TY - JOUR
T1 - Development of a Novel Global Surgery Course for Medical Schools
AU - Anderson, Geoffrey A.
AU - Albutt, Katherine
AU - Holmer, Hampus
AU - Muguti, Godfrey
AU - Mbuwayesango, Bothwell
AU - Muchuweti, David
AU - Gidiri, Muchabayiwa F.
AU - Mugapathyay, Swagoto
AU - Iverson, Katie
AU - Roa, Lina
AU - Sharma, Sristi
AU - Jeppson, Bengt
AU - Jönsson, Kent
AU - Lantz, Adam
AU - Saluja, Saurabh
AU - Lin, Yihan
AU - Citron, Isabelle
AU - Meara, John G.
AU - Hagander, Lars
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Objective: We endeavored to create a comprehensive course in global surgery involving multinational exchange. Design: The course involved 2 weeks of didactics, 2 weeks of clinical rotations in a low-resource setting and 1 week for a capstone project. We evaluated our success through knowledge tests, surveys of the students, and surveys of our Zimbabwean hosts. Setting: The didactic portions were held in Sweden, and the clinical portion was primarily in Harare with hospitals affiliated with the University of Zimbabwe. Participants: Final year medical students from Lund University in Sweden, Harvard Medical School in the USA and the University of Zimbabwe all participated in didactics in Sweden. The Swedish and American students then traveled to Zimbabwe for clinical work. The Zimbabwean students remained in Sweden for a clinical experience. Results: The course has been taught for 3 consecutive years and is an established part of the curriculum at Lund University, with regular participation from Harvard Medical School and the University of Zimbabwe. Participants report significant improvements in their physical exam skills and their appreciation of the needs of underserved populations, as well as confidence with global surgical concepts. Our Zimbabwean hosts thought the visitors integrated well into the clinical teams, added value to their own students’ experience and believe that the exchange should continue despite the burden associated with hosting visiting students. Conclusions: Here we detail the development of a course in global surgery for medical students that integrates didactic as well as clinical experiences in a low-resource setting. The course includes a true multilateral exchange with students from Sweden, the United States and Zimbabwe participating regularly. We hope that this course might serve as a model for other medical schools looking to establish courses in this burgeoning field.
AB - Objective: We endeavored to create a comprehensive course in global surgery involving multinational exchange. Design: The course involved 2 weeks of didactics, 2 weeks of clinical rotations in a low-resource setting and 1 week for a capstone project. We evaluated our success through knowledge tests, surveys of the students, and surveys of our Zimbabwean hosts. Setting: The didactic portions were held in Sweden, and the clinical portion was primarily in Harare with hospitals affiliated with the University of Zimbabwe. Participants: Final year medical students from Lund University in Sweden, Harvard Medical School in the USA and the University of Zimbabwe all participated in didactics in Sweden. The Swedish and American students then traveled to Zimbabwe for clinical work. The Zimbabwean students remained in Sweden for a clinical experience. Results: The course has been taught for 3 consecutive years and is an established part of the curriculum at Lund University, with regular participation from Harvard Medical School and the University of Zimbabwe. Participants report significant improvements in their physical exam skills and their appreciation of the needs of underserved populations, as well as confidence with global surgical concepts. Our Zimbabwean hosts thought the visitors integrated well into the clinical teams, added value to their own students’ experience and believe that the exchange should continue despite the burden associated with hosting visiting students. Conclusions: Here we detail the development of a course in global surgery for medical students that integrates didactic as well as clinical experiences in a low-resource setting. The course includes a true multilateral exchange with students from Sweden, the United States and Zimbabwe participating regularly. We hope that this course might serve as a model for other medical schools looking to establish courses in this burgeoning field.
KW - curriculum development
KW - global surgery
KW - low- and middle-income countries (LMIC's)
KW - Major emphasis on Systems Based Practice, Significant Professionalism and Interpersonal and Communication Skills
KW - Sweden
KW - Zimbabwe
U2 - 10.1016/j.jsurg.2018.07.026
DO - 10.1016/j.jsurg.2018.07.026
M3 - Article
C2 - 30185383
AN - SCOPUS:85052736721
SN - 1931-7204
VL - 76
SP - 469
EP - 479
JO - Journal of Surgical Education
JF - Journal of Surgical Education
IS - 2
ER -