Rethinking global health training: making the links between theory and practice

Lucas AB Fisher; Candelaria Aristizabal Londono; Kayla Cropper; Graham Beresh; Jacob AK Alhassan

doi:10.36834/cmej.79921

Rethinking global health training: making the links between theory and practice

Authors

Lucas AB Fisher University of Saskatchewan
Candelaria Aristizabal Londono University of Saskatchewan
Kayla Cropper University of Saskatchewan
Graham Beresh University of Saskatchewan
Jacob AK Alhassan University of Saskatchewan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36834/cmej.79921

Abstract

Implication Statement

International medical electives are viewed as an opportunity for medical students to experience global health firsthand and improve cultural humility. Despite its potential benefits, concerns have been raised regarding harms during placements. These need to be addressed to ensure that international electives are conducted ethically and not only benefit learners but also the communities involved. The University of Saskatchewan has transformed its global health certificate, Making the links, in an effort to address existing concerns. We seek to share the program’s approach and its value to us. Other centres may introduce this approach to help train more equity-oriented healthcare workers.

References

1. Hanson L, Cheng J. Production of the global health doctor: Discourses on international medical electives. ESJ. 2018 May 28;4(1):161-80. https://doi.org/10.15402/esj.v4i1.315

2. Sullivan HR. Voluntourism. AMA JJ Ethics. 2019 Sept 1;21(9). https://doi.org/10.1001/amajethics.2019.815

3. Roberts M. Duffle Bag Medicine. JAMA. 2006 Apr 5;295(13):1491. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.295.13.1491

4. Watterson R, Matthews D, Bach P, Kherani I, Halpine M, Meili R. Building a framework for Global Health Learning. Acad Med. 2015 Apr;90(4):500-4. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000000648

5. Kalbarczyk A, Nagourney E, Martin NA, Chen V, Hansoti B. Are you ready? A systematic review of pre-departure resources for Global Health electives. BMC Med Educ. 2019 May 22;19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-019-1586-y

6. Downs J. Maladies of empire: How colonialism, slavery, and war transformed medicine. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press; 2023.

Downloads

Published

2025-01-13

How to Cite

Fisher LA, Aristizabal Londono C, Cropper K, Beresh G, Alhassan JA. Rethinking global health training: making the links between theory and practice. Can. Med. Ed. J [Internet]. 2025 Jan. 13 [cited 2025 Jan. 18];. Available from: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cmej/article/view/79921

Download Citation

Issue

In Press

Section

You Should Try This

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Submission of an original manuscript to the Canadian Medical Education Journal will be taken to mean that it represents original work not previously published, that it is not being considered elsewhere for publication. If accepted for publication, it will be published online and it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, for commercial purposes, in any language, without the consent of the publisher.

Authors who publish in the Canadian Medical Education Journal agree to release their articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 Canada Licence. This licence allows anyone to copy and distribute the article for non-commercial purposes provided that appropriate attribution is given. For details of the rights an author grants users of their work, please see the licence summary and the full licence.