Pre-Departure Training for Global Health Electives at US Medical Schools
Abstract
Background
Pre-departure training (PDT) has been suggested as a tool to address the ethical, safety, and educational issues associated with global health electives. In 2013, due in part to increasing popularity of global health electives, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) mandated that medical schools provide PDT as a means to address the unique safety and ethical challenges of these experiences. The purpose of this study was to characterize the prevalence, structure, and content of PDT for global health electives currently offered at US medical schools.
Methods
An online survey was distributed to the director of the global health office or the dean of student affairs at all LCME-accredited US medical schools. Follow-up phone calls assured a high completion rate. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis.
Results
Seventy three percent (104/143) of medical schools responded. Among respondents, 96% (100/104) offered global health electives, and 88% (91/104) had PDT. Eighty-one percent (74/91) of PDT programs were mandatory, but only 59% (54/91) had formal curricula. Personal and travel safety, cultural competency, and ethics were the most commonly covered topics though offerings were highly variable.
Discussion
Though most US medical schools offer PDT, the structure and format of the programs vary widely. Despite broad acknowledgement of the value of PDT, institutional financial support is minimal. At the national level, resources need to be directed toward developing standardized objectives and curricula for medical student PDT.
Keywords
Discipline: Tropical medicine Learning outcomes: Ethics/attitudes Management: International medical education Management: Curriculum infrastructure Management: Student supportNotes
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Elizabeth Bonney and Dr. Elise Everett for reviewing the manuscript. The University of Vermont Institutional Review Board found this project exempt from review. A preliminary version of the data in this study was presented at the Consortium of Universities for Global Health Annual Meeting 2016 poster presentation.
Compliance with Ethical Standards
Conflicts of Interest
The authors of this manuscript have no other financial or professional conflicts of interest to declare.
Funding
Financial support was provided by The Frymoyer Fund for Medical Education.
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