The Need for Global Surgery Education in the United States Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Training Pipeline

Interest in global surgery rotations among oral and maxillofacial surgical residents in the United States

“…Another potential solution is the development of 1‐ to 2‐month global surgery rotations across numerous OMS training programs. These rotations could count toward CODA's required four month non‐OMS clinical surgical experience or two months of additional rotations so as to not add additional time constraints to already tight resident schedules 5 . Additionally, with the considerable personal expense that comes with OMS training, 39,40 residents and residency programs would likely need to secure outside financing to successfully implement global surgery rotations.…”

“…To the authors’ knowledge, no such academic positions or fellowships exist in global OMS, suggesting that it is difficult for junior OMS faculty to enter the global surgical workforce. Therefore, it is essential that opportunities be provided to OMSs who wish to become leaders in global surgery to allow them to evolve from mentee to mentor 5 . This can be accomplished through the creation of OMS‐relevant global surgery fellowships by partnering with academic institutions and hospitals both domestically and abroad, as well as developing OMS‐specific faculty positions that allow surgeons to dedicate time for global surgery‐related efforts and mentorship 47–49 …”

“…The LCGS has established targets aimed at enhancing worldwide surgical capacity, citing the need for more than 2.3 million additional surgical, anesthetic, and obstetric providers (SAOs) to enter the global surgery workforce between 2015 and 2030 3 . Oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMSs) are one subgroup of SAOs that can help enhance global surgical capacity through the treatment of various developmental and acquired pathologies of the head and neck 5 …”

“…The LCGS, along with the World Bank Disease Control Priorities Project and the World Health Organization Global Initiative for Emergency and Essential Surgical Care, have advocated for enhanced education and training in global health and global surgery as a way of increasing workforce capacity 6,7 . Numerous groups have called for the inclusion of formal global surgery education in the training of an OMS, starting in dental school and continuing through residency 5,8 . These authors have cited the growing national interest among United States (US)‐based surgical residents to participate in global surgery electives during their residency training and willingness to form student‐led working groups such as the Global Surgery Student Alliance 9–11 .…”

“…3 Oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMSs) are one subgroup of SAOs that can help enhance global surgical capacity through the treatment of various developmental and acquired pathologies of the head and neck. 5 The LCGS, along with the World Bank Disease Control Priorities Project and the World Health Organization Global Initiative for Emergency and Essential Surgical Care, have advocated for enhanced education and training in global health and global surgery as a way of increasing workforce capacity. 6,7 Numerous groups have called for the inclusion of formal global surgery education in the training of an OMS, starting in dental school and continuing through residency.…”