Abstract
There has been increased focus on global surgery in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) since the Lancet commission on global surgery was published in 2015. Interest from surgical trainees in overseas placements during their training is high with a number of motivating factors to engage in overseas work. In this article, we outline the overseas experience of a UK-based orthopaedic trainee during their time out of training in Malawi from both the trainee and training program director perspectives. Overseas LMIC placements during orthopaedic training are encouragingly becoming more established and are supported by a growing body of literature showing widespread benefits to the individual volunteer, donor and host institutions.
References
Meara JG, Hagander L, Leather AJM (2014) Surgery and global health: a lancet commission. Lancet 383(9911):12–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62345-4
Meara JG, Leather AJM, Hagander L, Alkire BC, Alonso N, Ameh EA, Bickler SW, Conteh L, Dare AJ, Davies J, Mérisier ED, El-Halabi S, Farmer PE, Gawande A, Gillies R, Greenberg SLM, Grimes CE, Gruen RL, Ismail EA, Yip W (2015) Global surgery 2030: evidence and solutions for achieving health, welfare, and economic development. Lancet 386(9993):569–624. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60160-X
Powell AC, Casey K, Liewehr DJ, Hayanga A, James TA, Cherr GS (2009) Results of a national survey of surgical resident interest in international experience, electives, and volunteerism. J Am Coll Surg 208(2):304–312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2008.10.025
Berwin J, Brown M, Bucknall V, Bose D (2020) Attitudes towards orthopaedic volunteering in low-resource settings. Bull R Coll Surg Engl 102(4):144–149. https://doi.org/10.1308/rcsbull.2020.144
CURE (2022) Malawi. https://cure.org/hospitals/malawi/ Accessed 16th June 2022
AO Alliance (2022) About us. https://ao-alliance.org/about-us/ Accessed 16th June 2022
The World Bank (2022) The World Bank in Malawi. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/malawi/overview Accessed 16th June 2022
World Health Organization (2022) Malawi. https://www.afro.who.int/countries/malawi Accessed 16th June 2022
GAVI (2022) The worst disaster in a generation: cyclone Ana wreaks havoc on health in Malawi https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/worst-disaster-generation-cyclone-ana-wreaks-havoc-health-malawi Accessed 16th June 2022
Longstaff B (2010) Innovative workforce development: the case for international health links. http://www.thet.org/healthpartnership-scheme/files/innovative-workforce-development-thecase-for-international-health-links Accessed 16th June 2022
Yeomans D, Le G, Pandit H, Lavy C (2017) Is overseas volunteering beneficial to the NHS? The analysis of volunteers’ responses to a feedback questionnaire following experiences in low-income and middle-income countries. BMJ Open. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017517
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health (2013) Improving health at home and abroad. APPG on Global Health, London
Jones FAE, Knights DPH, Sinclair VFE et al (2013) Do health partnerships with organisations in lower income countries benefit the UK partner? A review of the literature. Global Health 9:38
British Orthopaedic Trainees Association. Guidelines for T&O TPDs relating to overseas placements in low resource settings. www.bota.org.uk/guidelines-for-to-tpds-relating-to-overseas-placements-in-low-resource-settings Accessed 16th June 2022
Shultz PA, Kamal RN, Daniels AH, DiGiovanni CW, Akelman E (2015) International health electives in orthopaedic surgery residency training. J Bone Jt Surg-Am Vol 97(3):e15. https://doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.M.01189
Klaristenfeld DD, Chupp M, Cioffi WG, White RE (2008) An international volunteer program for general surgery residents at brown medical school: the Tenwek Hospital Africa experience. J Am Coll Surg 207(1):125–128
World Orthopaedic Concern UK (2022) Ethiopia. https://wocuk.org/locations/ethiopia/ Accessed 16th June 2022
NDORMS (2022) COSECSA Oxford orthopaedic link (COOL) Programme. https://www.ndorms.ox.ac.uk/research/research-groups/global-surgery/projects/cool-training-in-trauma Accessed 16th June 2022
BOFAS (2022) BOFAS Malawi mini-fellowship. https://www.bofas.org.uk/clinician/fellowships/bofas-malawi-mini-fellowship Accessed 16th June 2022
Health Volunteers Overseas (2022) Fellowships and scholarships. https://hvousa.org/get-involved/apply-for-a-fellowship/ Accessed 16th June 2022
Funding
The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Raza, M., Trompeter, A. Taking time out of training: a Malawi experience. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol 33, 611–615 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-022-03345-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-022-03345-5