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Development of a Novel Global Surgery Course for Medical Schools

Anderson, Geoffrey A. ; Albutt, Katherine LU ; Holmer, Hampus LU ; Muguti, Godfrey ; Mbuwayesango, Bothwell ; Muchuweti, David ; Gidiri, Muchabayiwa F. ; Mugapathyay, Swagoto ; Iverson, Katie and Roa, Lina , et al. (2019) In Journal of Surgical Education 76(2). p.469-479
Abstract

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... (More)

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.

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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
curriculum development, global surgery, low- and middle-income countries (LMIC's), Major emphasis on Systems Based Practice, Significant Professionalism and Interpersonal and Communication Skills, Sweden, Zimbabwe
categories
Higher Education
in
Journal of Surgical Education
volume
76
issue
2
pages
469 - 479
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85052736721
  • pmid:30185383
ISSN
1931-7204
DOI
10.1016/j.jsurg.2018.07.026
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
80be81fd-8701-49ea-97a9-eeb7f8f934ed
date added to LUP
2018-10-05 10:22:06
date last changed
2025-01-08 15:53:58
@article{80be81fd-8701-49ea-97a9-eeb7f8f934ed,
  abstract     = {{<p>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.</p>}},
  author       = {{Anderson, Geoffrey A. and Albutt, Katherine and Holmer, Hampus and Muguti, Godfrey and Mbuwayesango, Bothwell and Muchuweti, David and Gidiri, Muchabayiwa F. and Mugapathyay, Swagoto and Iverson, Katie and Roa, Lina and Sharma, Sristi and Jeppson, Bengt and Jönsson, Kent and Lantz, Adam and Saluja, Saurabh and Lin, Yihan and Citron, Isabelle and Meara, John G. and Hagander, Lars}},
  issn         = {{1931-7204}},
  keywords     = {{curriculum development; global surgery; low- and middle-income countries (LMIC's); Major emphasis on Systems Based Practice, Significant Professionalism and Interpersonal and Communication Skills; Sweden; Zimbabwe}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{469--479}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Surgical Education}},
  title        = {{Development of a Novel Global Surgery Course for Medical Schools}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2018.07.026}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jsurg.2018.07.026}},
  volume       = {{76}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}