical exam skills. [16][17][18] However, they are predominantly in a transnational North-to-South direction. 17 It is critical at this time that the United States reverse this predominance and balance a South-to-North transnational experience in education within US practice of multidisciplinary systems-based trauma care, i.e., not readily available in other reported international student experiences.…”

“…[16][17][18] However, they are predominantly in a transnational North-to-South direction. 17 It is critical at this time that the United States reverse this predominance and balance a South-to-North transnational experience in education within US practice of multidisciplinary systems-based trauma care, i.e., not readily available in other reported international student experiences. 19 The components of surgical burden in the LMIC 20 include surgical systems under development, and if international medical schools and students from LMICs are offered opportunities to participate in systems rotations concluded to be beneficial, both may play an important developmental role in policy emphasis to accelerate the improvement and development of such programs for domestic EMS and TS processes.…”

Socially Accountable Global Health Education Amidst Political Uncertainty and Reactionary Nationalism: A Value Proposition and Recommendations for Action

“…Recent agreements, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030, incentivized governments to develop the health workforce, strengthen health systems, and support equitable health services. Bidirectional GHE programs contributed to these goals by creating opportunities for educational exchange and training experiences [5810]. …”

“…Crucially, this has been shown to be true for all participants [578910], regardless of whether they are a Kenyan student rotating in the U.S., a Canadian student rotating in China, or a student from Delhi, India rotating in Nagpur, India. It may also be true whether their goal is to work at a nationally funded tuberculosis clinic in London, a community health center in rural Australia, or an academic cancer hospital in Los Angeles [578910].…”